In the clouds....briefly

We set out on Saturday morning for a weekend at Lonavla. My family and my sister's. Just half an hour journey and we stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. They have egg and cheese muffins that I like. Feeling good we left and two hours later reached Lonavla.

We were to stay at a bungalow which belongs to my sister's family friend. It is on amby valley road at a good altitude. A caretaker, a young boy of 25 years, looks after the upkeep and also prepares food. We had carried a lot of vegetables, eggs, bread and what not. The bungalow has a beautiful, expansive sit-out overlooking the valley below. The view is just magical. At any moment clouds start drifting in. You spend most of your time in the sit-out rather than inside the bungalow.

For a still better view one can go onto the terrace. Sitting on the bench there and watching the scenery before you, one loses all track of time.

The caretaker made sumptuous meal and we had a deep nap. It started raining in the evening and we opened our bottle of wine. The caretaker made excellent onion pakodas and we played a few games. The thought that we had two days to spend there was comforting.

Just as we were about to sleep a call came from Mumbai. My sister's mother-in-law who is quite advanced in age, had fallen and injured herself. There was a fracture and she was to be admitted and later on operated. Everyone got worried. Sleep was hard to get. In the morning we had breakfast and left immediately. The trip had to be cut short and we started back to Mumbai.