Bukhara. January 7/8, 2020
Greetings from icy cold Bukhara.
Got a bit of a late start and headed out to breakfast/lunch nearby … and then our plan was to head to Samanid Mausoleum and Bolohauz Mosque Complex. These two were a bit further out so the idea was to take a taxi to the furthest point and then walk our way back. I’m ok if I take it slow.
As we headed to find a restaurant, we ran into Feruzi and she said she was ready for me to come into the little shop (Mike says it’s even smaller than the measurements I gave yesterday) to have a fitting to be sure they cut the pattern correctly. So, we went into the shop and she noted some adjustments… and then we headed for lunch (no more breakfast); the vest and shirt jacket will be ready tomorrow. Amazing! They both look great and she matched the ikat patterns on the seams beautifully…
Many restaurants weren’t open yet as they start with dinner. But a restaurant on the main square looked good; we learned that the restaurant is called Lyabi Hauz.. and thus the restaurant connected to the Lyabi House Hotel is actually called Ayvan (??!) Anyway, it seemed we could eat either in the front room or the more inner room. While the outer room looked better, the inner one was warmer so we opted for that. All of the tables sat a minimum of 6 people so we were quite spacious. We ordered from the menu… I ordered a portion of yogurt and a plate of fruit and some green tea; Mike ordered three skewers of shish kebab – one chicken and two vegetable. Throughout our trip the skewers had four small pieces of meat on each and a similar amount of vegetables. When our order came, we nearly fainted…. I think if you sit at a table for six (that was the smallest table inside) your order is for six people. Thus when the fruit platter arrived it was quite beautiful, but had the equivalent (all sliced) of about six oranges, four different kinds of apples, three pears, grapes, four kiwis, and more. The yogurt was the equivalent of three containers of very fresh homemade yogurt (and came with thinly sliced huge radishes (Their radishes are green and are about three inches in diameter.) Then came the skewers. Each skewer was filled to the brim and each skewer was about 20” long. We did the best we could but there was no way to eat all of this food. In addition to all of this we had two pots of green tea and a very large bottle of sparkling water. The bill was $14.00. Then we went on our way to the mausoleum and the mosque which were truly exquisite and different from the others we’ve seen… and several hours later we strolled back to the hotel at about 5:00 pm.
Once again we took the walking route through the four trading domes (becoming a regular). Along the way, we stopped in a few shops including a forge that has been in the family for seven generations, where they make knives and scissors… and we checked out a little stand that sold old Soviet pins – many celebrating Lenin. People were very friendly and several times people with camera phones asked to take our picture. Some took selfies with us in them; others just wanted pictures of us. We are exotic here – or else a lot of people are part of the Uzbeki Secret Police. Mike made some little kid’s day when he agreed to purchase a refrigerator magnet with Uzbeki images that he was selling… and Mike also made an old man’s day when he purchased a Russian military hat/cap which he plans to wear when he walks round Lake Merritt… watch out.
One funny thing — a young boy who was selling goods (or watching his parent’s stall) was staring at my iPhone. Then I saw him make a very quick call on his phone to someone and in seconds another kid showed up who also was eying my phone.. and then I heard the second kid say to the first… “iPhone 11 Pro!”… so I guess one kid noticed it but wasn’t sure of the model, but the second kid was the local expert.
Since we plan to take a taxi to a village about 30 miles from here tomorrow, we spent some time packing and I also put in some work time (I’m committed to work about three hours each day on some projects (mainly our project in Maui).
At about 7:45 we strolled back to Ayvan (the restaurant at the Lyabi House that is not called Lyabi House Restaurant) where we had eaten on Sunday night. On our walk today, we ran into the waiter who remembered us and reminded us of our reservation. It was another extremely good meal – herring and potato starter followed by soup (Mike – pumpkin; Fern- chicken) followed by pasta Bolognese (really good) followed by a thick steak that we shared (we had to stress that we wanted it cooked rare, which is very unusual here and most meat is served well done. We had homemade local bread, a bottle of red wine, and a large bottle of sparkling water…. Our bill for the dinner was $28.00. Unreal.
