travel

Dining Out

sliced cake on plate — ^{Photo by Abhinav Goswami on Pexels.com}

When I was 18 years old I had an overnight layover in Frankfurt, Germany. I stayed at the airport hotel and I needed to eat so I walked into the hotel restaurant. Alone. It was my first time dining alone. I was nervous but I was hungry. The Maître D’ was very nice and showed me to a small out of the way table. There were no cellphones to play with in those days. I think I might have had a magazine. I don’t remember what I ate or if it was any good. I remember seeing several men dining alone. No women. The service wasn’t the best. It took forever to get the bill. I was rather low on the totem pole, I guess. But I got through it.

Since then I have dined alone many times but never by choice. Usually when travelling. Airports and hotels are mostly reasonable places to dine alone. People understand why you have the need to do such a thing. Outside of that, at regular local restaurants, I often get the feeling they are put out by it. Maybe it is my imagination. Maybe I am too self-conscious. Now that I have a phone to play with it is a bit less painful.

I know people who love to dine alone. I suppose it gives them a sense of freedom.

I enjoy watching other people. How they interact. What they eat. How much they drink.

I arrived in Scotland a couple of years ago, made a beeline for the hotel restaurant and ordered two beers one right after the other. Just to help with the nerves… Jet lagged and sleep deprived, I found I was quite drunk and barely managed to pay the bill before collapsing in my room. I think I overtipped the waiter and he was a little confused by it all. Not the best way to start a trip.

Now that I am old I really don’t care anymore. Age does have its advantages. My birthday is coming up. Maybe I will have a nice meal to celebrate. Or maybe I’ll just get a slice of cake to go.

The Numbers Game #80

I’ll play along, just for fun. From LifeLessons, check it out. There is a photo prompt every Monday. Here are some of my “201” photos.

Miami and the Keys

It was raining. It was hot. It was Humid. It was Florida.

Miami Beach

The Miami Design Preservation League was founded by Barbara Baer Capitman in 1976. The Art Deco District became the first urban 20^th century historic distric on the National Register of Historic Places. Capitman fought for the district and was known to stand in front of bulldozers to protect the buildings. Over 800 Art Deco buildings remain.

Calle Ocho or Little Havana

Cigars, food, music, roosters…

Hemmingway House Key West

“The first thing that happened when we were back in Paris was Hemingway with a letter of introduction from Sherwood Anderson.
I remember very well the first impression I had of Hemingway that first afternoon. He was an extraordinarily good looking young man, twenty three years old…., rather foreign looking, with passionately interested, rather than interesting eyes. He sat in front of Gertrude Stein and listened and looked.”
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Around Key West

Determination

don t quit message — ^{Photo by Leeloo The First on Pexels.com}

Last night I watched the film “True Spirit” about Jessica Watson who sailed around the world solo, non-stop, at age 16. I would say that is determination. First of all, who wants to do that? It takes a certain mind-set. It was her dream to do it and she was able to succeed. It almost killed her but imagine how it felt when it was over. A huge high. At 16, I would image you spend the rest of your life trying to live up to it all. But she learned a lot about herself, life, death, and the sea. She will always have that experience. The film was quite moving. It is available on Netflix.

Another film I watched recently was “Lee”. It is about Lee Miller who was a highly sought after Vogue model in the 1920’s. When she left modeling, she picked up a camera and spent time studying with Man Ray in France and photographing her socialite friends. When the war broke out she was an established photographer living in England with her husband, Ronald Penrose. She became a war photojournalist for Vogue and managed to talk her way to the Front. Miller took thousands of photos and was one of the first photographers to enter Dachau. It all had a profound effect on her. The film covers a short period of her life but shows her determination to succeed in a man’s world. Kate Winslet does a good job in the starring role. It is available on Netflix.

For the TCK in you, I came across a couple of new books.

“Blue Feet Monsoon” by Cynthia Green. It takes place in post-colonial Singapore, Anoushka’s seventh country – Peru, Brazil, India, Philippines, Japan, Colombia and Singapore. Anoushka decides she really likes Singapore so she pretends to volunteer at the elderly ward of a hospital in order to find somebody to teach her to speak Hokkien. She thinks it will make her fit in to her new country. This kicks off a series of adventures. The book is fast paced and a fun trip through adolescent ups and downs. I enjoyed this fast paced book about change and movement.

“Between Worlds: An Expat’s Quest for Belonging” by Inga Aksamet. Inga has written several books about hiking, camping and travel. This is her memoir about growing up TCK. She starts out in Pakistan at age four. She crisscrosses the globe always returning to California between postings. She evacuates from Pakistan and Bangladesh because of wars. She searches for her own identity through all the changes and challenges of constantly being uprooted. In the end she finds her calling as an oncology nurse. I enjoyed this story of self discovery. As I traveled through Inga’s world, I could relate to her adventures and traumas having lived in Asia, South America and even Oakland myself. It sounds like it all worked out very well for her in the end. I recommend it.

Oaxaca – Tombs

View from the tomb site.

At Zaachila there is an archeological site where two metal doors cover the steps going into underground tombs. There are two other tombs at the site but they are too damaged and cannot be entered. The ones we saw were of Zapotec royalty. The day we were there we shared the area with about thirty, first graders on a field trip.

In the first tomb you could still see the red paint on the entrance to the tomb.

This tomb was built for Lord 9 Flower, a direct descendant of the famous Zapotec king Cocijoeza, who was famous for battles against the Aztecs. Also inside the tomb was the resting place of Donaji, the last known Zapotec princess.

We were not allowed to enter past the door so photos are best possible…

It was very cool.

Oaxaca – Museums

Oaxacan Museum of the Cultures – Regional History and Culture
The building itself was worth the visit.

The Oaxaca Textile Museum

San Bartolo Coyotepec Popular Art Center

Community Museum, Teotitlan del Valle

Teotitlán del Valle is a town of about 4,000 people. Most of them are weavers and belong to a weaving cooperative. They use all natural dyes to color their fabrics.

Oaxaca – Monte Alban

Monte Alban is one of the earliest sites of Mesoamerica. It was an important Zapotec center for almost one thousand years – from 500 BC to about 500 AD.

Oaxaca – Churches

Churches in the country and the city.

Oaxaca – Street Art

I came across lots of street art both in Oaxaca City and the surrounding villages.

Oaxaca – The Food

Oaxaca, Mexico is one of the best places to go if you like Mexican food. Real Mexican food. Lots of Moles, fresh Tortillas, corn soup, enchiladas, tacos, guacamole, and did I mention Moles? And, of course, chocolate. This is just a sample.