Monday, 08 Feb 2016, 7pm, Azure Restaurant at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Quite Possibly the Best Meal We Have Ever Had!

(Advanced Warning!! This is posted for all of our foodie friends that love to experience the best dining experiences all over the world… I’m looking at you Justin and Nano, Betty and Denny, Ellen and Bill, Larry and Dottie, Archie and Pris, and many others as well. So, if this is not your thing, you might want to move along now…!)

Hula Grill Bar Pre-gaming at Sunset with Mai Tai's

We began the evening with a Happy Hour pre-game at the Hula Grill Ocean and Sunset View Bar at the Outrigger Hotel with Mai Tai’s to get the evening started on the right note. Gorgeous sunset and ambiance certainly set the right tone.

Arrived at the Azure restaurant about 15 minutes early for our 7pm reservation, but were promptly seated on the ocean-side terrace in the waning sunset moments to begin our culinary adventure. This was our second visit to the Azure, almost a year to the day after our first wonderful visit. On our first visit in February, 2015, we both had the wine tasting and pairing menu that was most memorable, and our motivation to return.

It is very worth noting that as we were seated at our kozy and romantic table, and began to make our dining decisions for the evening, a large 14-top group was also seated nearby, and was also being taken care of by our server. I noticed immediately that our server was taking the 14-top orders just before getting back to us, and began to concern myself with the level of service we might receive as we competed for attention with this much larger and likely more demanding assemblage of hungry diners. My concerns were completely unnecessary! Upon mentioning the situation to our server as we placed our order, the staff of Azure responded in amazing fashion. They first assured us that we would be well cared for, and followed up by tag teaming us with several different servers and a lead server, who all were completely clued in on what we had ordered and expertly anticipated our every need. In fact, this might have been some of the best service I have ever experienced in a fine dining establishment. Well Done Azure!!

On this occasion, we decided to change it up a bit. My wife stuck with the tasting menu, 5 specially selected courses, including a lovely sashimi and greens starter, creamy roasted butternut squash and lobster soup, followed by grilled Kauai prawns, and a delicious locally raised beef filet and foie gras, and punctuated with pumpkin panna cotta piece de resistance dessert. We chose to forgo the wine pairings this time in favor of our own wine selection – a beautiful bottle of Craggy Ridge Marlborough New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which paired up very nicely with our largely seafood dominated selections for the evening. And for the beef filet main course, my wife selected the Jim Clendenen Vita Nova Merlot by the glass that had been suggested for the wine pairing menu for this course, and complimented it nicely.

Deb 1st Course Hamachi Sashimi

Deb 2nd Course Roasted Butternut Squash and Lobster Soup

Deb 3rd Course Grilled Kauai Prawn

Deb 4th Course Beef Filet and Foie Gras

I on the other hand went with the a la carte selections, beginning with a fabulous chilled seafood starter of lobster, shrimp, abalone, king crab, and yellow fin ahi tuna expertly paired with three different sauces – mostly locally sourced from various Hawaiian locales. Spectacular!

Ron Appetizer Chilled Seafood Platter

For my main event, I went with the Seared Hawaiian Yellow Fin Ahi and Hokkaido Scallops, exquisitely prepared with an eight spice blend, sake braised spinach, prosciutto wrapped enoki mushrooms, and plum beurre rouge… Oh.My.God…! I don’t think that my taste buds have ever danced so excitedly to the amazing tones that this symphony of flavors offered.

Ron Main Course Ahi and Scallops

To properly cap off this most wonderful experience, I could not handle a full dessert course to enjoy with my wife’s selection, so I chose instead to seek a nice digestif as an appropriate finale. Imagine my delight when I discovered that Azure indeed offered an outstanding Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos that evoked only the best memories of my years spent in beautiful Hungary. It was the perfect finish to an absolutely amazing dining experience.

Desserts - Pumpkin Panna Cotta and Royal Tokaji

And as a final note on outstanding service, I must note and compliment the perfect timing that our server team accomplished by neatly matching up a 5-course tasting menu with my 2 course starter and entrée. Since my appetizer was quite sizeable, it arrived simultaneously with my wife’s first course but easily lasted through her second and third courses. Then, right on cue, both of our main courses arrived at exactly the same time. And of course, my Tokaji finale and my wife’s dessert both arrived in unison as well. This timing could have been tricky, but the Azure team seamlessly delivered without missing a beat!

