Earlier in the day we visited the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu and Patan.  Durbar means palace and there are three different Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu valley for the three ancient city state kingdoms in the area.  We looked for breakfast when we first entered Kathmandu square and found a western style coffee shop near the edge.  There was a small selection of pastries at the counter and a vegetable sandwich wrapped in plastic.  

My fiance saw this sandwich and lusted for the taste of safe vegetables.  We were warned that vegetables in this area of the world are washed in tap water that can make us sick and that we should just avoid eating that part of our diet unless served thoroughly cooked.  She saw this and thought "ooh, it's in plastic, it's safe."  I saw it and thought, "oh... okay, I guess I'll trust her judgment on this."  After a few bites she said "I already regret getting this."   Afterwards, her stomach did not feel right but it did not seem to make her actively sick.  Part of me thinks that the realization that it could have made her sick manifested itself into general uneasy feelings.

 

This Durbar Square had a lot of damage and many of the previously open areas were closed off as "Danger Zones" for fear of falling debris.  Newly constructed scaffolding was in place to repair the badly cracked palace buildings.  Despite all of the damage, it is hard to tell where the towers that completely collapsed were located and there are still many many different amazing, large structures to see.  The buildings that are part of the palace are enormous and do have some damage but appear repairable and many of the temples appear to be in very good shape.  One of the temples my fiance was most interested in seeing was not accessible because the entrance into the courtyard was damaged and not safe to walk through. 

 

This Durbar square had a lot of vendors and people offering their services as guides around the square and they were very intrusive, especially because the numbers of western tourists coming to the square are drastically down since the earthquakes and they are all hungry to offer their services.  We did talk to one very nice man who was generous with information to help us find the reclining Vishnu and another temple near the deity that we ultimately could not find through heavy rain.  We didn't ultimately stay in the square for very long and returned to our apartment to recover from our disastrous breakfast.