Happy Holidays from the East Midlands!

Just wanted to take a break from catching up on my favorite British teevee shows (Relocation, Relocation; Come Dine with Me; and Midsommer Murders) to wish everyone a Happy Holiday!

England is un-seasonably warm and as welcoming as ever. I've been stuffed full of meat pies, stuffed gamon, game meats, stilton cheese, fish and chips, brussels, and good wine. I have been very well-fed by my hosts and tonight will return the favor by making Baltimore-style hot crab dip and bok choy to go with the cheese and fruit platters. numnumnum. (I know bok choy does not go with any of this, but it was available at the Tesco and I love green veg and can't often get bok choy in Cairo!)

Last week, I got to see Wicked on the West End in London - which was positively amazing. In London theatres, wine and beer vendors circulate the auditorium during the intermission and you can buy ice cream and take it back to your seats - a complete surprise as I'm used to having to suck-down my Shirley Temple in the break because you can't take food or drinks into the theatre in the U.S.

I also rode the London Eye (from which I took the picture above), shopped on Oxford Street, strolled through St. James's park where I saw giant swans, saw the Royal Cavalry parade, and have been to Nottingham (which was NOTHING like in the movies, even if everything is called 'Robin Hood...' something or other).

Most exciting - at St. John's Restaurant in Smithfield I had a lunch of Wigeon; a duck-like game bird that lives on a diet of mostly fish. The flavor was very rich and unctuous, as was the wonderful brown crab on toast that I had as my starter. I didn't take any pictures - the food wasn't fancy or about presentation - it was just DELICIOUS. The restaurant was a bit out of the way from where I was staying but was totally worth the trip!

Later this week, it's off to Peterborough and then to the 'local' to ring in the new year.

Then back to reality, and on to working off the pies, puddings, and cheeses ...

Next trip: BOSTON!

Back from Luxor

I've returned to Cairo from Luxor to find the weather has turned much cooler (captain said 14 Celsius when we landed this morning). Luxor was (as always) lovely and had more tourists than I expected (though there were some signs of the downturn in tourists; such as having the whole of Luxor temple and a few tombs in the Valley of the Kings empty for my friends and I to explore unhindered by the barely-dressed throngs).

(a very empty Luxor Temple)

Tourists' choices of outfits in Luxor were much the topic of conversation and a grand source of amusement among the ladies (B's fiance was not as amused as we). It still boggles my mind that someone would think it appropriate to go into a village on the somewhat conservative West bank of Luxor to ride donkeys in a bathing suit and sarong (side note: she fell off) yet it was a sight oft repeated (and always has been a sight in Egypt - I've never been to the Cairo museum and NOT seen at least one woman in a bikini-top). It takes very minimal research to note that men and women tend to dress conservatively here and to at least attempt to dress somewhat appropriately might be in order. Honestly, you wouldn't wear a bathing suit walking around your hometown - just to the beach and the pool - so why wear one walking around someone else's town where no beach or pool are to be found?

Anyway - Luxor! Went camel riding, did the touristy thing occasionally, etc. Which was nice. I do so love a camel ride! The entire trip, including 5 days hotel, all our food and drink, and airfare was about $400-$500 each. I must say, as far as budget holidays go, it was very nice! I woke each morning to watch the sunrise over Luxor Temple (across the Nile) and see the hot-air balloons go-up near the Valley of the Kings and caught up on a lot of much-needed rest. I even saw a real crocodile in an irrigation canal where I was riding camels! The food was (meh) hotel food; I subsisted mostly on rolls and french fries, so I was excited to go grocery shopping almost as soon as I got home this morning.

(my camel - Rameses II)

Like I said, it's turned chilly here. Maadi is nearly empty for Eid so I was the lone shopper in the grocery and at the veg stall. Some unflattering pics from the trip (particularly one where the camel started standing up before I was completely on it) have convinced me that I need to eat a bit healthier - especially with the Christmas Ball coming up. So, to celebrate the season (and the need for weight loss) I have a traditional leek and potato soup on the stove (with a very strong chicken-stock base I had in the freezer) to be served with fresh salad greens and Fada's fabulous French-style dressing.

Hooray (again!) for Fall! (and sunset feluccas, and vacations, and soup weather!)

My Top 5

Okay, so I'm posting this from Luxor during Eid el Adha; but this post has nothing to do with Luxor, or the Eid; other than the fact that I've finally had a break long enough and relaxing enough to read an entire book.

I’ve just completed Grant Achatz’s Life, On the Line. Among other things (life and death, a desire for adventurous food, a need to schedule a trip to Napa), the book got me thinking about great meals I’ve had in my travels. Early in the book, Achatz describes his disappointing experience with highly-rated restaurants in Europe. Every food-lover who has ever traveled out of the way for a great meal, only to find over-cooked, mass-produced food or snooty, unappreciative service has felt this pain: disappointment in the first bite.

The first unique and amazing meal I ever appreciated was in the early 2000’s. For my birthday, my mom bought my best friend and I each a ticket to a beer-tasting dinner at Brewer’s Art in Baltimore. At the time I spent a great number of happy hours in their basement bar drinking their Resurrection Ale and eating my weight in garlic fries (that they came with mayonnaise instead of ketchup was, to the 21 year old me, so cosmopolitan). This time, however, we’d be eating a chef’s tasting menu in the dining room with a range of foodies, critics, and beer enthusiasts.

Pairing food with beer, particularly heavy ales with notes of chocolate and coffee, is no mean feat. E and I sat with the chef’s wife and mother-in-law. The chef was new to the restaurant and this was his introduction to the diners, so he brought his A-game. For a gal who worked at a family-style seafood restaurant at the beach, and counted special events at the local Spanish restaurant (which had not changed, in menu or decor, since the late 60’s) as one of her few fine dining experiences; the beer-tasting dinner was a revelation. A salmon SKIN cracker? Food presented in martini glasses? and SQUAB? What the hell was squab? I didn’t know, but also did not want to appear gauche by turning it down when someone said it was 'pigeon'. The rich flavors of the squab perfectly complimented the beer and I was hooked – in an instant I was a foodie.