I highly recommend to anyone that is looking for a memorable epicurean experience, please do give Azure serious consideration. We still have about 10 days remaining here in Honolulu, and several more stops on our fine dining adventure, but I can honestly attest that Azure has set the bar exceedingly high. Thank you Azure for an incredible evening!

Meeting Interesting and Diverse People

Gammy posting again.  (You can assume it's always me unless Baboo identifies himself.)
My very favorite thing about the Foreign Service is meeting so many interesting people from so many diverse backgrounds. Just the American community is amazingly diverse and fascinating. But today I attended a coffee for spouses of the diplomatic community around Port-au-Prince. It was hosted by the wife of a senior American diplomat but was attended by spouses of many in the international community. Just as in DC, many countries have embassies here, and many also have United Nations detachments. At today's coffee there were wives of senior officials from Albania, Germany, Netherlands, and Thailand.  And some of the wives of  American officials were themselves from places like Niger and England. It was super interesting to me to speak with these women about their experiences in this international world. This is the kind of thing I dreamed of when I thought about my life as a retired, diplomatic spouse.

A Weekend in Barahona, Domican Republic

 

Welcome to Casa Bonita, Barahona, DR

 

What a wonderful weekend away from Haiti. A group of seven of us in two vehicles drove to the Domican Republic for a long weekend. Leaving Port-au-Prince after work on a Thursday afternoon, this part of the drive was the most difficult. Traffic is apparently always hideous so it took us nearly 2 1/2 hours to drive the 30 or so miles to the border. A really harrowing and treacherous drive on mostly unpaved roads. The “highway” between the two countries was the most aweful being unpaved, narrow, along a lake (with some parts of the road falling into said lake), with cars and trucks going every which way. The border closed at 6pm and we arrived around 5:45 with masses of others trying to make the deadline. It was quite an experience and likely typical of 3rd-world crossings with truckloads of people and goods piled picariously high on rickety tap-taps and various vehicles which did not appear particularly road-worthy.

Once inside the DR, things changed quickly. First and foremost, the roads were paved. They did have random speed bumps which threw our poor car a couple of times. The bumps were not marked or warned and were especially difficult to see once it got dark.

Our Room - 112

All in all, it took us around 4 hours and 40 minutes and just about 100 miles to reach our destination. Finally we drove up a hill to Casa Bonita just outside Barahona. Even though it was dark when we arrived, we loved it instantly. The reception area as well as the bar and restaurant were outside, lanai style, beside a beautiful pool. Our rooms were gorgeous, especially Room 114, which another couple chose. That one was exceptionally huge and had its own private infinity pool. But all of our rooms were quite nice: lovely decor, quiet, comfortable. And when the sun came up, we saw that all the rooms had beautiful views of the sea.

The Outdoor Spa

 

 

 

Some in our group went horseback riding, zip lining, biking, and running, though Baboo and I stuck mostly to the pool and restaurant area. We did enjoy wonderful massages outdoors beside a babbling brook. Honestly it was, I think, the best massage I have ever had. 

 

 

  

Relaxing in the Lounge

 

 

 

Poolside Dining

Organic Gardens

 

Each night we dined al fresco by the pool. The food was wonderful and the staff very attentive and friendly. The hotel maintains its own organic gardens for the kitchen.

 

 

We loved it and look forward to returning. Even the horrible drive was worth it. The ride home was not quite so harrowing, maybe because we knew what to expect, maybe because it was Sunday midday. That took us about 4 hours.  (I tried unsuccessfully to upload the video I took of the border crossing.)

A Day by the Sea

August 2, 2014

Finally someplace that doesn't look like Haiti. We took a day trip, sponsored by the embassy, to a beach club on the northwest side of Haiti. Moulin Sur Mer was a nice private beach where we spent the day simply relaxing in the shade of the tropical trees. There was a nice breeze all day long, and the water was equally pleasant. A bit warm, but not hot; still refreshing. And it seemed clean if quite salty. The “beach” was not sandy but instead a pebble beach. We ordered up some tropical drinks which were excellent and reasonably priced, and made with fresh fruit. We ordered lunch instead of taking the buffet and it was satisfactory – nothing to write home about. There were some vendors around who would sell you a fresh coconut or mango, which they hacked open with a machete. We didn't get any but stuck to our tropical drinks instead.

