Cancun Resort Friday: Ceviche and Surrealism

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Kiki

We had been ordering room service breakfast, because honestly, it took at least a half-hour to get to anywhere that had food. This was the mediocre to bad cafeteria-conference meeting fare I had been expecting. I guess the breakfast comes from a different restaurant than the dinners. but then we hit the pool and the nearby restaurant, Limon y Sal, which specializes in Ceviche. It was awesome. probably the best meal of the entire trip.

We had the Mixed Yellow Ceviche with scallops, octopus, grouper, salmon, yellow Peruvian chili pepper in a citrus sauce and fish tacos.

We wandered along the beach, then took a tram to the resort’s Cirque du Soleil show, JOYA. There were a few bars to hang out in while we waited we ordered a couple of very strong drinks and enjoyed the moonlight.

A 3-course meal of trippy food was included and served before the show while we listened to an awesome jazz band. Everything was really creative, with a lot of molecular gastronomy and food that was disguised as other things. But the flavor wasn’t there. You could eat the menu, and we were given huge appetizer plates with crazy concoctions.

Our main dishes arrived in big gold nuggets.

My braised short ribs in Mayan spices were pretty standard, but Bob was not into his salmon dish. Although he had a cool molecular gastronomy “pearl”

Our desserts arrived in a giant book.

After dinner, things got really weird.

“Prepare for a fantastic adventure that will take you through the jungle, under the sea, and across the pages of history. Each night, acrobats perform dizzying flips and leaps, contortionists bend impossibly, puppeteers make dinosaurs dash and cockroaches dance, musicians fill the world with song, and the very stage comes alive to lead you on a journey that dazzles the senses.”


The design and effects that made it seem like we were all under the sea were awesome, with the acrobats moving as if they were swimming.

At one point skeleton pirates came out on a giant ship. Then they suddenly slid down from the ceiling into the audience on ropes. One was right behind me and freaked me out.

I have a roach phobia, so the singing cockroach puppets also freaked me out. Luckily they were far away.

I don’t know if our tram driver was in a rush to get back and pick up more people, or he was just having fun, but he drove back like a bat out of hell. I didn;t know those things could go that fast, and I was certain we were going to flip over as we took some of the corners. The wind was in my hair and it was awesome.

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Cancun Resort Thursday: Dinner at GONG

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Kiki

Vidante Resort had an assortment of international restaurants that I viewed with a jaundiced eye, but you can’t eat tacos 24/7 (or CAN you?). We called for reservations, since some restaurants were only open on certain nights, and some had closed due to Covid. We ended up with GONG, an Asian-themed spot. A large part of this vacation is tram-riding and walking and trying to figure out where you are.

Walking, walking, walking…

Where are we???

We were told the restaurant was above the boutique, so we got in the elevator and pushed the button for the second floor. It was just a bunch of offices and their call center, with operators busily working in windowed rooms. There was no third floor. So we took the stairs down, and there it was! It was on the 1 1/2th floor maybe?

GONG is superfancy and decorated with a lot of Buddhas. We had a lovely table in the corner watching the kitchen, and I got to sit on the banquette. I was excited about the dim sum, so we decided to order a bunch of appetizers and see if we were still hungry. Then this guy appeared in his leather apron and leather gloves.

I said, “Bob, this man has come to kill us.”

Bob assured me, “I think he is here to make cocktails.” not wanting to cross this man, I ordered a lychee margarita.

It packed a wallop, and even only drinking about a third of it between the two of us, I had a pretty good buzz going. The food arrived and it was awesome. These dumplings were filled with short ribs and a little hoisin sauce. The combo of richness and sweetness was inspired and made one dumpling perfectly delicious and gorgeous, but you couldn’t eat too many of them.

This was not true of the shrimp and pork pot stickers, with a kiss of ginger and garlic in a paper thin wrapper that was almost like a crepe. I could have eaten them all night, and in fact, I ordered some to go for the perfect midnight snack.

Bob loved his hand roll, and we rounded out the menu with tempura shrimp and Vietnamese Spring Rolls. We definitely didn’t need to order main dishes.

We did decide to continue with our prudent consumption of alcohol and sugar by splitting an irresistible-sounding cacao and ginger mousse/creameux with macadamia nuts. It was served with vanilla and ginger ice cream. A lovely finish.

The pools looked dreamy and inviting with the soft lighting and without the crowd.

Too inviting for me to resist. I had foolishly ignored someone’s advice to always wear a bathing suit, but that never stopped me before. Especially after a lychee margarita.