We had a long talk with the waiter who is an engineering student at the technical university. He’s majoring in oil and gas engineering and will be graduating this spring and looking for a job. We got the history of the “house” that is now the restaurant. It was built 135 years ago for a wealthy merchant who lived there with his family. A little hard to understand what room was what but the main room (living / dining ??) had ceilings that were about 20’. The house was taken by the government during or after the Russian Revolution (or so I think, based on his explanation) and from then until just recently it was used as a hospital, a school named after Karl Marx, a child care center, a communal house for the military… a few years ago the government put it up for sale and a Tajik business man purchased it and turned it into this restaurant. We also learned that while the young waiter knew about global warming and alternative energy sources his program of study does not discuss this. Also, while he says it is a very good university, his curriculum is not accepted for graduate study at too many universities. Because Uzbekistan is not in the EU, its educational programs are considered inferior to European programs. His program is accredited in Uzbekistan, Russia, and all the Stans… He also explained his living situation in a dormitory which seemed not so different from dormitory living anywhere.
Another interesting thing to note is that it is not easy to get cash. The ATMs often don’t work and when they do the maximum they disperse is 500,000 Som… which sounds like a lot but is only $50. So you have this huge wad of cash (they mostly disseminate in 20,000 Som denominations. Even though things are inexpensive, the amounts we spend add up… Also, our credit cards are really only good for paying for the hotel and in “good” restaurants. Most hotels want to be paid in dollars, not som.
More tomorrow or the next day.
Best –
Fern
A New Year… Tashkent to Samarkand. 1/1/20
January 1, 2020
This morning we packed and headed to pick up our rental car. We took a taxi, and for a while it didn’t look too good. The driver was really lost, but eventually we made our way there. The car is an older model (maybe 10 years old?) Nissan Sentra, which fortunately has a very big trunk. We practically had to sign our life away to rent the car — lots of paperwork, some particular paper we need to show police if we get stopped, etc. When the guy took us out to the car he said… “Oh one thing, there is a crack on the windshield,” so he knows it’s not our fault. The crack goes all across the windshield from left to right… Anyway, we signed away and off we went. He repeated that we need to be sure to get petrol.. as opposed to gas (which is propane). We got familiar with the car and started the four-and-a-half-hour drive at around 1:30.
The drive from Tashkent to Samarkand was fairly boring — very flat – and at times we felt this must be what the end of the world will look like, especially because the heavy haze followed us the whole way. It’s not pollution; it really is just a heavy haze. Eventually we could see some mountains in the distance, and a little bit of agriculture. People line the roadside trying to hail a ride (an Uzbeki form of Uber?). No billboards, no real signs; even the signs for turn-offs just say “Termiz” or Exit… they don’t tell the name of the street or city.. Every 75 miles or so there are signs with destinations and number of kilometers left to go. The speed limits when you are approaching villages are posted and they make you go about 70 kph (40 mph) and slower as you really are driving through the town (50 kph/ 30 mph); people seem to take this seriously. Funny thing, when we asked at the hotel what the overall speed limit is when driving on the “highway” they said 90 kph (54 mph); we asked the same question at the rental car and they said 100 kph / 60 mph… Since there aren’t any signs telling you the speed limit for the non-village road, we’ve been trying to keep to under 100. Apparently there are many many cameras along the route and if you are speeding in a rental car a notice will go to the rental company and a fine will be added to our bill. The rental car company will know about the ticket within 24 hours after it is issued (electronically) and we will get a WhatsApp from the rental company. Oh, the roads are in pretty terrible shape, but definitely drivable.
We knew it was going to be a bit complicated to find the Bibkhanum Hotel because it is smack in the middle of the very oldest part of Samarkand and is practically at the front door of one of the largest mosques. We were doing fine with our GPS but we couldn’t figure out how to make this one left turn at the very end; we tried by making a u-turn and tried a third time, but somehow we couldn’t find the street. Then the GPS did a rerouting and we followed the new route which took us on dirt roads that were very very narrow with barely enough room for one car, let alone two cars (driving in opposite directions) to maneuver and no sidewalk – so the road or street was really just the space between the houses facing one another. On several occasions we needed to drive about one mile an hour to navigate with a car coming in the opposite direction… with people always coming out to yell how close we were or to maneuver differently. Unfortunately, we didn’t understand what they were saying. Mike was quite good at this, especially since it was dark by the time we were dealing with these streets. But then we sort of came to an end. We knew the little hotel was just a one minute walk, but we could go no further and there was no place to leave the car. We called the hotel and the guy seemed to know immediately where we were. He showed up and explained in limited English that we had come from the wrong side (that feisty left turn we couldn’t make!) So he said we needed to turn around and go back down and around and drive up the other side of the hill. There was really no way to just “turn around”… He said he could drive the car, but when he got inside he realized it was automatic transmission and said he only knows manual (??) So he called a friend “who is a very good driver with automatic”… He arrived and then many people emerged to also give directions to the guy.. and then we became passengers for five minutes or so as we re-navigated the route to emerge on the other side of the hotel and the hill.