Since then, I have traveled and eaten in some fine establishments that disappointed. But, like Achatz, I have also had food revelations - in a few unlikely places. Over the past three years, I have documented my travels, my life in Cairo, and my journey discovering food on this blog. So here’s a list – a top five restaurants from the last four years of travel. There are plenty of great meals not mentioned from during these three years and before – an extravagant meal at One-Fifty Blue in Chicago on my first business trip and the feeling of great reward for being included in the outing; the night at Perilla when I sat alone at the bar savoring the duck and pomegranate seeds after having just accepted my job in Cairo; the meal at WD-50 with a few courses that blew my mind and the most excellent service I’ve yet found equal to (a good bartender who can make a single girl at the bar feel like a VIP without flirting or being intrusive is worth his weight in gold); Immervoll in Vienna with their super-fresh ingredients and outdoor tables; my thirtieth birthday dinner at Charleston in Baltimore, with Mom and George, that started with a soup as the amuse...these were great meals, too.

But most of the top 5 beat those meals because of that little something special that I’ve not found anywhere else. It's never just about the food - it's about the memory, the trip, the service, the friends sharing the meal. So here we go; my top 5 restaurants from my travels over the last three years. These aren’t in any particular order because I wouldn’t begin to know how to rank such different, amazing experiences. The links are to my blog posts about those meals; but I've re-posted the pics here.

1. Alain Parodi’s Eat-at-Milton’s; Athens, Greece. I am known as a bit of a soup-nut. Here, it was the split-pea velote with creme fraiche topped with chorizo and spring onions that won me over and brought me back for a second taste. I may have tried to lick the bowl.

2. La Lanterna Due; Sorrento, Italy. I’m putting this after Parodi’s because of the Cream of Asparagus soup that blew my mind, and again, brought me back for a second time. Soup = comfort = happy me. I don't have a picture - it was just a greenish bowl of soup; but on a chilly April night in an alleyway off the main drag (after a glass of wine and a gorgeous sunset by the harbor spent chatting to some old men in pidgin-English/Italian) it was AMAZING.

3. Restaurants on the Plaza in Vernazza, Italy. Ok, I actually can’t remember the name of either of the two restaurants in the plaza in Vernazza (according to the plate in one of the pics,the restaurant with the great mussels was Gambero Rosso), but they were both amazing and deserve equal billing. One for its clams and “Octopus In Hell;” and Gambero Rosso, as I mentioned, for its stuffed mussels (which now reminds me of the excellent deep fried mussels in Turkey...but then we're up to 7 restaurants on what is supposed to be a list of 5...) and trofie pasta in pesto. Both had great service, beautiful views at sunset, and fantastic food.

4. To Frourio; Limassol, Cyprus. This small, family owned and operated restaurant was the highlight of my first two visits to Cyprus. One Easter they had no meat (the meat market was closed and they would only buy fresh meat and produce) so the owner offered vegetarian moussaka instead of the usual pork - it was the most amazing vegetarian moussaka I've ever had. On my third trip to Cyprus, the restaurant was very sadly gone. However, the memory of their bubbling pork (and vegetarian) moussaka, fresh crusty bread, and bottomless carafes of house-wine still makes my tummy gurgle in anticipation.

5. Casa Mono; New York, NY. When staying in NYC last summer, an old friend recommended that my travel-buddy and I visit some foodie-haven near Union Square for lunch. Wandering about, famished after a morning of sight-seeing, we couldn’t find the restaurant, but there was an inviting bistro-type place on the corner just opening up. Despite my Top Chef obsession (Elan from season 2 had worked there), I didn’t recognize the name of the place; I also didn’t understand why the waitress was asking if we had a reservation – sure the place was small (it would fill up) but surely it was just another New York restaurant [it wasn’t] and it would just be a casual lunch [not at all]. Again, a meal so good, my friend and I popped in again the next day on our way to the train station. Same table, same waitress (who remembered what wine we ordered, our entire food order, and helped us through the menu to choose more adventurous flavors - though we stuck with the pumpkin goat-cheese balls both times), same awesomeness.

A definitive list? Not by a long shot. Just the meals that I remembered most fondly as I read Life, On the Line.

My Favorite Time of Year

And, Snap! Just like that, with no warning at all, it is tall boots, cozy sweaters, hot cocoa, feluccas on the Nile, long walks, and horseback riding weather.

Just last Wednesday, my friends and I stood waiting for the bus at 6 am with sweat on our brows. Somewhere in the last week, though, it went from hot to cool, from 'please turn on the aircon,' to 'please open all the windows to capture the cool breeze,' from Summer to Fall.

Hooray for autumn! Hooray for feluccas! And stews! And cozying up on the balcony under a blanket reading a book with a kitty on my knee!

Hooray for my favorite time of year!

Food: Bali, Thailand and Singapore

I am not even sure where to begin when describing the varying taste delights of SE Asia. In 24 days I covered three countries, but within those countries sampled a range of both local and internationally influenced cuisines that ran the gamut from fine dining (foie gras with apple compote in Singapore) to fantastic street food (juicy fried chicken from a cart in Bangkok). I could start with the best meal (post-wedding suckling pig on Nusa Penida) or the worst (the gingery seafood soup in Bangkok - so spicy I couldn't finish it). I could start at the beginning (beachside in Bali) or the end (a winebar in Singapore)...

Instead, I will start with rice.

Rice was a running theme in every dish I ate on my trip, either as a side dish, or as breakfast. In Bali, Nasi Goreng (Rice Fried) was a staple and served as breakfast most mornings. It might come with Babi (pork) or Ayam (chicken) or it might just be a large bowl of fried rice full of vegetables and egg.

Nothing beats Nasi Goreng for breakfast. NOTHING. It fills you up, is full of protein for the day ahead, and yet, somehow, is light enough that it doesn't sit in your stomach or slow you down. A's nephews on Nusa Penida were fascinated by all the sugary cereals that were brought over for the wedding guests to eat for breakfast. They ate bowls and bowls in the days we were on the island - they had never had anything like it. I, on the other hand, could not get enough Nasi Goreng and, like the children discovering their first taste of cereal, ate bowls and bowls of it throughout the day.

