India’s desert state of Rajesthan is known for it’s picturesque monuments and authentic Indian beauty. The queen of them all is Udaipur, City of Lakes. Situated amidst lush green hills and two lakes, primarily Lake Pichola, the city of Udaipur is undeniably beautiful and rightfully called the Jewel of Mewar.
the lake city is complete with floating hotels & palaces
sunsets were a main attraction
Some of the most gorgeous temples and palaces are in Udaipur and it’s become a popular destination for weddings. While we were touring, we saw two weddings being set up and holy cow. They were insane. Flowers being flown in from Switzerland, truck loads of food and décor being brought in from Delhi – it epitomized over the top. I was hoping we’d get an invite, but no luck.
where the prince currently resides
i loved this.
in one of the palace tops, the old bird cages for the pigeon carriers & bird messengers to fly thru the palace windows.
LOTS of miniature paintings in udaipur. each detail painted using the single hair of a squirrel
flooring inspiration from the 12th century.
the king’s casual view point for observing happenings in the courtyard
the royal gardens were created for the royal ladies since they couldn’t ever leave the palace walls.
this gave them something pretty to look at. so sweet of them!
Oh! We did a boat tour. Now mind you, I haven’t seen any rules or safety precautions anywhere in this country (i’ll kiel over and die if i see a car seat), but for the “romantic” duffy ride around the lake they forced all the passengers to wear giant orange life vests. Really? Seriously? Now you’re going to care about my safety. WTF? Another moment when you just can’t drive yourself crazy questioning things. 
how do you really feel about the boat ride, d? don’t hide it.
{the boat ride took us to one of the town’s many floating palaces turned hotels. pretty swanky}
For our few nights we had a boutique guesthouse on Lake Pichola (Hotel Sargam Sadan), which was nice, but didn’t let us forget that we were in India. From our room and the rooftop bar and restaurant, the distant view was of floating palaces and sparkling water. The immediate view was unfinished construction, garbage and locals slamming their laundry against the river rocks. Ahhhh, India.
our little hangout pad for rooftop beers & green chutney snacks. pretty view, right?
look straight ahead and that’s the view!
look slightly down… and there’s the immediate view. note: two laundry stations.
sunset from our rooftop.
After we’d checked all the must-sees off the list, we did some solo exploring around the city of Udaipur for shopping, eating and drinking. 
the back alley walk to our hotel.
the classic city streets of india.
the colors in india can’t be beat.
