Le Marche

Breakfast in Montreal had to involve bagels.  I still remembered them from the last time I visited Connie in Quebec.  They're thinner and a bit chewier than their New York cousins, but still delicious.

Walking through the city had been nice, but we thought it would be more interesting to go out and have a look at some of the parks and local forests.  I had seen a lot of built up cities over the last few days, so this suited me.  The parks and forests were calm and peaceful places.  They were also enormous.  I really was loving the forests of North America.  The long drive through the US and the wanderings through Quebec were so peaceful.  The forests and the bush of Australia felt so much rougher in comparison..

The city side of Montreal was nice, but the natural side of the place seemed to be much nicer.  The forests of North America have a size and density to them that I'm not used to.  There are big forests in Australia, but they don't seem to be as verdant and dense as these North American forests.  The parklands were also lovely places to walk around, and were very well maintained.

Lots of people were taking the opportunity to walk around the parks and all the food they brought with them was clearly helping to keep the local squirrel population fed.  I found a few new squirrel friends and their fatness was astounding.

We walked up to the top of one of the parks and we were able to see the full skyline of Montreal.  As expected, there was nothing particularly memorable about the city itself.  There was no building or landmark which stood out and it just looked like a fairly standard city.  The abundance of greenery was probably the one thing I took away from looking out towards the horizon.

The city seemed quite liberal, or at the very least lax, in the open flaunting of the law I saw.  On the outskirts of one of the parks we were walking around, we saw a couple of guys going through their drug dealing transaction.  This in and of itself is not anything necessarily out of the ordinary, and it happens in cities around the world.  What surprised me was when the dealer pulled out his precision digital scale and started to weigh out the drugs on one of the benches.  Later on, we walked back towards the city.  As much as felt outside of Canada at times, I was definitely in Canada.  There were constant reminders of that fact!

Everything around me had the Canadian flavour and style to it.  Yet at the same time, I couldn't shake the feeling of not really being in North America.  The United States was only an hour or so away by plane, but it could have as easily been an ocean apart from me.  We went to one of the big markets in Montreal and browsed through the abundant local produce on offer.  It felt like I was in one of the local markets on the outskirts of Paris.  With the French being spoken around me and the neatly organised tables, it did not in anyway feel like a market in North America.  I looked at the tins of maple syrup to remind myself of the reality of the situation, before buying a couple of boxes to take home as gifts.

I was reminded of the last time I had visited the US and the lack of vegetables I had eaten during that trip.  The side trip up to Ottawa had given me lots of fresh produce to eat and I couldn't help but think that this trip to Montreal had offered me the same.

As I stood outside of the market looking at the enormous pumpkins, I still felt a bit confused.  Montreal was an interesting city to visit, but it seemed to be the coming together or so many different cultures.  The Canadian, the French, the Quebecois, the American?  The French and Quebecois cultures were definitely what was desired the most, but the strength of the Canadian and American influence was also clearly growing.

Maybe it wasn't right to think about this from a Quebecois and Canadian perspective?  Maybe this was just another part of Canada that wasn't being properly brought out for the rest of Canada.

Quebecois

The New York wedding was over and everyone was starting their respective journeys back home.  I still had a bit more time though.  Since I was up this side of the world, I decided I would go and visit my friends Christina and Eric in Montreal.  The flight was short and I had always wanted to go to Montreal.  My last trip to Canada had been to Ottawa, so I wanted to see something a bit different.  The Quebecois side of Canada would definitely be a change.  On arrival in Montreal, I was immediately confronted by a Tim Horton's and reminded that even though I was seeking out a change, there were some things which would remain very much the same.

There was something very hipster about Montreal.  There was a love for old things and an old look.  Much of the city reminded me of life in the 90s, and this was made strikingly clear to me when I walked past a video rental store.  Here in Montreal, this lone outpost for past technology stood resolute against the onslaught of time and progress.  Even the people seemed to take a bit more of an old fashioned to how they dressed, with lots of dark colours and baggier clothes.  At times, I felt as though everyone was inspired by a Nirvana but when I saw a girl walking past me in a tartan skirt, knee length socks and a rock and roll t shirt, I realised that Nirvana probably didn't go far enough.  This was all just part of the Montreal look.

