![Jama Masjid Two weekends back, I finally made it to the Jama Masjid, a huge mosque located in the heart of Old Delhi.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.jamamasjid-150x150.jpg)
![View of Old Delhi The mosque is famous for its fantastic view of the old city from one of its "minars" or towers.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.masjidview-150x150.jpg)
![Sunset Cruise We started our vacation to Goa by going on a "sunset cruise," which was really just an excuse for all of us to make fools of ourselves by dancing onstage.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.cruise-150x150.jpg)
![Goa View We got private tours for the first two days of our trip, visiting different houses, churches and temples.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.goa_-150x150.jpg)
![Shrine We were surprised to see so many churches, but the former Portugese colony still has a lot of its old Catholic influence.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.shrine-150x150.jpg)
![Cows Of course, we kept our tour balanced by then checking out a Hindu temple.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.cows_-150x150.jpg)
![Temple Even some of the temples in Goa, however, seem to have some European architectural influence.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.temple-150x150.jpg)
![Goa Chitra We also visited Goa Chitra, an ethnographic museum where we ate a fabulous lunch.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.goachitra-150x150.jpg)
![Museum Personally I love museums... but we all have our own ways of appreciating art.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.museum-150x150.jpg)
![Nunnery Ruins One of the next places on our itinerary was the site of an old nunnery, now in ruins.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.monastery-150x150.jpg)
![Nunnery Tower The site was full of hidden doorways and windows, and made for some great exploring.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.ruins_-150x150.jpg)
![Goat Next we stopped at a little village where we spent most of our time obsessing over the baby goats.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.goat_-150x150.jpg)
![Rope Maker But we also saw how the villagers make rope out of palm tree strands, which was (almost) as cool.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.ropemaking-150x150.jpg)
![Spice Farm Our last official stop was at a spice farm, where we learned how to harvest different spices (and climb palm trees).](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.spicefarm-150x150.jpg)
![Mirror Of course, no trip to Goa would be complete without nightlife, including our visit to a casino where I indulged in some mirror selfies.](http://blogs.iesabroad.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/phillips.delhi_.mirror-150x150.jpg)
What a fantastic mid-term break. Sun, sand, salt, sunsets, sunrises… it really doesn’t get any better. In between all the outings we were taken on (to churches, temples, museums and a spice farm) we spent every spare minute on the beach by day and hitting the town by night. I came back with significantly fewer rupees than I had to begin with, but with some incredible memories to make up for it.
Namaste,
Meridel