Our car is now parked somewhere not too far from the hotel. I’ll describe the hotel tomorrow. We asked about dinner but he said the restaurant in the hotel was closed today for New Years, but he’d find a restaurant that would be open and we can walk to it. A few minutes later the front desk guy (the one who doesn’t drive automatic) knocked on our door to tell us that they called the “chef” and now the restaurant will be open. We went to the “restaurant” about 30 minutes later. Food was about a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10, but in a way it was the easiest thing to do.
Tomorrow we begin our exploration of Samarkand – one of the Silk Road cities.
Until then –
Fern
London Day Two 9/1/2018 Hetchless
September 1, Saturday
Another H-less day (or “hetch-less, as the Brits would say). Decided not to spend a lot of time dealing with this issue and losing time with Apple here in London. I made an appointment with the Emeryville Apple store for Wednesday evening (We arrive Wednesday mid-afternoon). I’m bracing for the worst – in that I will need to give up the computer for two or three days (ridiculous!). Fortunately I still have my previous MacBook Pro..
So we began Saturday with another Ottolenghi brunch. I stuck with the shaksuka; Mike ventured into their muesli which was filled with exotic seeds and fruits. Tried two other juices. And then he headed to meet Lara and Elliot to see several counsel housing projects (affordable housing, government-subsidized), and I did a bit of work and then headed to the Photographers Gallery near Oxford Circus. The tube was totally packed (like rush hour in NY). They had an exhibit of about 40 very large scale color photos and two multi-screen short films by Alex Prager – whose work cuts across art, fashion, photography, and film – with lots of melodrama within the subject matter. Maybe a cross between Dianne Arbus and Cindy Sherman? The focus of this show was “crowds” and if I understood the methodology, she stages the photos very carefully rather than using documentary approaches; still the imagery is very narrative.
From there, I walked a bit and then hopped on to the tube and got off at one or two random stops to see different neighborhoods. I decided to go west, since in my many trips to London I tend to focus central and east.. and maybe a little southeast. West London is generally spiffier and wealthier and traditionally East London was kind of gritty. But in the classic sense of current times, East London’s history and less wealthy past has given it a unique character, and of recent has become quite trendy. Sort of the Manhattan/Brooklyn phenomena or the San Francisco/Oakland scenario. So, East London now has so many great restaurants, chic hotels, and pricey housing it is indeed forcing out those who have lived in the area for decades. Anyway, I’m far more familiar with the Central area and the East side, than with the west.. although I have stayed a few times in the west.
Anyway, I thought I’d check out some West London swanky areas. Eventually, I walked all through Holland Park – a delightful mile or so stroll on a gorgeous day. The walk through the park terminates at the Design Museum (wasn’t my destination, but I decided to take a peak inside). The museum was originally located in an old banana warehouse on bank of the Thames. I had visited it about 10 years ago. The building had been converted beyond any recognition of its origins. It had a “Design Museum Tank” space as I recall. The new building is in the Kensington neighborhood.
It’s only about two years old, very contemporary and the space is largely open; with this new location, it is close to the V&A Museum, the Serpentine Gallery and other cultural institutions. From there I walked a bit on Kensington High all the way to Lancaster Gate and then circled back to Holland Park and walked back through the park (uphill) to the tube. Getting those daily miles in!
Returned to the hotel with just enough time to freshen up and head for a snack at the Green Room at the National Theater (a bit of a mess up because it turned out that our tickets were not for the National Theater, but rather for the Playhouse Theater which is about a 10 minute walk further) before heading to see “The Jungle” (with Lara and Elliot) – a truly powerful depiction of life in the now-bulldozed Calais migrant camp. The theater is transformed so that some audience members sit among the “migrants” and it is often difficult to determine who the actors are and where they are. Apparently the playwrights had previously performed some theatrical productions for the migrants in the camp. A portion of the tickets are given to migrants free of charge. The Jungle starts with an ending.