While on Nusa Penida I had the privilege of participating in a traditional Balinese wedding feast. In the wee hours of the morning before the wedding, two suckling pigs, likely raised special for the occasion, met their end (but not in vain, as they were cooked so well as to truly honor them). The pigs were spit roasted all night while being basted (fortunately for me NOT in coconut water but in some other, sweet, delicious concoction) until their skin became dreamy, honey-colored cracklings and their meat a juicy delicacy. The pigs were accompanied [by easily a dozen] other dishes of varying degrees of spice and awesomeness. I went for the shredded chicken, the deviled eggs topped with sambal (making them incredibly devilish!), green beans in some sort of spicy curry-like sauce, and heaps of steamed rice (to temper all of the spice).

(home-cooked wedding awesomeness)

Overall, though, in Bali my go-to dish was Babi Goreng - stir-fried pork, usually heavily glazed in soy sauce with chilies, and accompanied by white or yellow or fried rice (or some combination thereof). Babi goreng is both sweet and salty, filling and light, and always cheap and delicious! The best two places for Babi Goreng (in my book) were the Amon Beach Bungalows in Candidasa and Marni's Warung in Ubud.

(mmm...Fried Pork!)

By the time I got to Thailand, my stomach was a bit delicate from all the 'goreng' foods in Bali (and from all of the antibiotics and antihistamines I was taking for my bronchitis). Fortunately, as the hostel I stayed at in Bangkok was in a very international area (Sukhamvit), I was able to sample a wide range of cuisines including Thai, Spanish Tapas, Japanese Sushi, Vietnamese and Californian-Mexican.

My favorite two meals in Thailand were at a sushi place called "In the Mood for Love..." (I think). There I tried some amazing sushi combinations including an enormous roll that had apple and tomago, and one that came topped with rare sirloin. I tried at least 10 rolls in two visits (at Western prices!) is was that good.

Also very good was the Vietnamese food at Vientiane, across the street from the sushi place, where the portions were huge, the atmosphere (an open barn with a live band) was fun, the waitresses very friendly, and the food was great. While I usually avoid places with picture menus, this place was fantastic and the pictures helped ALOT. Both the sushi place and Vientaine are just off the Thong-Lo airtrain stop if you find yourself in Bangkok any time soon.

Also in Thailand, I got a chance to try food I wouldn't have if I'd not had a guide. My guide, P, was a real foodie, so he continually purchased fruits and snacks for my friend and I at every market we visited, and even at a roadside stand in Ayutthaya because it was Mother's Day and he insisted we HAD to try a special Thai-Indian dessert (something-Roti) which involved wrapping a sort of eggy pancake around hair-like spun sugar (not unlike cotton candy). It was way too sweet for me, but in the several hour drive home my friend at the entire bag.

At the floating market, P bought us sugary 'tacos' filled with a thick cream and topped with shredded carrots. At the train market he bought us little fruits that tasted like a cross between an apple and a pear, plus dragon fruits and little pink spiky fruits that I don't know the name of. When I needed my caffeine fix, he helped me buy a cappuccino from a street vendor near the train market. (Note to travelers: street cappuccinos in Thailand are made with Sweet Condensed Milk, which isn't bad per-se, but is definitely an acquired taste. Once you get used to drinking them, stopping at an American Chain Coffee Company mid-trip results in a bitter shock to your taste buds.)

Finally, I arrived in Singapore with far more of my trip budget remaining than I had expected, which is good, because Singapore is REALLY expensive. Even though all my meals were eaten in or around China Town, my entire purse of left-over pocket money went to enjoying a final few high-end meals before coming back to Egypt where many of my favorites (i.e. anything made from pork) are not available.

Of course, that meant that in my quick three days in Singapore I had: two foie gras appetizers, a lightly dressed crab salad, the best lasagna I have ever tasted, seared lamb chops, [the very famous] Chili Crab, the most beautiful pork belly I have ever seen (though it was a bit tougher to eat that I generally prefer), and lots and lots of really great wine. I tried to get the chili crab at a hawker center, but no one at the local hawker center was serving it! Instead it was all wine bars and white table cloths for me - which, after living on a serious budget the whole trip was no problem whatsoever. I do not regret a single penny spent on food the whole trip.

(chili crab - oh so spicy and hot!)

(pork belly...layers of porky goodness!)

(seared lamb chops in a balsamic reduction)

Thankfully, despite my Singapore splurge I had enough money left over for one, very important spend for every traveling foodie...a gym membership once I got back to Cairo.

The Tiger Temple

Walking up BEHIND a tiger where it cannot see you approaching in order to pet it seemed to me a stupid thing to do. I have cats. Granted, Fluffer and Squeak aren't huge jungle cats that could gouge out my spleen in one swift whack of their paws (though they do cause some wickedly nasty scratches when annoyed) - but if I've learned anything from having cats and dogs it is that you do not creep up BEHIND them to pet them. When you creep up behind a cat, then go to stroke them, they jump about a mile high and whap you with their paw; and then you get those nasty, superficial, not really dangerous (unless they get infected) scratches on your arm.

None the less, the signs as I entered the Tiger Temple in Katchanaburi, Thailand told me to follow all the monks' instructions - and that included walking up behind the little tiger (who was, thankfully, still smaller than some of my mom's Greater Swiss Mountain dogs) and stroke him from mid-back to tail. But what do you do when the tiger (on a leash) comes up behind you and begins sniffing and cuddling your backside (as happened to my friend?) - apparently you treat it like any pet (scratches behind the ear, pat its flanks) and it will try to follow you home - actually I don't recommend doing that, but that's what happened and I have the video to prove it.

A tiger nuzzles my friend
(*kids, do not try this at home!)

Petting a tiger was the most fun I had on my entire, month-long trip to South East Asia this summer. I had originally cancelled that part of the tour (which also included the train market, floating market, and some other stuff that doesn't matter at all because I got to PET a FREAKING TIGER!) because I had read some articles on the interwebs slagging off the monks and saying it was a den of abuse. Then, when I was in Bali, A told me she had done her own research, the anti-tiger temple sites were malarkey, and that it was the ONE THING I HAD TO DO and was the most amazing experience of her life. She wasn't wrong.

It was cool.