At this point, I was about ready to sign up for a time share.

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Cancun Resort Thursday: The Vidanta Riviera Maya

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Kiki

I had booked a couples massage for us, and we woke up less than an hour before the appointment. We had to rush and then take two trams and walk a ways, so we were a little late. They nevertheless accommodated us and gave us the full treatment. Starting off, they blessed us with elements of Earth, Fire, Air and Water. For fire, they used flameless candles, which I found hilarious, but it’s the thought that counts, right? It was a long and thorough massage, and then they gave us macarons. When I was booking the treatment in my terrible Spanish, I couldn’t understand what “macaron” was. Some exotic body treatment? Then I realized, “You mean cookies???”

I had wanted to lunch at Havana Moon, the resort’s Cuban restaurant on the beach, but they were closing up as we arrived. The beach was beautiful, but due to a buttload of a seaweed-like algae called Sargassum, it wasn’t really swimmable.

De rigeur feet on the beach shot

There had been a lot of pictures online of a hut at the end of a dock, taken from the other end of the dock. I went looking for the dock, for the ‘Gram, but it wasn’t going to happen.

We ended up at Balche, the poolside cafe. Even though it was open-air, they run a lot of fans and keep it cool and comfortable. They also have a very convenient box of outlets to charge your phone, and cute little birds flying through. Although when one flew right at my face full speed it was a little startling. I avoided a Fabio incident though, just by a beak. I ordered the ribeye tacos, and Bob had a shrimp burrito. Once again, every single thing, down to the french fries, was delicious. If this place were near my home I would definitely eat there again.

Then we walked, we walked and we walked. We passed a big swimming pool full of revelers. Not as many kids as drunks, especially some howler monkey guys near the swim-up bar. I told Bob, “That’s somebody’s vacation, but it’s not mine.”

We took two trams back. You always have to go to a central station and then you can take a tram to wherever you’re going. Riding through the jungle, it’s kind of like being at Disneyland. In fact, if the tram is your favorite thing at Disneyland, and you think, “Like Disneyland, but every. single. ride. is a tram,” this is YOUR place. Numerous iguana sightings made it more fun.

In fact, they also had coatls, a relative of the racoon that look like monkey cats, that everyone kept insisting I would see, a crocodile pit, a “flamingorium,” Cirque du Soleil, a water park, and trees randomly dropping coconuts. I even saw an employee board a tram with a falcon on his arm.

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Cancun Resort: Wednesday

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Kiki

During the height of Covid, a lot of places were offering ridiculous deals, with the promise of traveling any time within the next two years. One place advertised on Facebook. A week in Cancun for $250 bucks. I decided I would take that bet. Well, here we are almost a year later, and I am comfortably ensconced in a big comfy bed, full of margaritas and ready to go out looking for little local racoonish cat things. We ended up paying $250 more for an upgrade to a much nicer hotel at the resort. Well spent. I never used to like the idea of resorts because of this philosophy, nicely summed up by Camper Van Beethoven:

We had a long and annoying flight, with the people in front of us slamming backwards in their seats at random, and a coke spilling all over me. Changing clothes on a plane is not fun. My friend asked me to have a mango margarita for her, so I had that handled before we even left the airport.

The check in process was extensive, with us being dropped off by the van, doing paperwork with a bellboy, then taking a tram to our hotel’s check in. The bellboy told me to take a picture so I did.

Then I realized that he meant I should take a picture of the number on our luggage cart so we didn’t forget it. So yeah, I was tired. By the time we got to the check-in around 10:30 pm we were so done. It turns out the resort requires a $1,000 deposit on your card. I only had $500 on my card, and I swear he was just going to kick me off the resort and let me sleep on the beach. No one warned me of the deposit, and he insisted they did. Luckily Bob had his work card, and I hope he doesn’t get in trouble for using it for the hold. But when we finally made it to our room it was really nice. Everything was marble, which is so refreshing in hot weather.

I immediately called room service, then took a soak in this giant tub

Room service blew my mind. It was awesome. The steak was accompanied by a mole enchilada and a little hard taco. The guacamole was fresh and flavorful.

This did much to improve my mood and my estimation of touristy resorts. The bed was firm but gentle and I slept until noon the next day. The view from our window:

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Amsterdam: Taste of Amsterdam

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Kiki

When I was buying a ticket online for the Van Gogh Museum, I saw an ad for something called “Taste of Amsterdam.” How could I resist? The event was held in a large, gorgeous park, and included a market as well as a food festival with food, drink, music and dancing. The entrance fee was minimal, and you paid for small plates.