As the show begins, an eviction notice (one of many) has been served on the residents of the camp and there is a lot of commotion. The play documents the complex story of the migrants as they organize, resist, and attempt to escape the past as they all desire to reach the UK. The play is set inside the restaurant of one of the Afghani refuges within the camp. The three-hour play (didn’t feel that long at all!) was riveting and emotional and managed to unwrap the really complex story of the migrants, evictions, the lack of government intervention (except for police) – even by the left in France – and also of the do-gooder, “progressive” Brits from NGOs who come to help but whose value (and different view of what is needed) is quite questionable — even though their intentions were positive. The irony was the amazing “organizing” capacity of the refugees (without the help of the well-educated NGO leaders and the residents’ interestingly global perspective and capacity to bring equity to their diverse backgrounds.
After three hours, we headed to Soho House for a very late dinner (steak tartare, frites, and lamb chops; ended with crème brulee and pot au crème)… We waddled to our hotel at 2 am.
More tomorrow.
Fern
London Day Three – Still Hetchless 9/2/2018
September 2, 2018
Sunday
Decided to try another breakfast place so we went to Blixen. It was fine, but didn’t match Ottolenghi (so I guess we’ll do a last return visit to Ottolenghi tomorrow on our last day).
From there, Mike headed to look at some new housing near the Tate Modern and I headed to the hotel to get a few ours of work in. It was a totally gorgeous day, so I cut the work short and decided to walk to the Tate Modern (about 1.5 miles) and met up with Mike.
As we started to walk, we passed two guys set up at old manual Olivetti typewriters who will write poems on any topic and you pay wat you think it is worth. I decided to go for it, so asked for a poem about the “current political situation” — Here’s his take:
“East meets west in a wig…dictation rides bareback into the sunset of outer space….twittering tabloids take turns to rock lobsters, rig elections……clown vs clown in city skies…left is right is obsolete…..all as it ever was, perverse prayer begs alas to oblivion….elephants watch donkeys…daggers drawn”
We then walked to Borough Market but forgot it is closed on Sundays. So we had some wonderful gelato and then took the tube to an area known as Little Venice – not too far from Regents Park. It’s where three canals converge. It’s quite picturesque with houseboats and some cafes. We strolled along the canal and then in the nearby neighborhood which had some beautiful houses and flats – built at a time when the development of neighborhoods were intended to build community and gel with the environs.
We then walked to the Underground to catch a train to the hotel – and as we got down the stairs we were met by an attendant explaining the train service on that line had been “suspended” and they didn’t know when it would resume. By now I had put in well over my 6-mile walking goal and decided a taxi was in order. But finding one was another story. We eventually found a small hotel — The Colonnade – and they called for a taxi.
By that time it was close to eating time (again)… We decided to try Dishoon in Shoreditch. Walked (adding to those miles!) Although we had to wait about an hour (no reservations), it was worth it – wonderful and interesting Indian street food in what they describe as an Irani café-style interior. We started with some drinks – Mike had the Chandra Bose Sour and I had the Monsoon Martini.
For nibblers we had lamb samosas and “bheja” – little pieces of lamb brains coated with some kind of cornmeal (I think) and fried like popcorn, with a tamarind style dipping sauce. Then we had murgh malai – dark meat chicken that was marinated in garlic, ginger, coriander, and more… ; wonderful spicy lamb chops; raita; garlic naan; black daal… and wine. Naturally we needed a dessert before we could walk the distance back to the hotel – so we ordered the chocolate pudding, which was melted in the middle and accompanied by a scoop of chili ice cream. We were well fortified for the walk to the hotel. One more day tomorrow and then we are back.
Happy Labor Day..
Fern
Final Day in London 9/3/2018 Hetchless
London: 3 September 2018
Short break between eating !! Trying to get as much packing done as possible so we can get to sleep earlier than in previous days here. We leave from Heathrow quite early in the a.m.
OK.. not such a complicated day.
Started out by walking from the hotel (past the wonderful Leadenhall arcade) to Borough Market – the oldest market in London; functioning as a market for over 1,000 years – albeit in different forms. We strolled the stalls, picked up a nice goat cheese, some fruit, and juices and sat at one of the share tables and enjoyed breakfast. I picked up a great iced chai tea latte made with coconut milk, and all was good.
