Today we ventured to the Birla Planetarium and Science Museum with 4 other families.  The museum was ok, but not very well kept.  It had some neat science stuff for the kids, which they enjoyed.  It also had a dinosaur and an art museum attached.  The art museum was the best part…beautiful artwork and very well taken care of.  I would say the art museum is a must-see, for sure.

We were not allowed to take pictures of ANYTHING there, I even got yelled at for taking a picture while OUTSIDE the museum!  I am not certain what the reason is, but my guess would be that it has to do with increasing the salaries of the guards, who are certainly happy to pocket a few rupees to look the other way.  This is the way of all of Hyderabad, unfortunately, but I still have a hard time accepting it.

After the museum, our troop descended upon the KFC that recently opened in a brand new mall nearby.  We decided to really test their readiness for customers by bringing 10 kids in and sitting them down in a row at a very convenient 10-seat counter located right in the middle of the restaurant.

Of course, they weren’t ready for 15 people to converge on their restaurant all at once, and promptly ran out of chicken and french fries, causing a rather long wait for a couple of people in our party, and presumably for the rest of the incoming patrons.  We’ll teach them to be prepared!

The children did very well eating at the counter, while we very smart ladies located ourselves at a table as far away from them as possible.

Of course, the masses finished eating long before we did, and the very nice manager started handing out balloons to all of them.  I am certain that next time they are faced with this sort of thing, they will have learned their lesson and will remember to hand out the balloons ONLY when the children are on the way OUT of the establishment.

Of course, chaos insued.  Children running everywhere, balloons flying around, loud pops, crying, and an impromptu game of hide and seek among the tables.  It was at that point that we decided that we had tortured the poor employees and other patrons enough, and headed out the door.

Remarkably as we were all leaving, the manager caught one of the moms and invited all the kids to a free ice cream cone.  (ok, steep learning curve here, I guess)  So, after taking this picture:

We all headed back inside for our Ice Cream.  In the process, the Ice Cream machine broke down 1X, but was quickly fixed.  After the 8th Ice Cream, it broke down again, never to be awakened.  Addie and Lexy were patiently waiting at the end of the line and had to settle for ice cream back at the house.  They took it well, luckily.  Others (and you all know the darling little boy that I mean…) would not have taken it nearly as well.

It was a fun day for everyone, and we look forward to another outing together soon.  Restaurant managers, say the word.  We’ll separate the mice from the men!