When I walked into the festival, I shouted to myself, “Yes! This is my JAM!!!” Which is something I have never said in my life.

There was a lot of Italian, middle eastern, and especially Indonesian food. One man was making Takoyaki, which he billed as “Japanese Poffertjes.”

I tried some Iberico cold cuts and croquetas from Pikoteo.

I enjoyed a BBQ sandwich from Pig n Punch.

I tried some Indonesian food.

And a pork bao

This chef also created dishes that fooled the eye, looking like one thing when it was really another, like this vegetarian Coquilles St Jacques.

When I asked people about Dutch cuisine they laughed and said there is no such thing. They said the only native dish was “stamppot,” where you just mix the meat and potatoes and everything together.

There was a band playing “Sweet Caroline,” and suddenly, all around me, every single person sang the daa daaa daaah” part.

And what’s a party without a guy with a chicken?

A fun event all around.

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The Freak Valley Fest Netphen Germany

Posted on October 16, 2020 by Kiki

Bob’s Band, The Freeks, played this psychedelic metal festival with his band … It was located in a camp, perhaps a camp for disabled kids because there was some accessible playground equipment. It was a nice location, with a big green meadow, and backstage there was a school building with flush toilets and showers. I cannot express enough the importance of flush toilets. And it was nice for musicians on the road to be able to have a shower. I was so excited to see Bob again!

I had gotten a little B&B and all of the other guests were Dutch. The hosts were super OCD about cleanliness and we all kind of snickered about it. Bob was going to come back to the B&B with me and the band would pick him up in the morning, so I had to give them the address, but no one carries pens anymore. Someone suggested, “Take a picture!” So we posed.

And this is the exact moment we both realized he meant take a picture of the address.

There were just two food stalls, but backstage there was a vegan buffet, exciting a lot of vegan musicians.

There were a lot of cool-looking people, but I had discovered on this trip that Germans, especially those who had lived under Soviet rule, are really uncomfortable having their pictures taken, so I didn’t even ask. The band was on fire, and of course, let me take their pictures.

Some very drunk German guy recognized Bob and shouted, “Are you rockin’ in the free world???” He noticed my camera and demanded I take his picture. Gladly.

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By the Sea by the Sea by the Baltic Sea: Riga

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Kiki

Thursday evening we landed in Riga. Bob’s mom picked us up at the airport and we checked into our hotel, The Radisson Blu. The Radisson is a good mid-range hotel. They are clean and reliable, and more upscale than a motel. Our room was on the small side, but it was exactly the cozy little space I needed to crash.

We walked around old town looking for a place to eat.

We landed at Ezitis Migla, Although it’s a chain, it’s kind of a hipster place. It took around 45 minutes to get our order. We had a nice little patio to wait in and enjoyed talking, but even for Europe it was a crazy long wait. I had some lovely potato pancakes, Bob had a crispy chicken sandwich that seemed like it sat too long waiting for the other dishes to be ready, and his mom had a pasta with onions and bacon, which she told us was a very Latvian combo.

Bob’s mom ordered a Kvass, a low-alcohol fermented drink made with rye bread. References to kvass go back as far as 996. Bob had a Diet Coke. References to Diet Coke go back as far as 1982.

We passed a trippy shop window that caught my eye.

When we got back to the room, I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

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Ich Bin Ein Berliner: Now I Got a Reason

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Kiki Maraschino

Remember when cabbies used to know their city better than anyone? They could take you to the best steakhouse and knew every shortcut to the airport. They could even get you hookers and blow, or so i have been told. After walking 10 thousand miles yesterday I didn’t want to walk 10 thousand more so i asked the front desk “Callenze taxi?” I can’t remember the vocabulary from my German tapes, but i got a sense of the rhythm. And they humored me.

The cab driver was angry because i didn’t have the exact address to the East Side Gallery, aka the Berlin Wall. Dude, it’s only the most famous goddamned site in the entire city. When I finally brought up The Berlin Wall on my phone and showed him, he said accusingly, “You said gallery!” I also said Berlin Wall but whatever. As he drove angrily through the streets, I thought, “Oh, road rage! I remember this from back home.”