There was also an area where you could pet the big cats. BIG. You could also sign up to feed the baby tigers (had I only known, my whole day would have been spent at the temple). I never did those things - I never even saw the temple part of the temple, so absorbed was I by the small, dog-sized tigers that were cuddly and playful. The monks were very kind and helpful in guiding visitors around and advising on safety - you could also pet farm animals and deer - but NOT the ostrich, which I overheard a monk say could eviscerate you in under a minute.

(the scene just before I pet the tiger!)

The one sad thing about the Tiger Temple was the display of passive parenting. There were signs everywhere about controlling your children as, cute and cuddly as they were, these were dangerous animals that needed to be respected. Still, I saw ten to fifteen year old kids repeatedly running up and touching or 'patting' (read: whacking) the tiger's head and flank as it was lead to its next location. Meanwhile their parents stood by (said nothing) and watched their children get reamed out by a monk (first time I've ever seen a monk yell at someone) - all because they didn't seem to want to wait in line and pet the tiger appropriately when it was lying down and ready to be pet. I suspected this was a daily occurrence at the park as I saw it happen with another family as I left. It was the main topic of conversation on the four-hour ride back to Bangkok (so much traffic!) because you could see in the tiger's face that look of "just let them try it one more time!"

Being one for the rules, however, I followed the monk's instructions, overcame my fears, walked up behind the tiger, crouched down (one's head should always be lower than a monk's) and pet "Mack" the tiger and had the most amazing experience of my whole trip.

A Digression from Travel

In Egypt, as with anywhere people are living temporarily, there is a pet problem. People arrive in the new country and want for feline or canine companionship but, often, are unable or unwilling to take the pet onwards to their new location. In Egypt, the paperwork situation for departing with animals was confusing enough before the revolution and, I'm guessing, many people don't know where to begin now that we are in transition.

In my household there are two cats - Fluffer-nuffer (some sort of Western long-haired cat) and Squeak (a black Egyptian street cat with a face like Bastet). These were the pets of a former colleague who moved on from Egypt and found an incoming teacher (my roommate) to take them. I've grown very attached to the two little fluffers and arrangements have long since been made for their continued care into old age with their god-mother T.

Then on Monday, things got crazy. The fluffy god-mother who is to, someday, inherit the cats, became the caretaker of a momma cat and two kitties (ostensibly only until December, when their owners can retrieve them...). The very same day, my bawab Mohammed (again, bawab = doorman, caretaker, superintendent, and gardener all in one) appeared at my door with this fluffy little face poking through the lid of a cat carrier:

(not actual size)

From my fractured understanding of Arabic, I think what Mohammed was telling us was that some expats across the street moved away and left this kitty with the bawab for their building with a supply of food, litter, and the cat carrier so he would find a home for it.

Being that we already had two cats, we sadly declined. However, given that bawabs are generally living on very little income in tiny flats in basements and under stairwells of buildings, we did not know what the kitty's fate would be if no one else took him. His little face seared into our kitty-loving skulls...

You get the gist.

Two trips to the vet later (our two spayed girl cats could not have an un-neutered boy cat lingering around the apartment), Lion-O is settling in and recovering from his recent surgery. He had clearly been living in the cat carrier for some time, but is still the most docile, gentle (and soft, oh so soft) kitty I've ever had. Tomorrow, when the vet comes on a house call to vaccinate and examine all three cats, we will introduce Lion-O to his new pride. If it doesn't work out, we will find Lion-O a proper home with someone who is planning to stay a long time (or lives here), but it will be very very hard to let him go.

Bali Part II - Touristing

After the wedding in Nusa Penida, several of us headed up in to the hills to Ubud in Bali.

Now, I was really excited about Ubud. It's meant to be full of crafts and artists and beautiful rice paddies and scenery. One guidebook described it as "The Real Bali."

Um, NO. The Real Bali is Nusa

Penida, where people are friendly and going about their lives with the occasional sideways glance at all the Westerners descending on their tiny village and there are no tourists. Ubud was a tourist center.

Ubud does have it's gorgeous bits, that's true. My hotel was in Tjampuhan, a 10 - 15 minute walk from the town center at the convergence of two rivers in a steep valley. Places where water meet are considered holy in Bali, and with the lush surroundings, it felt both mystical and magical. The hotel was situated on one slope of the river valley - the opposite slope was only dense jungle. The sounds of birds, monkeys, frogs, and mosquitos (it was July in Bali after all) lulled me to sleep each night different birds woke me each morning which was really lovely.

Hotel Tjampuhan

The town of Ubud, however, was jam packed with tourists from all over the world (and monkeys) - so packed that at certain times of the day it was difficult to navigate the sidewalks. Prices for handicrafts were a bit high - in some places costing the same as they would in retail shops in the U.S. There were jems to be found, however. For example a little restaurant that fronted on a hot, busy street but, in the back, opened up to just 8 or so tables facing verdant rice fields and a cool breeze. There I tried "Balinese Sangria" - Fanta and Balinese Rice Wine with cut-up melon. It was really tasty and refreshing, believe it or not!

Balinese Monkey

There was also Marni's Warung across from my hotel, where I had two fantastic meals. From the street, it doesn't look like much, but the restaurant has three open floors of restaurant that cascade down the steep valley of the river. One floor had a swank little lounge that played some of my favorites from the Cole Porter era while my friend and I drank Balinese Rose (not bad wine, really!) and took advantage of the free wi-fi. With wine and three courses, dinner for two cost about $40 and the view was amazing. (there is a whole blog post coming on food...)

Above Ubud is an artist's town called Penestanan where I watched women hand painting silk and where, clutching a map from a popular guidebook, I got lost. So did some French tourists holding the same map...and some Spaniards and Germans. Still though, beautiful rice fields,

friendly people, low grey clouds that wanted to let loose a torrent of rain but (thankfully) held back, and a taxi ride home that got 'stuck' in a ceremonial procession that was incredible.

Silk Painting

Procession

Blessing At Low Tide

After Ubud (where I got excellent medical care for the

bronchitis and sinus infection I was

suffering from by this part of the trip), the wedding party reconvened in Jimbaran for the sunset beach blessing of A + D - which was a beautiful evening on the beach, reconnecting with some old colleagues that did not make it to Nusa Penida, eating fantastic fresh seafood, and making new friends.