We took a bus to this beach. A small but comfortable bus, and a long ride. Once out of the city, the road was paved almost the whole way. We went through a couple little towns, and they all looked the same as anyplace here in Port-au-Prince: ruined and decrepit. The ride out took less than 2 hours, but coming back took an hour longer since by then it was late afternoon and the PAP traffic was hideous. Not sure we would drive way out there on our own; maybe in some sort of caravan.

It did feel very good to get out and to a beach and it felt especially good to swim in the sea. For a few hours we could pretend we were not in Haiti.

Having Visitors - or not

July 13, 2014

Baboo and I talked at length this week about potential visitors since a few have actually expressed an interest.  We both agree that Haiti is far more dangerous than Algeria ever was.  Though having people come would most definitely brighten our lives, we will likely strongly discourage any visits here.  There is really nothing we can do but stay on the compound, maybe go to one or two close-by restaurants.  It would be a major waste of the visitors’ money.  Let’s meet in the DR or anyplace else in the Caribbean.

Maybe in another year we will feel differently.

 

Some Good Things About Haiti

JULY 11, 2014

I write to fill the time.  Of course, we’ve only been here 11 days, but we still have no internet or TV service.  (I use an extra computer at the embassy every couple of days to keep in touch.)  I’ve finished four books and a 1000-piece puzzle so far.

Here are some things I like about Haiti: 

• The beautiful flowers.  I took some pictures of lots of the pretty flowers in our front yard; but for some unknown reason, I am unable to upload them to this blog. 
• Our nice house.  Once I get my things, I will enjoy puttering around, arranging and organizing, and as I often did in Algiers, rearranging and reorganizing.
• The proximity to the embassy.  Not more than a 5-minute walk, I can hang out up there.  I am going to Zumba twice a week, which is held in the embassy atrium.
• Being on this compound.  I cannot even tell you how awful my life would be if I were stuck out in the satellite housing areas.  Not only am I close to what I need here, this compound has its own generators (nevertheless the electricity goes out several times each day), its own water well (which means we can use tap water to brush our teeth, but we still can’t drink it), and its own logistics support structure (including simple things like trash pickup, grounds keeping, etc.).  As I said earlier, there are many others living here, so I am sure I will make friends and find activities before too long.  I’ve already talked to the Information Resource Center at the embassy about volunteering there.
• Of course, the people.  As we've found since our first encounter with the diplomatic corps, at every post there are interesting, smart, friendly, kind, people who are in the same boat that we are, who understand everything we are going through, and who are happy to help with advice, rides, food, whatever.  They come from diverse backgrounds, so we never tire of meeting fascinating new people, every one with a variety of experiences and stories.

Our First Outing

We got to see the real Haiti today as our sponsor kindly took us to the large grocery store in Pétionville.  I don’t think Pétionville is far from us, but it seemed to take forever as we navigated the unpaved roads (making Monday’s “main” road look like a modern interstate) up through the hills.  The grocery store was great, though extremely expensive. 

But what I want to write about is the ride.  The abject poverty was truly striking.  All along the way we saw people carrying 5-gallon buckets to gather their water.  They had donkeys, motorbikes, wheelbarrows; but mostly they carried them on top of their heads.  And they had to negotiate the traffic on the “roads” (unpaved of course) going steeply uphill.  It’s difficult (impossible) to imagine that people have to do this every day just to survive.  Of course, you see scenes like this in movies, on the news; but up close, when you look into people’s eyes – when they look into yours, you are overwhelmed with sadness.  And you think, where did the water come from anyway?  The ditch at the bottom of the street/hill?  The pond on the corner where all the garbage floats?  Or maybe some far-away UN dispensing station.  How many trips up the hill do they have to make each day?  What do they do with the water?  Do they have to choose whether to cook or drink?  I suppose washing is out of the question.  This was my first foray into the real Haiti.  Will it hurt each time?  I haven’t even considered venturing into the heart of Port-au-Prince, which is a lawless no-man’s-land (and off-limits anyway).  Survival there is even harder.  How will I last here two years?  Will I become immune?  Can anyone make a difference?