The interwebs tell you not to be disappointed because not much of the wall is there. But it’s a good 2 or 3 city blocks of amazing murals, which is plenty for me. People were taking turns posing in front of “My God, Help Me Survive this Deadly Love,” Dmitri Vrubel’s famous mural of Breshnev kissing Hoeneker on the mouth. It’s from a real photo. The “Triple Breshnev,” as his “fraternal kiss” was known, frequently raised eyebrows.

It’s so cheesy, but I even took a selfie there too. There are just so many things you gotta do, even though they are a cliche, like buying Mickey Mouse ears at Dismeyland or ordering a hurricane at Pat o’ Brien’s. They became a thing because they are rad.

As I wandered along the wall, I started wondering what was on the other side? There was a break in the wall at one point and here it is…raw, non-mural graffiti.

Then I noticed the small section of the second wall. I guess they left it there to show the kill zone between the walls. I realized I was in the kill zone, and immediately started weeping. It’s especially poignant right now with what is happening in America. They are building a similar wall between the US and Mexico.  I considered buying a chunk of the wall and sending it to our dictator in chief. And I kind of wished everyone would do that.

Across the bridge i found the Ramones Museum. The owner was really cool and was playing the Dead Milkman. He declined having his picture taken for this blog though. Whereas Dutch people posed for my camera, German people are not into it. Maybe it comes from a culture steeped in memories of surveillance. The Ramones Museum had a little cafe where they sold coffee drinks, beer and vegan treats. It had a really comfortable sitting area.

There was a lot of cool stuff there, including set lists, lyrics, some clothes and musical equipment. I bought a T shirt there because laundry is so expensive at the hotel, and I had packed light. But everyone wears Ramones shirts now. It’s become so cheeseball. What does a rebel do when everyone gets into their thing? I didn’t notice until later it was actually a museum T-shirt made in the style of the Ramones T-shirts, which once again made it supercool.

Across the street under the railroad tracks is Burgermeister. They are famous for being housed in a former public toilet. When I mentioned it to Jonathan Gold, he scrunched up his nose and said, “Charming.” For some reason, that made me want to go there even more. It was indeed a public toilet, but a damn fine public toilet, with wrought iron embellishments.

It also turned out to be an excellent burger, with a charred patty, crispy bacon, and enough cracked black pepper to be noticeable, but not enough to ruin it. It was like that was their signature taste– something that regulars would miss if they stayed away too long.

Often when I try to plan an outing using google maps, I misjudge the distance between things. But this trio of delights was all within a few blocks of each other. Or less. I highly recommend a day out combining a leisurely stroll along the Eastside Gallery, a coffee or beer (or three) at the Ramones Museum, and a killer lunch at Burgermeister. Depending on how long you linger, it’s a three to four-hour jaunt.

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Ich Bin Ein Berliner: Dali at Potsdamer Platz

Posted on August 1, 2020 by Kiki

Potsdamer Platz was also the location of a Dali Museum. In a mall. And that is why I was there. There were some nice sculptures, and an unreal amount of book illustrations. Naturally, I loved the Alice in Wonderland illustrations best.

Just so many amazing works…

The main figure in this work seemed so unlike Dali’s usual style.

Tiles were also kind of an unusual medium for Dali

This is the lithograph machine he used

There was a little theater where they were showing the films Dali collaborated on. There was a little boy of perhaps 7, swinging his legs and watching the Disney film Dali did. When Un Chien Andalou  started, I whispered to the boy that he might not want to watch that one. He trotted off, and a lady sitting nearby asked, “Why do you say that…” just as they sliced the eyeball. She interrupted herself with a wordless utterance somewhere between shock and disgust.

His lithograph machine

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Ich bin ein Berliner: Saturday: Off to Market

Posted on July 30, 2020 by Kiki Maraschino

This morning as I headed out for the day at the crack of noon, as my dad used to say, i chatted with an Italian couple who had just arrived. After i set out for the street market a young German guy with beautiful eyes and seriously fucked up teeth stopped me. He was so nervous his voice wavered. “Are you in Berlin alone?” He asked me to go back to the hotel with him!

I hate to admit it, but I laughed right in his face. It was harsh, but he is going to just ask someone to have sex with him off the street like that? But I didn’t feel threatened. He didn’t seem like a jerk who does that a lot. He looked scared.

When I finally got to the Winterfeldt Market in Winterplatz after so much walking that Angelenos just don’t do, i was starving. The smoke from a BBQ hit me immediately. I got a giant meat sandwich. And I got an amazing sausage.