We strolled back to the hotel and after doing a bit of work we walked to the building referred to as the “walkie talkie” – a new building that has a “skygarden”. We had reservations for a late lunch at the top of the building. 20 Fenchurch Road (address and real name of the building) is located in the “city of London” about a 10-minute walk from the hotel (in the financial district). It’s nicknamed ‘The Walkie-Talkie’ because of its shape. The three-floor ‘sky garden’ was opened in early 2015, about a year or so after the actual building was occupied. The shape gets wider as it gets higher. While some people like the building, it was named the worst new building of the year when it was opened.
But as an amenity, the building has a public garden and great views of the city on the 34th floor. Lunch on the 37th floor was actually quite wonderful. Started with some kind of cod foam and tomato amuse bouche, followed by a beetroot and plum salad. Then my main course was the hake which was poached(?) sitting above a delightful set of the most thinly sliced tomatoes you could imagine. Then poached pear with tiny scoops of cardamom and also chocolate gelato.
Strolled back to the hotel documenting photographically the odd juxtapositions of the old and the new – which seems to be more visible and apparent in old cities like London than in American cities. Packed for a while and then dashed out to meet Emma and Hem for dinner (hadn’t connected since Geneva) at a little Peruvian place in Shoredich about a half-mile from our hotel. After pisco sours and ceviches and assorted other yummies, we bid them adieu and walked to our hotel to pack.
We are now at the lounge at Heathrow and I’m signing off from this trip. We board shortly and Terminal 2 is so big that it can take forever to reach your gate. I’m a bit exhausted; went to bed around 1 a.m. and wake up call was at 5:15. Short trip, sweet visits, action-packed, and glad to head home — most especially to get my “H” back. See you all stateside.
Best – Fern
London Day One. 8/31/2018
G’Day! Busy day today.
Started out at Spitalfield Market – and surrounds, great shakshuka at Ottolenghi …and some interesting pear and basil juice. Then ran a few short errands. The bag I was carrying somehow separated from the strap. I remembered from previous trips to London, that this particular neighborhood has a lot of little shops near the Underground station (Liverpool Street). So I stopped into a shoe repair place. And as I was having breakfast I realized that time was standing still – my watch battery was dead. So I also located a watch repair right next to the shoe repair.. and Voila! Everything fixed and ready for the day.
Hopped on the tube and headed to Notting Hill to meet up with Lara at the Czech Centre at Kensington Palace Gardens. They had a small 50th anniversary show of cartoons from Prague Spring 1968. And in the words of the explanation of the exhibit —
“These cartoons perfectly capture the injustice done to Czechoslovakia in 1968. And they remain a pictorial record and a warning to us today as a resurgent Russia once again flexes its muscles.” Spent some time talking with the young Czech woman who worked for the Centre. She was born after the fall of the Berlin wall and only knew about life in Czechoslovakia in the 70s and 80s from her parents. She was surprised to learn that I had traveled to the old Czechoslovakia several times while under Russian communist control (in 1970, 72, and 86) and several times after that – 1992, 2003, and 2012 and that I had driven through such a large part of the country (now two countries). The cartoons were fun and poignant and also interesting technically.
From there we walked (total walking today = 7 miles) through Kensington Gardens (past the Diana memorial – with spontaneous memorializing by Brits and tourists, especially today on the anniversary of her death.
We continued on through Hyde Park to see Christo’s new floating artwork, constructed with 7,506 brightly painted oil barrels. It was a spectacularly beautiful day — not as hot as it has been in London these past few weeks, and not as cool as it might have been.
From there we walked to the new Japan House – sort of like being in Japan (new Japan). The building is intended to provide the city with a chance to learn more about Japanese. It’s basically a showpiece to entice Londoners to travel to Japan, but it’s a high-priced store with exquisitely designed objects. There’s also a sleek restaurant upstairs, and the most amazing bathrooms – about which I will not go into detail at the moment! The layout of the building is designed to provide “maximum space for peace and tranquility.”
At that point I realized that my neck was very red and itchy… so I bolted to the pharmacy to find out more information. I am now taking Claritin and also using an anti-steroid cream and can already see that it is fading.