Next Assignment - Haiti

HAITI

July 1, 2014

Maybe I can be better about keeping up my blog this time around.  So much has happened between my last entry and today, I can’t begin to catch up.  Our time in Algeria was filled with new adventures and exotic experiences.  We did so many wonderful things – mostly trips.   And yet my days were often long and lonely.  But our travels were always wonderful and happy.  We also made lifelong friends with whom we hope to keep contact and meet again in our journeys.

Here are a few of the things we did between 2012 and now, in addition to the things I already wrote about in previous blog entries:

·        We met up in Barcelona and Carcassonne early in 2012 before I actually moved to Algiers.  I never wrote about this trip; it deserves it own entry.

·       We visited our wonderful family in Virginia and Maryland several times.  Needless to say, these visits are precious, especially as the kids grow up so fast.

·        We spent several more long weekends in France: Marseille, and Aix.

·        We shared Thanksgiving dinner with colleagues at the ambassador’s residence.

·        We spent Christmas 2012 in Bruges and New Years in Amsterdam.

·        I volunteered often at the embassy’s Information Resource Center where I made many Algerian friends.

·        I spent a long weekend with old friends in Munich.

·        We spent 2 weeks in Paris – Baboo working at the embassy, me out and about.

·        We spent a long weekend in Rome and 2 weeks in Tuscany with our dearest wine-drinking Budapest buddies; we were joined by several other special guests as well.

·        We spent a week in London.

·        We traveled to Tlemcen in western Algeria.

·        We endured terrorist threats, lockdowns, and Ramadan; and Baboo participated in rescue operations.

·        We left Algeria in October 2013, traveled to Athens and boarded our cruise ship where we spent the next 26 days cruising around the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic to Florida.

·        After that, we picked up our new Jeep, spent some time with family in Florida (sadly Baboo’s dad passed away just a week after we visited him), Georgia, and a week on the Outer Banks.  Then home to Virginia for the holidays.

·        Since January 2014, Baboo was in training in Virginia until departing on June 30 for Port-au-Prince.

And here we are in Haiti for the next two years.  Getting here was super easy from DCA.  And no jet lag since we are still in the Eastern US time zone.  We were greeted at the passport-control area by a local band playing Haitian music.  I loved it. 

It is quite hot here as you would expect and so far very breezy.  And since there is still so much devastation (more on that later), the air is filled with dust and dirt all the time.  Our house is on a secured compound not very far from the airport.  It’s hard to describe the drive from the airport to home.  I’m not sure what we were driving on; they called it the main road.  But really, it was nothing more than a riverbed.  “Potholes” do not begin to describe the ditches we had to maneuver around and through, along with all kinds of “vehicles.”  I think driving is on the right, as in the US, but I’m not really sure as it was every man for himself.  It was a bone-rattling adventure and I decided I will not be driving much around here. 

Our social sponsors met up with us and took us to a lovely open-air restaurant not far from the compound.  We met the owner, who bragged about all his imported, non-Haitian and sanitary food.  We enjoyed our meal very much.  (I was so happy to be out in public drinking a beer with bare arms, something unheard of in Algeria.)  We stopped by a small grocery store and I was pleasantly surprised at the variety and quantity of things available.  I think we will be quite comfortable.



Our House



Bedroom closet



Our Kitchen

We are really happy with our housing assignment.  To be here on the secured compound is the best possible situation, especially for me.  The neighborhood is very pretty with about 37-38 residences.  Our new home is quite nice and very spacious.  Compared to our little apartment in Algiers, it’s a mansion.  We have a 3-bedroom townhouse with loads of storage space, more than we will ever need.  Being a storage-space junkie, I love it.  All the ceilings are VERY high, even in the closets.    And, as a special bonus, none of the walls are white!  We are next door to the community tennis court and pool and half a block from the recreation center, where we gathered with new friends to watch the World Cup.  We hope to meet lots more of our neighbors at the 4^th of July BBQ party this Friday. 