As expected, it was SPARGEL SPARGEL SPARGEL

They had some cool graffiti. It was a hip neighborhood.

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Ich bin ein Berliner: Monsterkabinet is Awesome!

Posted on July 27, 2020 by Kiki Maraschino

If you ever find yourself in Berlin, you absolutely must go to Monsterkabinet. It was the most creative and fun attraction I have ever seen. It is something of a cross between a haunted house and an art exhibit. It is quite literally underground, which makes it a little spookier. All i knew about it was that an artist’s collective had made giant machine monsters that move. I arrived early and had a moment to chat with the tour guide and she promised that nothing would touch me.

There are about a dozen people on the tour. We are all gathered near the entrance, and the next thing you know, a giant spider the size of a VW comes crawling menacingly towards you. And it doesn’t stop. A lot of people screamed and tried to back away as far as possible. I broke into hysterical laughter. It was shocked laughter, my mind was more blown than frightened, but there is a little edge to it. It was just so outrageous. I haven’t had a full body laugh like that in i can’t remember how long.

I don’t want to ruin all of the surprises, but after the spider they have lost your trust and there is an overlay of uneasiness and excitement throughout the rest of the show. At one point a mechanical monster was grabbing at us, and another person in the crowd tried pushing me in front of them. Every man for themselves!

Each of the mechanical monsters has a spiel and hidden talents. There is a lot of cool music and some compulsory dancing involved. One of the last monsters reminded me of being in the tiki room. A scary tiki roof with gnashing jaws and unpredictable movements, but it had that same sense of fun, plus good harmonies.

There are no pictures allowed during the show, but I was allowed to take a few on my way out.

From the website:

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Ich bin ein Berliner: Graffiti Art

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Kiki

In spite of it being illegal, there are graffiti galleries all over Berlin. It is considered a mecca for street artists. It started with the Berlin wall, the biggest and most visual canvas possible. Artists began to congregate there. If you would like to learn more, check out this article.

The courtyard and tunnel at Monsterkabinett have some amazing street art.

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Ich Bin Ein Berliner: Lutter & Wagner at Gendarmenmarkt

Posted on July 26, 2020 by Kiki


“In 1811, the wine merchants Christoph Lutter and August F. Wegner opened a wine shop on Gendarmenmarkt, which in no time at all enjoyed an excellent reputation. They became purveyors to the court of the Prussian crown prince, Frederick William IV of Prussia.”

Just before golden hour, I arrived at the Gendarmenmarkt, a huge square in Berlin that is home to three enormous and gorgeous buildings, the German and the French Cathedral, and Schinkel’s Konzerthaus. 

There is even a painting in the restaurant depicting a waiter admiring the view.

The dining room is relaxed and upscale. There was a waitress there with a bob cut and heavy, black round rimmed glasses. She looked SO German I asked if I could take her picture, but she declined.

There was a special white asparagus menu. An entire menu. When white asparagus, or spargel, is in season, the whole city goes nuts. It’s like being in D.C. for cherry blossom season, but much tastier. Spargel is the word for asparagus in German, but it is mostly used to describe the tender, delicate stalks that are grown underground to avoid photosynthesis. It is estimated that 82,000 tons of Spargel are actually produced in Germany each year — which only meets a little more than half of consumption needs. On this evening I enjoyed a rich cream of asparagus soup. It was unbelievable.

For my main dish, I ordered asparagus with a small wiener schnitzel. Again, tender, succulent spargel with a tender schnitzel that was not greasy at all.

For dessert I tried the ugly but exciting Karamellisier Kaiserschmarrn. It was delicious.

You really can’t help but laugh. If you have the mind of a 5 year-old.

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Ich bin ein Berliner: Welcome and The Zoo

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Kiki

More than any other place I have traveled so far, I had a difficult time in Germany. There were a lot of complex procedures and rules of conduct that I was unaware of, and when you break them, Germans get very angry. I really felt like I needed to have a friend living there to show me the ropes. I was also kind of obsessed with WWII, and obsessed with avoiding the subject of WWII. Nonetheless, there were a lot of fantastic things to see and do and eat.

When I first arrived in Berlin, I took a cab to the hotel. There are no Ubers in Berlin because they violate transport laws. As we neared The Brandenburg Gate, a march/ride to encourage bicycle riding was taking place. The taxi driver rolled down his window to shake his fist and scream at them. I’m sure the last thing he needed was for people to give up on cars. The hotel, Titanic Comfort Mitte, was no frills but the people were friendly and willing to assist me with my almost non-existent German.