The evening before the blessing, a group of us went to see the Kecak fire dance at Ulu Watu temple near Kuta at sunset. The Kecak dance has no music, instead a beat is provided by nearly 100 men sitting in a circle, each of whom has a different part. I cannot do the description justice, so I recommend watching the Bali No Reservations episode for the best effect. Ulu Watu is beautiful, situated on a high cliffside above the ocean...with more monkeys. It was too smokey to get very good pictures of the temple when I was there, so I again refer you to No Reservations.

Finally, my trip in Bali coming to a close, my friend and I booked a villa with an infinity pool and dining pavilion (read: SWANK) in a tiny village near Canggu. For the last two days in Bali, I relaxed by the pool and made one last excursion - to Tanah Lot, a temple on the West Coast that is surrounded by water at high-tide.

View from the Dining Pavilion

One of the "you must do" things in Bali is to watch the sunset at Tanah Lot. I visited just before sunset and the location and light were beautiful, but the area was so packed with tourists (I should mention here that it was high season), the idea of staying until the sun went down and trekking back to the parking lot in the dark with the masses was not alluring.

Despite the crowds, though, I did manage to take a few pictures with no tourists in them (a major feat, I'll have you know).

Time in Bali was over, but I was ready to move on to the next adventure: Thailand!

Bali Part I - The Wedding

First, let me just acknowledge that my life is pretty cool at the moment and I am ever thankful for the awesome twists and turns my life has taken in the last three years. I'm happily back home in Cairo, having just returned from a three-week + vacation to three countries. There are so many highlights from the last month, but I am going to start at the beginning and work my way through in several posts because that is the only way to properly recount the amazing (and somewhat exhausting) adventures I had.

The whole purpose of the trip to Bali was the marriage of my British friend, and former colleague from Cairo, to a Balinese man she had met on one of her many vacations to the island. Several of us from Cairo were originally planning to go, but due to various factors only a few of us from Cairo made it, as well as some former colleagues, and guests from all over the world.

The trip began with one night in Kuta; Bali's tourist center on the East coast that was like every other touristy beach side resort I've been to in the world (think Ocean City, MD...or NJ...or anywhere else they have one). This was the 'getting over jet lag' portion of the trip so, other than a brief walk on the beach and hours stuck in traffic I saw nothing of Kuta. This is not something I see as a loss.

Next, those of us in Kuta met up with the rest of the wedding guests outside Candidasa on Bali's South-West coast. Everyone was staying in lovely, thatched-roof lodgings on the sea with beautiful views, great food, and simple, well-ventelated rooms that did not need aircon (fortunately, as there was none to be had). The view, as you can see below, was amazing.

The hotel shared a tiny dirt-road with another, similar hotel

and restaurant that ALSO had really good food. There was not much else close by, but the little hotel was so lovely and cheap that one didn't need to go anywhere else. Regardless, as we were in the area of some temples and villages, my friend and I booked a three-hour tour that included a water palace, a water temple and a traditional village.

The village of Tenganan (pictured at right) asks for a donation for your visit, assigns you a free villager to tour you around the village (and tout their handicrafts), and does not allow foreigners to stay overnight - thereby doing its best to preserve a traditional way of life in a modern world. Cock fighting was very popular there, and they dye the feathers of the birds bright pinks, oranges, and yellows for the events.

After the donation we visited three historical sites. The first, the

water palace Tirta Gangga, was breathtaking. Loads of pathways, gardens, and fountains that were really beautiful and unusual. You could even swim in the waters at the palace. Pictured at left is a bridge at the temple and some of the beautiful flowers in bloom around the enclosure.

The second site - a palace - was interesting, but not terribly photogenic. The third, the water palace Taman Ujung, was lovely; a small building surrounded by water with beautiful bridges and pagodas raised high on a hill above the lake. The water palace, though, did not have the stunning foliage of the Water Temple a short drive away.

Touring done, it was time to venture to Nusa Penida (a tiny island off the south coast of Bali) for the wedding. A + D were to be married in a traditional Balinese Hindu ceremony in the family compound in a tiny village on Nusa Penida. The guests stayed in home-stays (essentially small rooms in buildings built within or behind a family compound) dotted around the village. We had a cold-water tap at shower-height and a manual flush toilet, all a 5 minute walk from the family compound (in one direction) and the beach (in the other direction), so really not so bad.

Unlike many Western weddings these days, there was no hall, no big white dress, and no

catering truck delivering goods. The family stayed up all night preparing food (including spit-roasted suckling pig, spicy shredded chicken, deviled eggs topped with sambal that were extra spicy, and other traditional dishes) and ceremonies began the night before the wedding, stopped briefly, and began again in the pre-dawn hours. The bride's makeup and hair was the most elaborate part of the ceremony and took hours to put-together as each gold leaf and bow was on an individual pin that was attached to the hair.

The ceremony was meant to begin at 8, but the priest was

coming on the ferry, and the ferry is

often late, so the priest was late. This was totally fine as it gave all the westerners a chance to pose for pictures with the bride and groom, and to snack...

The family compound was set-up in a festival like manner with a snack stand with sodas and finger foods that were replenished all day by local women from the village. I feel that this addition to weddings (as the idea that you do not have to just sit and watch the wedding, but are really at a party from start to finish) was something we buttoned-up passive wedding guests could learn a lot from.

Once the priest arrived, she wrapped herself in a white piece of fabric and sat on a bier of offerings and began the ceremony while the bride and groom sat a few feet away under a banana plant canopy and were entertained. Nieces came out and did a traditional Balinese dance (my favorite, a serious little girl of about 5 or 6, smiled only once before the dance so focused was she on getting the moves right). Next, Balinese comedians came out and told jokes, did dances, and made merry to keep the atmosphere lively. All through this, the priest continued her preparations in the center of the compound and the band (best wedding band ever for traditional music - just amazing!) played on.

The Priest

The Dancers

The Band

Finally, it was time for the bride and groom to get involved. They were blessed, anointed, lead around a collection of offerings carrying baskets and swords made of sharp leaves, prayed with the family, fed each other bananas (so much less messy than cake!), and were then married. After the ceremony, the new husband and wife and the husband's family went to each of the 7 temples in the village to pray while the wedding party absconded to the beach for a bit of sunshine and napping until the reception.

