Today was spent in Khiva. Our hotel is right outside the Old Town, so we were able to walk everywhere! Our guide keeps telling us the temperature in Celsius, so I have no idea what the temperature is. However, on thetwinsontour temperature scale, the brisk, windy weather rated a pair of cuddle duds. That is the official thetwinsontour temperature rating: cuddle dud weather.

Let me just say this– Khiva is an Instagram Paradise! Everywhere thetwinsontour looked, there was such great selfie potential– it was glorious! And, if we are being perfectly honest here, thetwinsontour were way too busy soaking up the gloriusness to pay too much attention to our guide. But, this city is old. I can tell you that. And, we visited Madrassas, Harems, Minarets, Mosques, and so much more! Everything was covered in tiles– in amazing shades of green, blue, and turquoise. thetwinsontour could really have spent 12 days there happily taking selfies. and shopping. Oh, wait? Did someone say shopping? thetwinsontour love shopping! (and we have even taught other members of our tour group that “want equals need!” Yep, those are words of wisdom from thetwinsontour!)

So, while we are looking at these historical, Instagramable, amazing places, there are vendors set up around them and even inside them. It is fabulous. You can look at a Madrasa, take some selfies, and buy a camel wool scarf all in one fell swoop. That is multitasking at it’s finest! And, do you know what really makes a selfie pop? A camel wool scarf!

And, do you know what else is great in Uzbekistan? The Uzbeki tourists! They love to come stand in the middle of our tour group and start taking video of us as we are just standing around! Phones have been shoved in my face so many times– I just smile and wave! I could be a movie star and not know it yet. I am sure that I am at least a viral sensation in Uzbekistan. And, they like to pose for selfies with Americans, too. These are my kind of people!

This afternoon we accidentally bought a loaf of bread. As we were walking back into the old town we passed 2 ladies and a little girl standing behind their house making bread and they said something to us in Uzbek and they were inviting us to have a piece of bread. So we walked over and the lady tore off a chunk of bread for us (remember, you are supposed to tear it not cut it). It was warm and delicious, fresh out of the tandoor oven! We asked if we could take a picture, so we stood there watching her make a loaf of bread. Blink and you might miss it–she was so fast. Grab a ball of dough from the bowl. Roll it out with a rolling pin so that it looks like a pizza crust –this part takes approximately 7 seconds. Take your bread pattern maker thing and stamp your pattern on the bread. Lay the bread on the bread mold. Hand it to your bread-making partner. Then the partner takes it and sticks it to the wall of the oven to bake. I’m not sure how long they need to cook because there’s a bunch of bread in the oven, so you just watch them and pull them out when they are done. It’s a fascinating process.

So while this is happening, a cute little boy comes up with some postcards to sell. How can I ever say no? So as I am handing him $2 for some grubby looking postcards that have had a rough life, the bread lady says to my sister $2. So I dig out another $2 thinking they want to charge us for taking their pictures, but no, they hand us a folded up loaf of bread. We tried to say that we didn’t need it, but they looked so crestfallen and disappointed that we had no choice but to take the loaf of bread and head on our way.

As luck would have it, we ran into our tour guide, so we were like, Hey Davron do you want some bread. And he was like, sure! Then he reaches to tear a piece and he’s like it’s still warm! And then we are like, here take the whole loaf. And he’s like don’t you want it. And we are like no, what are we supposed to do with it? We are on our way to climb a tower for a view of the city from above, what are we supposed to do with a loose loaf of bread? So that is the story of how your fair heroines accidentally bought a loaf of bread and then skillfully disposed of it (because it was awkward, not because it wasn’t delicious.)

Ok that’s enough for one day I think!

Love,

thetwinsontour