Weekend in Kathmandu

The weekend of March 13-15 Caitlin and I went to Kathmandu, to buy books for our school, so Caitlin could go to the doctor, and just generally to relax. I needed it too. After a long week of highs and lows it was nice to have a change of scenery and change of pace.
The official reason for going was to buy the books that would be our donation to school. Part of the fees paid to AV was 60 pounds each to put towards a specific donation of our choice. It meant we spent hours on both Saturday and Sunday looking around bookshops. I had no problem with this, other than I had the same problem I always do in bookstores - there was a long list of books I wanted to buy but couldn't. (too heavy!) We ended up buying about 50 children's books, a combination of picture books and easy novels. - Roald Dahl!
As we were there for 2 nights, we spent one night down in Freak St. and one in Thamel. Freak St. was the Thamel of the 60's and 70's, but is small and quiet now. It's cheaper, which makes it a nice option. It's about a 15 minute walk south of Thamel, down very crowded streets. Not too far, but enough that you are amidst Kathmandu proper as opposed to an area devoted entirely to tourists.
Caitlin was ill on and off in the weeks preceding the trip, and couldn't shake whatever was bothering her, so she went to the doctor on Sunday afternoon. I went and wandered around Durbar Square a little, and did some shopping.
You may remember that my bag was lost for about 2 weeks when I got to Nepal in January. The final errand of the weekend was to the airport, to get the official paper from Jet Airlines saying how long the bag was lost, so now I can make an insurance claim. That done, we settled back to enjoy ourselves.
Durga's brother Harry is currently living in Kathmandu, so we met up with him for tea a few times, and generally just wandered around and relaxed in cafes. A nice way to spend a retreat weekend!
We caught the direct bus home on Monday morning, and were there in time for dinner. All-in-all it was an easy and hassle free trip. We got to know Kathmandu, particularly Thamel, much better due to all the book shopping. I like Kathmandu much more the second time round. In January we only saw a little, and were in such culture shock I couldn't appreciate it. I can't wait to come back. After spending some more time here, I'm torn between preferring Kathmandu or Pokhara.