Once I settled in, I walked down the street to have lunch at the non-touristy and unappetizing-sounding Spitteleck. I ordered a nice, cold hefeweizen and settled in. The menu was kindly translated–into French. But sometimes, English and German coming from the same language family really helps. I ordered Schweinefleisch. It was delicious.

I hopped on the U-Bahn, which was only a block away. Well, I didn’t exactly “hop.” First you have to buy the ticket from a machine that is in German. Finally, I realized the British flag on the screen would translate the screen to English. For almost my entire trip, every time I went to the station, I helpfully pointed out the flag to befuddled Americans. Then you have to get your ticket validated by sticking it in some kind of a slot that I could not find. I did manage to accidentally summon an elevator before someone showed me where to stick it. See, I told you I needed a German friend. Hans? Greta? Where are you?

I took the train to check out the zoo. It sounds stupid now, but in the Netherlands they had a Galapagos turtle, and I didn’t find out in time to go see it. I wanted to see if the German zoo had any animals we don’t have in American zoos. So here is what a German panda looks like

This is what a German koi and bonus German child look like

They did have this crazy snake-necked turtle, which for some reason reminded me of the punchline of a joke my brother often repeated, “Dig that crazy necktie!”

Across from the zoo is the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Kaiser Wilhelm II built it to honor his grandfather, Kaiser Wilhelm II. It was bombed in WWII, losing the top of its turret. When helping rebuild Berlin, the allies didn’t want to restore a symbol of nationalism, and the missing spire has remained as a reminder of the horrors of war.

The steps of the church were covered with flowers, candles, and photographs, so I knew it was the site of something terrible. Another person standing next to me staring at the photos saw my inquisitive expression and said something like “Christmas. Terrible…” then walked away crying. I realized then this was the site of the 2016 terrorist attack on Berlin’s famous Christmas market. Two years before my visit,
Twelve people were killed when 24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri drove a truck into the market on December 19, 2016, the deadliest attack in Germany.

There was a heartbreaking and beautiful tribute…a gold-filled crack tracing the truck’s route to the steps. It felt disrespectful to photograph any of this.

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Rotterdam: A Perfect Day

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Kiki

My favorite things about traveling are art and food. On this particular day I stuffed myself with both.

The Mariners Museum was right behind the hotel, so I stopped in. It turned out it wasn’t the right museum. It was the Museum for their Navy. But there were several old retired seamen playing cards and I would have felt like a jerk walking out. There was a lot of dull ephemera, like the plates they used on Naval ships. Not nearly enough weapons. Inexplicably, they had a makeshift alley skate park diorama in one corner.

Willem Joseph Baron van Ghent, the subject of a painting and sculpture, bore an uncanny resemblance to our friend, Heath, and also to Ludacris.

I made my way to the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen to see “Vorm – Fellows – Attitude,” an exhibit of four enormous scultures of excrement. It took four years for the Vienna-based art collective Gelatin to finish the sculptures after being commissioned by the museum.

Next to the poop exhibit was a collection of anatomically correct “naked” suits. The gallery was empty and I wasn’t sure if we were allowed to wear them, but apparently that is what they were there for. According to one of the artists, the naked suits are “a gift to visitors” that enhance the exhibition and their own experience of it. I didn’t know we were allowed to–much less encouraged to–wear the suits. I apologize that my pictures from this day are missing except for a few I took on my phone, so you will just have to imagine the suits. here is a Yayoi Kusuma infinity room to make it up to you.

I then  wandered through a kind of arty neighborhood to Warung Mini, a highly recommended Surinamese hole-in-the-wall.

As had become my habit, I ordered a variation of Nasi Goreng, which is Indonesian fried rice piled high with a variety of meats, stews, noodles, a fried egg, or krupuk cracker…whatever is handy. The food, the ambiance and the general groove of Warung Mini was awesome. Everything I look for.

I finally made it to the Maritime Museum, which was my goal all along. There were dozens of old boats docked outside, and I got a little emotional thinking how much my dad would love to be there. Then in an unusual moment of faith, I thought, “He is here – with me.”

In the evening I went to an Indonesian place called Sari Koering for dinner. It was literally a mom and pop place. The pop’s accent was exactly that of our old family friend Corrie. His Indonesian wife cooking in the kitchen even reminded me of his wife, Mis, so I felt very at home. Their Nasi Goreng was more homemade, and made with love.

 

 

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