Today I’m sending two posts: one with the day’s explorations and then a separate one of a specific nature for anyone interested.

Before I forget, here is the name of a church I passed: Evan G. L. Cal.

First stop today was the Brihadeshwara Temple, which, I learned, is quite similar to Angor Wat, which dulls the pain somewhat of not having been there in person. I also learned that originally all the Indian temples were this same rust color; the colorful ones, as in Madurai, were only given their bright colors 350 years ago. I like ‘em both ways.

Also on today’s agenda was the Thanjavur Palace, which contained a lovely collection of Chola bronzes and over 30,000 fascinating manuscripts. (Chola: a long-ruling South Indian dynasty.) I’ve included one photo of the graceful bronzes below; if you’d like to see more, check out today’s other blog post.

Lastly was a visit to a family business creating beautiful art and lost wax statues. See the process below. So cool! Enjoy!