Best of all, better than the fact that I was on vacation in Bali, it was beautiful to witness the love, happiness, and great sense of humor that the bride and groom shared. I was so glad to be invited and to watch my friend, who is one of the most positive and energetic people I've ever known, marry into a wonderful family that was kind enough to let us descend on their family compound with cameras and questions for two days.

This is only the first four days in Bali. Bali to be continued in my next post...

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Bali Brief

I wanted to get a few thoughts down on Bali before I leave tomorrow for Thailand. None of my pictures will be ready until I get back to Cairo, and I am typing these thoughts on an iPad which is a biit cumbersome, so just a few brief notes.

I came to Bali for a wedding, I am not sure anything else would have gotten me here and I am not sure I will ever return, but what a beautiful and interesting place! My trip began in Candidasa, on the southern coast of the island not far from the ferry port to Nusa Penida where the wedding took place. White sand beaches, beautiful blue water, and stunning palaces and temples dominated the first part of the trip as the wedding party coalesced in a few small, fabulous thatched roof cottages on the sea.

Once everyone had gathered from far corners of the world (the U.S., Hong Kong, the U.K., Egypt, Australia, Brunei, Austria, Canada...you get the picture) we all loaded onto a ferry for Nusa Penida, a small island off Bali where we were guests in the Made family compound for the traditional Balinese Hindu wedding ceremony between my friend from Egypt and her Balinese partner. Our lodgings were home stays which were basic accommodations that featured manual flush toilets (i.e. You use scoops of water to flush the toilet) which took me back to my Algonquin days in college. For only $50 for two nights lodging, ferry tickets, and all my meals for two days I was more than happy to forgo a few 'modern conveniences'. The wedding was a once in a lifetime experience I will write about once the pictures are ready - it really deserves it's own post!

Next, several of us went to Ubud, where my lodgings were decidedly more lush, surrounded as they were by jungle foliage. Ubud was a bit crowded, and by that point I was quite I'll with Bronchitis ( forutnately threes was a clinic right next to the hotel and I got some antibiotics), but my friend and I still managed to have fun, even when we got lost (along with folks format least 3 other countries) trying to follow a poorly drawn map in the guidebook.

The second part of the wedding was in Jimbaran on the island's west coast - a sunset blessing on the beach that was just perfect.

Finally, I am wrapping up the trip in a tiny village North of Canggu near Tanah Lot, where I will go for the sunset tonight. This is by far the most posh accommodations I have planned for the entire trip- as I've been sitting by my villa's private infinity pool al day watching the goings on in the rice fields that stretch out ot infinity from my perch. This morning I strolled on the sparkling black sand beach along the edge of the sea, and just marveled at the beauty of it all.

Anyway, not my best bit of writing, but just wanted to get some thoughts down on Bali before I head off to part two of my SE Asia tour.

Reading and Flying

Just finishing up my fluffy summer reading. A bit of fluffy chick lit is good for the summer, but I am looking forward to getting back to my real love - FOODIE NON-FICTION. I've downloaded tons of books for my travels and am especially looking forward to reading (and finishing) a book on Singapore food traditions before I get to Singapore on the last leg of my trip.

Today's door-to-door was roughly 9 hours. This was too long, prompted by many, seemingly weather related delays at ATL. Two and a half days until I find myself in the airport again!

Extreme Travel

Today I will fly through what I consider to be the most hellish airport on earth (ok, not true, Charles DeGaulle is the most hellish airport on earth, but Atlanta - you ain't far behind!).

I have a few days left in America, and then I am off around the world.

In the next 11 days, I will fly across TWELVE time zones. I will have touched down in eight airports, but I will not enter one, as it's just a refueling stop. So that's SEVEN airports I will have to deal with - luggage, lines, and all.

These airports are located in four different countries, btw (five if you include the refueling stop). In two, I do not speak the language one bit.

I've been up since 4:30 am, because that's what I do when I'm anticipating flying; which should make the next few weeks even more interesting. By the time I get to Bali, I'm going to have good reason to collapse in a heap on a beach :)

Forwards and Onwards

I've been asked, many many times this trip in particular, if I am moving back to the states...ever. No one, not even I, can look into the magic 8 ball and get all the answers; but my standard response at the moment is a quizzical brow and a definitive 'No'.

Right now I know very particularly that 'out in the world' is where I belong. Spreading my wings and catching every breeze I can.

In preparation for my upcoming trips, I received many vaccinations yesterday. The shots left me with limited use of both arms for a day, as well as leaving me feeling woozy and generally uncomfortable. (My host taking me to Woodberry Kitchen for a dinner of Soft Shelled Crabs and Deviled Eggs made me feel a lot better, though!) I should be starting anti-malarials today or tomorrow; but given my sensitivity to all medications, and the fact that I am trying to cram-in as many 'hellos' and 'how ya beens' as possible into the next few days, I'm not sure I should take them.

At the vaccination center, they gave me a print out of information and travel warnings for Egypt, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia. After reading them, I decided I'm not reading travel warnings anymore. If you start reading those things, you'll never book that dream vacation to whereveritwas because somethingbad happened once and could happen again. People, somethingbad happens whereeveryouarenow pretty often. Go to whereeveritwas and have fun. You only have about 26,000 days on this planet - don't waste them!

I leave Cairo for SE Asia two weeks from today (which is crazy, as I still have a trip to Florida before that happens). I have been vaccinated, have tickets, have blank pages in my passport, and am ready to go spend nearly a month in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I will RIDE AN ELEPHANT. I might even learn to surf. I will learn a lot about Balinese Hinduism and Balinese cuisine. I hope to learn a few words of Thai and Balinese. I may take a cooking class in Northern Thailand. I will explore Singapore's food stall / street food culture (I am SO excited to try every thing K.F. Seetoh described in the Top Chef Season 7 finale!) I will be taking Benadryl like it's my job (my coconut allergy is going to be an issue. I'm hoping I will develop immunity by the time the trip is done; but last week in Baltimore there was coconut curry sauce on my dish and I broke out in welts and felt like there were fire ants biting me under the skin of my face - endure anything in the pursuit of good food, right!?!).

