Travel Diary: Jaipur Day- 3 City Palace + Anokhi Block Print Museum + Jal Mahal + Amrapali Shopping.

Hello! 

Day 3 might have been my favourite day in Jaipur. 

We visited The City Palace and the lovely Anokhi Block Print Museum and ended our day with a quick but fruitful stop at the Amrapali store- what kind of silver lovers would we be if we didn't stop by Amrapali?! 

Our day began a little later than we had hoped for. We were meant to be up super early and head out at 8:00 am to Amer Fort but my sister had a long night working and got to bed only past 4:00 am so we woke up late and left our hotel only at 10:00 am. 

So Amer Fort was out and we started with City Palace. 

This beautiful gate welcomes you into City Palace. 

I could stare at it forever. 

There are lots of guides milling about the place and we opted not to get a guide and explore on our own. The City Palace is very well organised in terms of signages. There are signs and explanations about each area and artefact, so you could totally skip on getting a guide. Plus we did see most of the guides really rush their groups from one spot to another. If you are doing it on your own, you get to set your own pace and see the place on your own terms and click as many pictures as you like without someone constantly rushing you and pretty much telling you things that are written on signs for you to read. So skip the guide if you ask me! 

The courtyards. 

I loved than inspite of it being fairly crowded, we still managed to find empty spots. Also there are benches in the courtyard and all around. A great boon since it gets hot and tiring and it was Godsend to have places to rest and get a sip of water and chill. 

The Royal Seal. 

The City Palace is very well maintained and clean and orderly. 

After some wandering around we were feeling a bit hungry and could kill for a cold drink! We spotted Baradari and stepped in for lunch and some much needed iced-coffee!
This little Lily Pond greets you at the entrance. 

The Baradari has great food, drinks and desserts. The pricing is a bit steep (ish)- for Jaipur standards, at par with prices at Indigo Deli (maybe a little cheaper). We liked the food and drinks and even dessert and the service was good too. It's a great options if you are winded after your long walk at the palace and need a place to re-group and get a quick bite to eat and drink something cold. 

A gorgeous painting at the Palace Museum and Art Gallery. 

An artist imagines heaven as a court, with Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma in attendance. The details were exquisite. 

After lunch we drove down to the Anokhi Block Printing Museum. We were too tired and the day was too hot to brave Hawa Mahal or Jantar Mantar.
The Anokhi Museum is close to Amer Fort, in case you want to combine it with a visit to the fort.
We planned on going Amer the next morning but had a feeling that we might be too tired after it to stop here. So we decided on getting to it on this day.

The folks at Anokhi lovingly restored a haveli in ruin to make this museum about block printing techniques and traditions. For people who love and we handloom this museum is a must see. I know I really loved and really appreciated it.

The haveli itself was beautiful and they've done a remarkable job of restoring a ruin. It's commendable work.

The museum is beautifully curated and informative and like I said for someone who wears handlooms and is interested in our handloom traditions- this museum was a treat!
Plus, we were the only ones here and it was nice to wander and look around and learn and not be jostled by crowds!

I am going to do an individual post on this Museum and also share my purchases from the Museum Shop..an Anokhi shop!
:)

Look how gorgeous!
And to think this place lay in ruins for hundreds of years. I also wonder who lived here back in the day? Was this a happy home?

We stopped on the way back to look at Jal Mahal.

We then headed back to the city and went to Amrapali!
Because why not?!
Honestly, I didn't spot any great silver shops in Johri Bazaar and frankly was a little iffy about the silver quality in said shops. So why not go to place where I could buy with peace of mind.
This is a newer Amrapali store at C Scheme.
We bought a few earrings and I will share them soon!

After Amrapali we went back to our hotel and cuddled Stella..

Look at her face!

We chilled in our hotel room for the rest of the evening!

Day 4 Adventures coming up soon!

:)