Then, after a few hours at the hotel doing work (and having a huge argument with Apple on the phone — My keyboard is not printing the letter “h” (hetch in the UK), Apparently it is a “known issue” and requires a three-day fix by bringing your computer to Apple Store for repair. … So, every “h” you see in this note has been inserted through cut and paste! I tried the shaking fix that is shown on several You Tube films and I also bought a can of compressed air – nothing has helped at all. Naturally there aren’t any appointments available for tomorrow at the Genius Bar. I’m going to head to the Apple Store on Regent Street in the morning, but I can’t give up my computer. I suppose I’ll have to go to the local store when I get home and might have to use my older MacBook Pro for a few days. (Not a happy camper). If you see any missing “h”s… I apologize – complain to Apple!
Mike and I then headed to dinner (planned some time ago) at The Ledbury – Three Michelin stars… and listed as one of the best 50 restaurants in the world. It’s located across town from where we are – near Notting Hill – about 6 miles from here.. Dinner takes about 3.5 hours.. The menu was something like this:
- Starters (not counted in the 6 course meal) included some kind of very thin parmesan meringue with foie gras inside, smoked muscle on top of seaweed crackers, and some other little gem
- Datterino Tomatoes, Crab, Sorbet and Shiso
- Warm Egg, Celeriac, Wine, Dried Ham, and I think a Truffle
- Cod Caramelized in Honey with Radishes on the side
- Grouse with chantrelles and sweet corn and ??
- Pre-dessert: custard with peach and raspberries and sweet basil
- The supposedly “real” desert: tartlet with ice cream, tiny diced fruits
- Then the next desert – a sort of “good bye” as the dinner was ending – some kind of eucalyptus chocolate and also some kind of juniper cookies
OK… Not good for dieting. And I don’t think my 7 miles of walking today came close to countering the meal. No food pictures.. seemed too tacky.
It’s pushing on 2 am… and I’m fading. Have a great Labor Day weekend. More tomorrow. I like the fact that we’ve been to London together and separately many, many times. It’s comfortable; I know my way around; and there aren’t any requisite sites to see anymore. So it’s merely hanging out, walking neighborhoods… and visiting. Tomorrow after I get some work done, I’m heading to Mareylebone and we are going to an off-broadway type theater.
Fern
Geneva 8/28/2018
Bon Nuit –
Woke up early to head to the Four Seasons Hotel to pick up birthday present for Julia (we had ordered the spa gift certificate while in the states, but hadn’t picked it up yet). The walk took us through downtown and across two bridges. One is always crossing the Rhone or the Arve rivers. Along the way we had a quick breakfast, and then headed to Carouge to meet up with the family (everyone except Louis who was in the “transition week” of child care). Apparently they schedule a week where every day the child stays an hour longer to get prepared for full day care. The child care is contracted through Julia’s employer: Credit Suisse. Sounds like a good place with a very high adult to child ratio and rooms where they have water play and another room for art. A musician comes weekly to “entertain” the little ones.
From Carouge we headed to Le Saleve where we would scatter the ashes of Mike’s brother. The drive to the Saleve (which is actually across the border into France) in the French pre-Alps. It’s about a 30 minute drive and about 20km from the center of Geneva. You can drive up or hike up (I think an all day hike) or take the teleferique (cable car). There is a spectacular view of the Jura mountains and of Mont Blanc. This spot was chosen because Richard liked to take day trips to the Saleve, to walk Gatsby (their terrier) in the area, and because it can be seen in the distance from their house (from the kitchen window). We scattered the ashes in a secluded area just off the trail, and then headed for lunch nearby. We joked and told some funny stories about Richard, and then headed back to town. Mike and I went to the hotel for a few hours to get some work done and then met up with everyone for a wonderful salmon dinner at Elizabeth’s.
It was an emotional day. …………………
Au revoir…por le moment…
Fern
En Route to London from Geneva 2018. 8/30/2018
Greetings from across the pond. Very short note about a mostly-travel day.
Had our regular porridge at Birdie… Mike then went to Elizabeth’s to help think about reconfiguring the house now that she’s alone. I hung out in the area near the hotel and also packed so that we could head to the airport after lunch.
Once packed, I headed to Carouge (Elizabeth’s house) where we all convened for a simple, quiet lunch.