Overall, I will have FUN! and really, isn't that what life is all about?

Today Vacation Begins!

I have been in America for a week (after a flight cancellation, an overnight in NYC, a bus ride...). But today marks the first day of vacation, as I've been taking a rigorous, and very awesome, graduate course all week. I took the photo below on campus during a break on Tuesday.


Happy Summer and Happy Fourth of July! May blue skies dominate your days!

Once you've drunk the waters of the Nile...

Watch this space! Soon to be updated with posts from such exotic locations as Bali, Singapore, Thailand, and Baltimore!

Right now though, I'm just winding down the year and saying goodbye to some great friends who are moving on to new homes ... or moving on to circling the globe for a year! Good luck and great travels!

One such goodbye took place last weekend, on a boat in the Nile, where a group of friends and colleagues gathered to say "Bon Voyage!" to three great friends who are off to explore new places.


The weather was perfect - cool (not chilly) and calm as we sailed around the island of Zamalek in downtown Cairo. The sunset was gorgeous and reminded me so much of all the things I love love love about living in Egypt.

...and of some of the things that are just plain fun. :)

food history

I'm four or five years old, lying on the carpet in front of a large television set that sits on the floor. All that is between me and the teevee is a large plastic mat that protects the carpet as I color, eat, snack, eat... Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers were on PBS earlier, so when I turn on the 'idiot box' now, I am still on the same channel. That's when I discover Julia Child. This woman, with hair just like every woman in my family over a certain age, has a unique voice that enthralls me. I imitate it, just like I do the accents of the characters in Mary Poppins. This becomes my parlor trick to be paraded out at family gatherings - my first celebrity impression.

Ok - so I dramatize. Clearly I don't remember the FIRST moment I saw Julia, but I remember performing 'as Julia', at this family gathering and that, until I was too old to feel anything but embarrassed by doing my 'routine'.

I learned to cook blue box macncheese young. A little older (i.e. graduating from college) and I had mastered the art of flavored packet rice. In my early 20's I perfected the art of dialing for my dinner. In Louisiana, I started playing with flavors because, well, there wasn't much variety in a tiny town in the bayou as far as delivery options went and the only way Old Bay was tickling my taste-buds was if I cooked something with it.

Last night I made filet mignon in a Jack Daniels reduction (just replacing JD in Julia's Red-Wine Reduction recipe), garlic-ky potato/mushroom hash, and sauteed asparagus. Last week I perfected my shrimp-goatcheese-asparagus pasta with butter sauce, which I've been working on for a few years (note: the secret was a bit of crushed red pepper). The picture below is my "Filet Mignon on Sweet Potato Medallions with Goat Cheese, Asparagus, and a red wine reduction" that I invented this winter.


Tonight I ordered delivery...but I digress...

I've learned to cook somewhere along the road; and along that road I have become obsessed with food. I download Top Chef each Summer and savor each episode slowly throughout the Fall until I can come back to the U.S. and download more episodes. I read non-fiction related to food more than any other genre - a field once dominated by Sci-Fi and Historical Fiction.

I eat like a master. Once, at dinner with friends at Golden West in Baltimore, someone told me they liked how I ordered - it was a compliment I have since felt the need to constantly live up to. This week, at a swank bistro in Cairo, I ordered Beef Carpaccio and Veal Flambe with Fettuccine Alfredo. In Vernazza, I ordered "Octopus in Hell" - because how can you not order something with the words "in Hell" in the title? At my favorite Egyptian restaurant I always, ALWAYS order the grilled quail. These are flavors that, ten ago, I never would have gone near. (note: the quail in fig sauce below is from "Casa Mono" - Mario Batali's place in NYC; delicious, but not Egyptian)


Ordering good food is what has guided my cooking. One becomes a better cook by challenging their palates, by eating everything in sight, by not saying ewww. Even with my childhood Julia Child obsession, I never would have accepted this as truth...some things just have to happen later.

Right now I'm reading "The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry" about a woman (like me) who goes to the Cordon Bleu (unlike me) just because.

Envy doesn't begin to describe. But also, I've never taken a cooking class. Now that I'm back in Maadi, and there's a local class to take twice a month, I may sign up for a few (and I'm desperate to take that cheese-making course in Connecticut I read about in "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle").

How exciting to think what flavors that might guide me to in the next ten years!

Dispatch from Cairo, May 14

The summer should be closing in on Cairo, and yet yesterday at a garden party in Rehab (think Columbia, MD surrounded by a wall with secure entrances) a colleague sat shivering in a tee-shirt and jeans.

A typical early May finds myself and my fellow sun-worshipers crowding the edges of a pool in Giza, sweating in 90+ degree heat. Today, I walked a quarter-mile whilst drinking a coffee and was a bit chilly. The sky is overcast every weekend, and after 24 hours on the line, my clothes are still damp. Sandstorms have become a constant - the Khamseen (named so because they typically last fifty days from start to finish) began whipping up well more than 50 days ago and just don't seem to be letting up.

Some blame the ash plume from last Spring, or global warming, or the new tilt on our axis from the Japan earthquakes, or even the end of days (though if cooler temperatures that allow walking around comfortably signals the end of days I think it a bit of an odd choice...no plague of locusts, that.) Whatever it is, there is a distinct chill in the air in Cairo.

---

I've gotten a few concerned emails from friends and family thanks to the American media's propensity for drama (specifically a NYT article that made it seem like Cairo was turning in to the Wild West). I'd like to remind everyone, before they get all worked up, that Mobtown was far more dangerous (just look at the numbers) and I learned in my many years of urban dwelling how to properly be a city girl. I'm well aware of my surroundings, have moved in to a very secure apartment, do not wear flashy clothes/jewelry (which frankly is just uncomfortable in this climate!), and have a good sense of where/when to be and not be. In short - don't worry about me in Cairo - I am as safe as I would be anywhere in the world, if not safer.

