Friday, February 25, 2011

Glad I booked that flight!




(Images via www.tomzap.com)

From the moment you arrive at the Oaxaca airport, your senses are caressed by the colors, tastes and smells of a tropical paradise. And I'll be seeing it again in the summer. I'm glad already I booked my flight for July 1 for the same flights I took last summer on Aeromexico. I've been trolling Kayak for airfares and noticed that flights to Mexico are considerably higher now than they were last fall.

In the meantime, I'm off to Rome tomorrow night. Ciao amici! Comincio a studiare seriamente lo spagnolo il mese prossimo! Ciao, ciao!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Recuerdos






One of the highlights of our visit to Ocotlan last summer was seeing the munecas made by the Aguilar family in the Rodolfo Morales museum. I think I should get The Husband the big red one!

I got the NEH app off in the mail today and am happy to have it off my desk so that I can really concentrate on my upcoming trip to Rome. So there'll be no more thoughts of Mexico and espanol until after I get back on March 10. Ciao, ciao!

Ooooops


(View of Oaxaca from the Cerro de Fortin via wikipedia)

I just spent half an hour in the post office line to send off my application to participate in this summer's NEH Spotlight on Oaxaca institute. I got to the head of the line and was just about to seal the envelope when I decided to check one more time. And I had brought the wrong copy of the essay with me, the one that I marked-up for final revisions over the weekend before the NEH Florence ladies arrived for our annual Presidents' Weekend reunion. Ack! So, off I go again.

Of course, I'm returning this summer whether or not I'm accepted to the institute. There was so much there that got my creative and intellectual juices flowing after a bit of a dry spell that I couldn't resist making the apartment reservation last July and determining to go back no matter what.

But it would be nice to be in a structured study environment. There's a fine line between being a Renaissance woman and being a scatterbrain, and sometimes in my enthusiasm, I cross it before I realize what's happened! ;-)

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Food wasn't the only thing I loved about Oaxaca, but . . .






(I have to say that pictures taken with an iPod are not as good as a digital camera despite assertions to the contrary.)


On Thursday last week, I was lucky to be invited by KC to a Members Only event at the Museum of the American Indian. The topic was chocolate and its many manifestations in Mexican cuisine. In addition to a chocolate-infused tequila and white wine, the tastings included turkey with an almendrado mole, pork in a chocolate chili sauce, tamales with chicken and black mole, and some sublime desserts, my favorite being the flourless chocolate cake. This last was washed down with hot chocolate and chocolate egg creams. All of the food was prepared by Zarela Martinez, an authority on Mexican cooking and the stories behind the recipes. She owns a restaurant that was the best place to get authentic Mexican cooking in NYC.

I say "was" because yesterday I saw the news that Zarela's would be closing after 23 years. Sad news indeed!