Restaurants

Zanzibari Feasting

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Zanzibar’s native cuisine brazenly drenches seafood in local aromatic spices. At night, locals gather at Forodhani Gardens, a strip of park on the waterfront right outside the House of Wonders. Before sunset, cooks begin setting up grills and tables along the water and laying out skewers of raw seafood. You can stroll along the stalls and pick different delicacies that are then grilled in front of you by lamplight, and wash it all down with mugs of fresh sugarcane juice.

On the upper deck of the Africa House, converted from a gentleman’s club during the era of British colonial rule and rich in atmosphere, we feasted on grilled pork, calimari, mashed sweet potatoes, cabbage salad, chapatis and fresh mixed fruit smoothies served by a very gracious waiter while we watched the sun go down over the Indian Ocean. We sampled Samaki/Kuku wa kapaka, fish and chicken in coconut curry with it’s sweet, warm and spicy flavor which is common all over East Africa. Biriani is meat or chicken with a deep fried onion-based sauce served on a bed of rice.

Another night we ate at a Chinese restaurant-first Chinese since we left home; we are desperate for vegetables! I ordered crab-three huge claws whose shells were at least 1/8 inch thick. As we were leaving the restaurant, I asked the young Chinese cashier where he was from. I am Zanzibari, he said proudly, as he threw his squared shoulders back! Oh, you were born here? I am third generation he said! Are you from Hong Kong? Yes…where should we go in China…oh, stay on the east coast where they have everything new…and go to the Island of Macaw…just like Las Vegas…it’s where I went to college! What was your mother thinking, I said laughing! He said he only liked places in China that were new and modern-hated buildings and statues and old walls-means nothing to him. His dad, he said, always liked to visit those places that were boring to him. Yes, he was Zanzibari!

Athens Greece

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Landed in Eletherios Venizelo airport and everyone clapped as is often the custom around much of the world.

Took a one hour bus ride from the airport to Monastiraki Square Station at Syntagma Square in Athens. Walked down Ermou St. to Hotel Pella at the edge of the Plaka (old town). On our fourth floor balcony we had a direct view of the Acropolis that is beautifully lit at night. But in spite of the hardest beds of any in Europe and the street noise outside making it impossible to sleep without ear plugs. Nellie, the hotel manager from Bulgaria made our stay there a very pleasant one.

For dinner we gorged in the Plaka at the Egnokapta Restaurant. We had an eggplant casserole, spanokapita, val and onions, beet greens, peppers, yogurt and cucumbers, wine and afterward Greek coffee (that tastes like coffee grounds). Our watier-an older gentleman who assumed the authority of one who might own the the art of table- waiting made our meal even more pleasurable. As we were eating Bob looked around and wondered if any of the people there was a direct descendent of Aristotle…?

Olympics
The summer Olympics to be held in 2004 in athens is a matter of great debate among the people here. Because Greece is such a little country, and even though Athens will be greatly improved, the people are worried about the expense of maintaining all that is left once the Olympics are over. Soon an election will be held for a new mayor and local TV programs are filled with animated discussions about a new tax that is proposed to fund the improved infrastructure for the city. A new metro stop is being constructed below our hotel balcony and streets are torn up-workers working around the clock everywhere. Even though Greece is politically liberal, the people are generally very conservative and you get the feeling they enjoy nattering.

A bit of irony in these days: A T shirt saying that the fundamental Principles of Olympism is a philosophy of life exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. (From the Olympic Charter)

Went to Suyntagma Square to observe a demonstration and listen to Greek music supporting the Palestinians in the war with Israel. There was a huge picture of Arafat hanging at the square and our hotel proprietor told us that Greece will always support whoever it perceives is the “underdog.”

While surveying the scene, we stood and watched another drama-the street hawkers, mainly black African immigrants, selling sunglasses and purses on the blac market. Whenever the two police would walk up the street all the sellers would pick up their stuff and run and hide- then when the police passed they would all come back and within seconds be back in business again. Bystanders seemed entertained by the nightly game.

On the way back to the hotel we strolled through the Plaka looking for a place to eat and stopped to buy a small cylindrical shaped pillow for my train rides from a rug shop. On discovering we were American, the owner vented for 20 minutes about the stupidity of 9/11 and how it hurt the whole world economically because “when the US is in trouble all the countries are in trouble-like dominoes-so 9/11 hurt all of us! Look, the country is empty of tourists and my rug shop is empty!” He angrily called the people who commit these terrorist acts “barbarians.” He said in 3000 years of our history there has always been war between armies-not this barbaric stupidity- and on top of all this my 45 year old brother-in-law had a heart attack and died and I have to support my sister!” We found it difficult to find anything encouraging to say.

Illustrating the civilizations, myths and religions that flourished in Greece over a period of more than 1,000 years, the Acropolis, the site of four of the greatest masterpieces of classical Greek art – the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheum and the Temple of Athena Nike – can be seen as symbolizing the idea of world heritage. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Avignon France

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Took the train from Barcelona to Avignon in the Provence area in the south of France. Stayed at Hotel Mignon on rue Joseph-Vernet. Cute little French hotel room but the smallest loo yet! Sitting on the stool, you find your knees sticking out the door!

We tried to eat at Christian Etienne’s famous restaurant so I could report to Josh but they were full up. They referred us to another restaurant with a respected chef, the Piedoie where we had a wonderful dinner at half the price.

At another fine restaurant a woman had her dog sitting on her lap during the meal. Must be acceptable in France.

Avignon is an old Roman city with narrow winding streets and is entirely enclosed by ancient Roman walls. The highlight is the Palace of the Popes-so called because the Vatican moved it’s center from Rome to Avignon for a time. Attached to the Palace is the Church of Notre Dame. Bob went to Easter mass there the morning we left. Capturing some of the incredible music on the camcorder, he reported that the chief celebrant was a cardinal…if a big red hat means anything.

In the 14th century, this city in the South of France was the seat of the papacy. The Palais des Papes, an austere-looking fortress lavishly decorated by Simone Martini and Matteo Giovanetti, dominates the city, the surrounding ramparts and the remains of a 12th-century bridge over the Rhone. Beneath this outstanding example of Gothic architecture, the Petit Palais and the Romanesque Cathedral of Notre-Dame-des-Doms complete an exceptional group of monuments that testify to the leading role played by Avignon in 14th-century Christian Europe. Avignon is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.