Cairo has changed in lots of great ways (see my previous post), and so has Maadi. Since I last lived in this area, it has been cleaned up, given a fresh coat of paint, and new stores and services are opening up locally. Mostly, this is due to the fantastic youth of Cairo, who have taken to the streets with buckets of paint and trash bags - much like 'adopt a highway' groups back home. Walls that were once covered in offensive graffiti (with a slant towards English swear words) have been white-washed and then covered in pro-unity and pro-Egypt artwork (I took some pics this morning, and will post soon). Everyone, it seems, is more friendly than ever (which is really saying something, as Egyptians are inherently welcoming and friendly anyway) despite the tough economic times that are upon us following the loss of tourists and expats in the area. (My roommate's hairdresser, for example, currently has only 10% of the business she had pre-revolution).

So that's my dispatch from Maadi - life is good, if colder and a bit pricier than before, and I am happily settled in my new / old neighborhood.

No 9

Yesterday, I moved the last box into my 9th 'home' since college. I have lived in 3 'cities', in two countries.

12.5 years, 7 apartments, 2 houses.

I wonder how many days of my life I've lost to packing, moving, and unpacking?

Top 5 - Italy

ISeeing as how everyone I know is now planning a trip to Italy (and I know you don't want to read about how I've been packing boxes at 2am most nights this week) I thought I would write a comprehensive, definitely subject to change, list. This will be my last post on Italy for a while or I'm going to have to change the name of this blog.

MY TOP FIVE FAVORITE EXPERIENCES IN ITALY
*note, as I typed that title, I accidentally typed Eating instead of Italy...

#1. Snow in Venice. Thanksgiving Week, 2005


Visiting Awesome Amy on her postings abroad helped me become a better traveler and exposed me to my top two travel experiences ever (the other was watching the sunset from Tikal in Guatemala). On visiting her in Bologna, we decided to take the train to Venice on the same day as a train worker's strike. The strike was meant to begin mid-transit, so I was completely prepared to spend the day in some random Italian town, but the train delivered us to our destination and, as we dis-embarked, the sky growing ever grayer, the lady announcer told us the trains were now not running until 5pm..."Ciao ciao".

We emerged into the damp of Venice and the sky was threatening rain. Few tourists had ventured out in Venice that day (heck, few LOCALS had ventured out that day) and the narrow lanes were ours for the exploring. As we reached the top of St. Mark's Cathedral, snowflakes began to fall. By the time we found a tiny, hidden restaurant (Marie's, it's last night open until the grande-dame/owner - Marie - was to move away with her Jamaican boyfriend) the snow had stuck to rooftops, and Venice was a winter wonderland.

#2. Eating. In Italy. Anything. 2005 - present

See all previous posts on food in Italy. Some highlights: Porcini Risotto, Bologna (my first risotto); Octopus-in-hell, Vernazza; Meringue gelato, Pisa; Crema di Asparagi, Sorrento; Fresh pasta, Rome; Octopus and Celery salad, Sorrento; Stuffed mussels, Vernazza; mozzarella and prosciutto di Parma - everywhere!

#3. Hiking the Vernazza-Monterosso trail. Vernazza. 2010

Vernazza is possibly the most picturesque place I have visited in Italy. Every vista, peek up or down a stone staircase, glance down a steep cliff from a narrow trail is breathtaking. Hiking the trail from Vernazza to Monterosso (straight up hundreds of steps, along a trail, down a ravine, back up the other side, down hundreds of steps, pork for lunch in Monterosso) was mindblowing. I've never been on such a beautiful hike in all my life. I've also never said "wow" so many times in three hours.



#4. Talking to an old man. Sorrento. 2011


A local told me the hotel was located "in the fishing village." Not just a fishing village, the marina also had a few little restaurants and bars full of tourists and locals alike. A little 'bar' which had few tables for two dotted at the bottom of the hill where you entered the marina from Sorrento (which is perched high on the cliffs above), had a perfect view of the sunset. For just a few Euros, my travel buddy and I would sit there at sunset, having a pre-dinner glass of wine and read our books. On our last evening, one of the old men of the village, seeing two 'young girls' he could 'practice his English on,' came over to chat. The sunset was beautiful, the old man was a sweetheart, the wine was good and cheap - exactly what vacation memories are made of.

#5. Exploring Pisa. Pisa. 2010


Not only was my hotel in Pisa filled with antiques and old maps and not only did it serve an amazing breakfast (yes! I want fresh caprese salad and cured ham for breakfast! perfect!); not only was the weather perfect; the food at a local alleyway restaurant (slow cooked wild boar! fruits of the forest tart!) was amazing, the fresh markets were everywhere, and the graffiti was interesting. Oh, they had a tower, too, but that was the least memorable part of visiting Pisa!

Italian Food

And...it always comes back to the food for me.

I made 3 food discoveries on this trip - all in Sorrento. I did have my first fresh pasta in Rome - and the texture and taste was unforgettable; but otherwise - let's just say of the food in Rome: it was good. It was Italian. It made my tummy happy.

In Sorrento, though, I made three food discoveries.

#1. Crema di Asparugi at La Lanterna Due. So good I went back for dinner a second time. An enormous bowl of amazing soup. Not terribly photogenic soup (you want a picture of green broth? really?) but warms your soul to the bone and makes you say "mmmm" every spoonful good. Creamy, with a chicken-stock broth (I think) and a mild asparagus flavor served piping hot. Three of my favorite food elements: asparagus, cream, and soup - in one spot.

#2. Fresh Octopus and Celery Salad. The way the Italians cook Octopus is meaty - full of texture and flavor. Fried Calamari is so much less than what octopus can be. I had no idea until last summer when I had Octopus "in hell" in Vernazza and discovered its true rich, meaty (read: NOT CHEWY) nature. When the waiter at Restaurante Sorrento (I think that was its name) read it off the specials board I knew immediately I had to order it - what, on earth, could be so special about Octopus and Celery? Well, when it's lightly dressed in white wine vinegar and lemon, the celery is crisp and cut so it can't be stringy, and the octopus is perfectly braised, it is VERY SPECIAL indeed.


#3. Giant Lemons. Nearly the size of American footballs, as big as an entire pint of strawberries, these were humongous lemons. I can be quoted as saying, while gazing gape-mouthed at the behemoth lemons, "If only margaritas were made with lemons ... hmm... wonder if its possible to grow limes that big, too?"


mmmm Italy. So yummy in all seasons.