While I unpack our things and putter around our new home, Baboo is getting settled in at his new office.  Lots of bureaucratic administrivia to deal with this first week; he’s anxious to get into his responsibilities and start working. 

I hope I will be better this time about keeping up. 

Staying Safe – my own personal opinions

Since our ambassador to Libya was killed on 9/11, tensions all around our region have been high, especially in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia, with America being target #1.  I was still in Virginia when the trouble started and wondered whether I would be able to get back, which I did on 9/14.  Since then I have not left the apartment.  We were confined to our quarters over the weekend; and though we can go out now, and the embassy is open, no one is supposed to go anywhere alone for the time being.  In fact, the embassy has set up shuttle vans to take employees to and from work each day.  In our case, we are only a couple of blocks; and the walk takes 8 minutes.  Nevertheless, we can't walk the streets alone.  So for me, I am still confined to the apartment since there is no one else here during the day.  Fortunately for me, it’s nice here with my wonderful rooftop terrace, sea breeze, and sunshine.  (From here I can see the embassy and check for any smoke rising from it.)  I feel comfortable and safe. 

Tonight Baboo and I are going to walk to the Superette, a 7/11-type store where we buy our staples like cereal, milk, cheese, cleaning stuff.  I look forward to getting out, but I am still very nervous.  I am not worried about demonstrations.  They are usually pretty easy to avoid and I believe the government here in Algeria is strong and tough, pro-US, and can handle (read: suppress) any trouble.  This government, though rigid, has been in place for many many years and was not the subject of any Arab Spring uprisings and, in fact, was reelected this past spring.  So I think this is why they can handle and direct the police and provide security for us.  This is not the case in the other Arab countries where the governments are so new that they don’t have much control over anything yet.  They cannot protect themselves, much less all the foreign interests.  So what worries me is not the possibility of mobs, but instead the stealthy presence of terrorism and the ability of committed individuals to pick me up off the street.  Hopefully, this is not a serious threat and I won’t be worried about it for long.  But for now, the embassy is taking everything very seriously and making significant efforts to keep us safe.  I can certainly deal with any inconveniences.  Of course, our long-planned trip to the golf spa in Tunisia is on the chopping block.  Bummer.

Summer Vacation with the Grandkids

What a special treat for Gammy.  Our daughter and her husband brought me back to Virginia for 5 weeks of romping with the 3 little ones.

Starting with a special welcome committee, continuing with a big first-birthday bash for the twins, spending some special time with sibs, wine and gossip with good friends, staying at the shore in NJ for a week, but mostly just being with my precious ones.   (Have more photos but they are stuck on my cell phone.)

A special airport welcome.



Sibs

Sibs and In-Laws



A chocolate birthday!

Fun at the beach.

 

Wishing Baboo was here to share all this special

Gastronomy - and more - in Lyon

Here in Algeria, Friday and Saturday are weekend days.  And this year the Algerian National Day, July 5, fell on a Thursday.  Since July 4^th was a Wednesday, we enjoyed a rare 4-day weekend: Wednesday through Saturday off.   We hopped on a plane and headed to Lyon, France.  (One word of warning: the taxi ride from the airport to town cost 70€!)

Lyon, as seen on our first night

Baboo set us up in a gorgeous 5-star hotel overlooking the city.  The location was great, right in the center of the historic district.  It was high on a hill so each night we schlepped up 123 steps (the short cut) to the bottom of the hill on which our hotel sat.  The hotel was fantastic with a beautiful pool area and terrace restaurant.  http://www.villaflorentine.com/index.php?l=en  Though we didn’t take advantage of the pool (too much sightseeing to do), we did enjoy the terrace once for breakfast and once for a fantastic gourmet dinner.  If you don’t know, Lyon is considered the gastronomic capital of France, which many believe is the gastronomic capital of the world.  So we were in a foodie’s paradise.

