another day in the cty

Today Trina and I returned to the same area of Kolkata that we were in yesterday. We went back to the Victoria Memorial and walked around the grounds before going in. Its very pretty and actually quite peaceful (except for a few horns off in the distance). It seems to be a favorite place for couple to go and snag a bench or a place under a tree and enjoy eachothers' company. Thats the first and only time I've seen any public displays of affection in India. Anyway, the outside of the Victoria Memorial is completely stunning. I know I'll be going back, and sometime I'll take my camera, but as of yet, I've opted to leave it at the flat until I get more comfortable with the trains and such. If you're dying to see the VM (which you should be) then you can look it up on google pictures until I supply a photo of my own, haha.
The inside of the VM is not quite what I expected. It isn't the best maintained, but its obvious that efforts are being made to improve it. The inside functions of a museum of sorts - many painting of places all over India, a b&w photo collection of places around Kolkata, an exhibit of restored oil paintings by British artists done during the Raj, and an exhibit that has all sorts of art and artifacts to illustrate the history of Kolkata. I would have gone through at a much slower, more careful pace had I not known that I will be going through with my parents in a few months, and they'll both be reading every single word. It was really interesting though. The main hall inside is as spectacular as the outside, with intricately carved columns and dome.
After we left the VM, we walked back to the same grocery store that we visited yesterday. I bought peanut butter, pasta, cheddar cheese, cereal, and a box of oreos. I didn't bring enough money to buy the granola bars and spaghetti sauce I wanted though. Then we went to coffee shop of which I spoke yesterday, and I got a blended ice mocha. It was delcious!
After that, we caught a taxi back the metro station, and came back to Khardah. We beat the rush and had a fair amount of space on the metro and train - Trina even got to sit down. I got offered a seat, but only one stop before Khardah, so I let a man take it instead.
When we got back to the flat, I dipped into my stash of American food to supplement my PB&J with some Chex mix. Yum!
I can't remember if I wrote about the crazy autorickshaw driver who drove us from the mall to the metro yesterday, so bare with me if this is my second telling. This guy was honestly insane. Drivers in India are nerve-racking at best, but I was sure that we were either going to kill or be killed. We were weaving in and out of traffic (not that unusual) when we came up to a red light. We pulled up behind a truck to squeeze between it and a taxi in the next "lane". When we didn't fit, the driver got out and told the taxi driver to back up. Much yelling ensued, but eventually the taxi did back up and we were on our way. The light turned green and we cut off about six vehicles in a row as we weaved through the traffic. There was a bus pulled over on the side of the road, with a line of people filing into it. Deciding it would take to much time to go around the bus on the road side, our driver cut through the line of people getting on the bus, waving his arms for them to move. We nearly hit three people. When we got going again, we almost hit a man crossing the street. If the driver hadn't slammed on his brakes for us to skid to a halt, we surely would have hit him. If you've ever seen the N64 version of Mario Kart, thats what this guy reminded me of. He had his elbows up by his head so he could turn faster, conjuring up images of Wario precariously seated on the kart half his size. We did make it to the metro safely, but by now our driver has probably killed someone.
Well, thats all for now, I guess. Tomorrow I will take it easy and just relax at the flat between school and computer class. I'll probably go back to Kolkata on Saturday. It wears me out.
~m