Mike and I then taxied to the Geneva Airport which is uniquely situated on the France/Switzerland border. Immigration control is unified as both France and Switzerland are parties to some kind of an agreement between the two sectors. So, while most people leave from the Swiss side, it is totally possible to leave from the French side. If you are headed to France, it is much easier to leave from the French side – making it a domestic rather than an international flight.
Our plane was a bit late, so we arrived at London City Airport (avoiding Heathrow) at about 7 pm… Settled into the Andaz (where I’ve stayed several times before) which is located near the Liverpool Street underground station. The hotel is on the site of England’s first mental hospital, the Bethlehem Royal, which opened in 1247. Today it has 267 rooms and is quite modern with simple grey walls, somewhat dramatic lighting, and modern amenities.
We then headed for a late dinner and drinks at the New Street Grill, where we met up with our god-daughter and her husband. They have been living in London for many years. After a lot of meat (!) we headed back to our room at about 1 am. I’m headed to bed – lots of plans for tomorrow.
Best Fern
April 10, 2005: Finding my Roots. Arrival in Romania
This will be short as I think I’ve been up close to 50 hours now…and I’m beginning to fade, big time…
And before I begin, I should say that my mother’s family is from Roumania and I decided to come to see what it’s like and maybe to research my family/ my roots. I don’t have a lot of information to go by, so I don’t think this will be very enlightening, but we shall see. I’m traveling with my friend Adrienne from Chicago sho agreed to accompany me on this wild goose chase. Figured it would be fun even if
Left Delray Beach on Saturday at about 5 am to go to Fort Lauderdale. Flew to Chicago, arrived at about 11 am and had 6 hours at O’Hare…then flew to Frankfurt — plane landed a bit late and connection to flight to Bucharest was quite tight.. I managed to land the window seat in the last row of the flight to Bucharest and immediately remembered that Europeans smoke…the smell on people’s clothing was like a high dose of second hand smoke… lots of it in a small space… Arrived in Bucharest at about 3:30pm today (Sunday).. It’s now about 1 am.
After checking in to the hotel, and unpacking quickly, Adrienne and I met up with her friend and caught a cab to the Jewish Museum..which turned out to be closed.. We learned quickly that very few people (except for some young people) speak English and the only other language that is marginally used appears to be French… Anyway, we eventually found our way back (via a tram and a taxi) to attend a flute concert at the concert hall, which was quite beautiful but slow and sleep-inducing… The concert hall was wonderful and apparently the scene of some resistance against Ceaușescu, with murals being painted over in white by community members so that they could eventually be restored…. After the concert (which seemed to go on forever) we went to dinner at an old bistro close by… Food was actually quite good… a little heavy but portions weren’t obscenely large, so it was bearable…
It’s difficult to get a full understanding of what’s going on without language, although Eleanor (our friend here) is teaching at the law school and she has some insight. However, I think she’s a bit tainted by the U.S. Embassy…
After a bit of hassle, I’m now functioning on the cell phone and as you can see (assuming you get this) I’m email-ready…Took a bit of clever mechanics, but it’s all working.. My room looks like some experiment — with plugs going everywhere — charging computer, the WiFi charger, the batteries for the cellphone, charging the camera, etc., etc., etc.. I guess it’s actually a fire hazard and certainly a trip hazard.
First impressions: Bucharest is dusty, clearly without any sense of zoning… filled with 50’s style Soviet housing that goes on for blocks and blocks… They have parks scattered throughout the city, which is nice, but they are not very well kept (and at this time of year, not very “green.” Many historic buildings were destroyed or are in disrepair. The street pattern is chaotic.. Sort of a set of concentric circles and then lines radiating out A la Paris and DC, but the concentric circles are erratic and the lines radiating out aren’t straight…So it’s hard to figure out where you are and. how to get from here to there.. No one seems to be able to read maps, so having one (we brought one from the states) is pretty useless… Even taxi drivers seem stunned when you show them a map and cannot figure out where you are and where you want to go. …They either know the location or they don’t…kind of a simple process.. It’s also a lot hotter than predicted, so I’m a bit stuck with clothing for colder weather.. It was supposed to be 40-60 and it’s easily 75 today…
It’s been a hectic 40 hours…More to follow…
Hi all-
This will be shorter than I’d like, but it’s nearly midnight and I’m pretty wiped out… I also don’t have any Internet connection in my hotel room and Internet cafes are much harder to find than I thought.. certainly not like Cambodia and Laos where there were Internet cafes on every block.. So I’m here in the hotel’s business center. The computer is slow and I’m the only one here.