Here we are with Pierre Orsi

When we first arrived, we tried to make dinner reservations at our hotel’s restaurant, Les Terraces.  Somehow there was a little mix up with the reservation and to make up for it, our hotel manager got us a reservation at the restaurant of Pierre Orsi, a colleague of Paul Bocuse.  He drove us there in the hotel’s jaguar and he introduced us to the staff and to Pierre Orsi.  We had an incredible meal.  And we still had dinner at Les Terraces to look forward to later in the weekend. http://www.pierreorsi.com/  

We took advantage of Lyon's “City Card,” which gave us several walking tours, a self-guided audio tour of the old town, full access to the transportation systems, entry into several museums, and even a boat ride along both the Saône and Rhône rivers.  It was a great deal for us because we did all those things and more during our short time in Lyon.  (We are competitive tourists.)  Of course, we started with our usual trip around town in the hop-on-hop-off tour bus that gave us a good overview and orientation. 

And when we got tired, we picked up some fresh bread, sausage, cheese, and wine and relaxed in our room to gear up for our evenings.

Snacks in our room

Cathédral St-Jean

We attended a concert in the cathedral of St. John.  For two people who are not religious, it might be surprising how much time we spend in churches when we travel.  But that’s where most of the history, the art, some of the most interesting architecture, and often the most beautiful music are.  You just cannot beat the acoustics of a gothic cathedral.  (I have a small sample of the concert; but by mistake, I shot it at a 90° angle and am unable to rotate it.  And, of course, loading a video into these blogs is impossible anyway.)

Besides the wonderful gourmet restaurants, we also enjoyed several of the local “bouchons,” which are basically little bistros that serve Lyonnais fare.  For example, Baboo had a very nice sirloin fondue while I had a veggie crêpe.

L'Atelier de Soierie

Lyon is also the center of France’s silk industry.  Try as we might, we didn’t find a single silk tie that Baboo liked.  We did take a guided tour in French of one of the earliest silk studios.  It was very interesting even if I only understood 10%.  (It was fascinating watching the antique weaving machines.)  Baboo, of course, understood most of it.

It’s so hard to decide what to include here because we really did so much.  The architecture, the art, the shops, the food … everything was wonderful.  I will post a selection of photos on my Facebook page but fair warning: we took hundreds.  So many other things of interest such as these buildings, whose sides – and sometimes entire facades – are painted in life-like murals.

Not a store front but a mural of one

As always, Baboo put together a fantastic trip.  We both had a ball because we are perfect travel partners. 

La Fountaine Bartholdi
La Place des Terreaux

A few days of R&R in Provence

La Rotonde Fountain
Aix-en-Provence

In June I had the great good fortune to be invited to southern France with one of Baboo’s colleagues, who wanted to take a quick trip over and was looking for company.  Lucky me!   I had never been to the south of France and it did not take me long to fall in love with it.  We flew to Marseille (just an hour and a half away) and traveled on to the small city of Aix-en-Provence.

La Fountaine des Quatre Dauphins

 

It's an absolutely beautiful place with many fountains , loads of cafes and restaurants, wonderful markets, art, and interesting history. 



The lobby at L'hotel des Augustins

Our hotel

Our hotel was located in the center of town close by everything.  In ancient times, it had been a convent and still retained some if it’s medieval features. We loved it.

Paul Cezanne's family home

We visited the family home and the studio of Paul Cezanne and took a stroll to view Mont Sainte Victoire, which was the subject of many of his works.  

Cezanne's studio



Mont Sainte Victoire as seen by us

As seen by Cezanne

St Jean de Malte

Cathédrale Saint Sauveur

We toured the town’s very nice art museum, Le Musée Granet, and visited some of the churches.   Of course, stopping for a refreshing glass of Provençal rosé was a regular part of our days.  (I didn't like pastis, the local favorite.)

Pastis and rosé

Our very favorite pastime was just strolling through town and browsing through the cute little shops and the fabulous open-air markets.

Peppers

Olives

Cheese

Tapenades



Spices and Herbs

And as an extra special treat, my friend’s nephew and his fiancée, who live in Aix, in addition to shuttling us from and to the airport in Marseille, invited us to their place for a wonderful lunch and an afternoon at a local beach.  It was a true pleasure to meet and spend time with them.  They treated us like royalty.

La plage de la Sainte Croix

 

We also enjoyed a couple of street concerts.  It was such fun to join the locals and enjoy the music and la joie de la vie.

Multi-generational dancing in the streets



Our last night on Cours Mirabeau



Such a delightful few days that we were hoping we would miss our flight back. For sure I will have to take Baboo there one day.





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