We arrived on Saturday night at about 8 p.m. — body time — who knows! The Peace Hotel is a bit tired.. probably was a grand place in its time.. but it’s well-situated and just fine, except for the Internet situation and the fact that the beds are like sleeping on a sheet of plywood. We are scheduled to be here 3 days and then on Monday we move to the Four Seasons, which I suppose will be like staying on the moon. Actually, we like it here, but the woman in Hong Kong who helped with the arrangements really pushed for a different hotel. Immediately after unpacking we went up to the rooftop bar for drinks and to get a view of the city at night… which is definitely “something else”… Over the past 14 years, more than 5,000 giant skyscrapers have been constructed in Shanghai, and each is lighted like a stage set.. As you are probably aware.. each is also competing with the other architecturally and height-wise (They definitely have a thing about height.) So the Peace Hotel is dwarfed at a mere 10 stories… with buildings 90 and 100 stories all around.. but the Peace Hotel is in a great location at the river, so the rooftop allows for some nice views.
Oh– It’s pretty cold.. about 40-50 during the days and about 32 at night.
We woke up fairly early on Sunday and began a very long day.. walked several miles from the hotel to Peace Park, along a pedestrian mall absolutely lined with shops.. the place is like consumer heaven. Everyone wants to sell us Rolexes (fakes) and shoes and DVDs and what have you on the street.. Shops are teeming with people as are the streets.. mmm 17 million people in Shanghai??? that’s more than twice NY…
We eventually found our way to the Urban Planning Museum which has an incredible model of the entire city of Shanghai — the model is 5,300 sq. ft… takes up an entire floor of the building.. impressive, and interesting in that it does seem as if there is a lot of thinking going on in terms of what gets built. We did a quick run through the Shanghai Museum and the Shanghai Art Museum, stopping for lunch at a rather unexpectedly sheek little cafe at the museum… then some strolling in small streets perpendicular to these skyscraper streets, only to find the more usual older Shanghai… complete with stores selling insects! and merchants hawking goods.. and tiny stalls selling anything you could imagine and more. Then hopped a cab and went to the top of the TV tower, which requires three elevators each getting smaller than the other… zipping us up about 95 floors… the elevator moves faster than any I’ve
been on and is absolutely silent… You’re body to body on the elevator, so if there was any bird flu or other germ floating around, be sure I’ve got it.. Anyway, once at the top the views are spectacular.. sort of like what Windows on the World was like in NY before 9/11… but probably more spectacular..
But the city is a real study in contradictions. .. and everywhere you run into some bizarre mix.. As you wait to board these ultra modern elevators to take you to the top of the tower, music is playing everywhere and it’s always things like the theme song from Ponderosa.. or other corny American tunes. Can’t be for the tourists because there are hardly any Anglos here.. and we haven’t run into a single American.. The few non-Asians we’ve seen have mostly been from Australia.. After the Tower, and a walk back to the hotel we found our way to a little Shanhainese restaurant in the old French section of town — Yang’s Kitchen.. which was a real feat to locate, down some alley.. Food was great. Restaurants all seem over-staffed, but I suppose since the salaries are ridiculously low it’s possible to have lots of help. We ordered a fish.. and in a few minutes the waitress appeared with a plastic bag from some department store.. In it was some water.. and our fish.. for approval before cooking!
We left dinner at about 11 and headed to the top of a 90 story building called Jinmao, where we had drinks at the bar called Cloud 9… advertised as the highest bar in the world.. I think I believe it.. Here too you get the weird mixes… sleek bar in this rather high tech building.. but with a guy who comes around with a parakeet to tell your fortune.. I was told that I would have a long and successful life but that I carried around too much stress which could affect that long life with heart problems.. smart little parakeet.
We taxied back to the hotel at about 2 a.m.
Today was even more complex… Left the hotel for a long walk that took us to the old section of Shanghai.. through markets and meandering through tiny alleys… Gotta sign off.. more on Sunday’s excursions when I tell you about Monday.. I’m fading.. it’s about 1:30 a.m.
Fern