The weather in Montreal can get exceedingly cold, but it was still nice autumn weather for me.  One of my old bosses had lived in Montreal for years and he described to me how much of the city was designed so that it could operate "underground", with series of tunnels and underground malls interconnecting to allow for people to move about without ever being exposed to the cold winter winds.  Walking through some of these tunnels and looking at the maps, I was surprised at the sheer extent of them and how seemed quite organic.  There was no central theme or design, but it was instead very much different plans and designs that happened to then connect together.

The outside was a bit different.  The city had a much more classic look than I expected.  It felt a bit like a smaller version of Manhattan without any of the newer elements to Manhattan.  Whilst it was quite similar visually, it was definitely much quieter than New York.

One strange thing about Montreal was there really wasn't anything that stood out for me.  There didn't seem to be an iconic building or street which could be used to advertise it to the world.  Instead, it was just a whole series of relatively tasteful buildings, all arranged in a grid pattern for easy access and walking.

It didn't mean that there weren't lovely parts of the city.  At one point, Eric and Christina took me to this innocuous looking pub.  At the back, it had a courtyard surrounded by the high walls of the adjacent buildings, covered high with lush ivy.  It was a beautiful place to sit for a drink.

The rest of the city was all nice, but again, not all that memorable.  I liked the vibe and the atmosphere of the city, but there really was a greyness to everything that seemed to make it hard to distinguish the buildings.

We had been walking all day, so we left the city centre and went to get some dinner.  Eric thought that the best place to go would be an old Montreal institution called "Le Banquise".  This restaurant was open 24h a day and specialised in all things poutine.  We ordered some strange beers (I got an apricot beer which was quite good) and then we started looking through the poutine menu.  I love poutine, but I was only used to the simple form of chips with curds and gravy.  Here at Le Banquise, they upped the stakes further and also included various different topping options.  Given we were in Montreal, I thought that adding the Montreal smoked meat option seemed to be the best approach.  The plates arrived overflowing with chips, curds and meat.  It didn't look like all that much, but it was delicious.  Eric and I quickly finished our plates and then we moved onto cleaning up Christina's plate.  I contemplated ordering another plate, but then thought the better of it.

The weather was very chilly in the evening.  We started to walk back to their apartment.  In the night, the city looked much nicer.  The old style of the buildings seemed to suit the evening lights.  As we walked down the old streets in the suburbs, they pointed out to me the peculiarities of the split levels and the staircases leading from the outside up to the top floors and the metal frames made for scraping snow off of shoes.  Everything felt very cosy and I thought that maybe this was a city that would be best enjoyed in winter.

Greek wedding

I woke up with a bit bleary eyed.  Dinner the night before at the Greek restaurant had been fun, but we had all overindulged.  I was still sharing the twin room with Reh and he was snoring in his bed.  He was in a far worse state than I was so I left him to keep sleeping off the booze.  I had a shower, got changed and walked out into the fresh morning air of the city.  I was hungry and I needed something to stop the hangover.  I looked at my phone and found the closest diner to where I was staying.

I pushed open the metal door of the diner and walked straight in.  There was no one to greet me and instead I made my way towards the counter stools.  Sitting at the counter, there was a constant buzz of activity both in front and behind me.  The waitress in front of me handed the menu to me without a word but with a smile.  I looked through the list of options and settled quickly on the corned beef hash.  To wash it all down, I had a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee.  The entire spread of food and drink is nothing if not comforting.  It's food that's made for cold weather and hard physical work.  It's certainly not the type of food you would want to be eating all the time if you were working in a sedentary office job.

After breakfast, I went back to the hotel and changed into my suit.  Reh had now woken up and was also getting ready.  It was time for the main reason that we had all gathered in New York, Kosta's wedding!  A whole bunch of us had traveled in from various parts of the world to attend this wedding.  In the early afternoon, we all gathered in the Greek church in Queens and watch our good friend get married.

The ceremony was lovely and full of all the traditions of an Orthodox Christian wedding.  Like the weddings I had been to in the past, I loved to see the pageantry and traditions which unfolded before us.  One of the final acts that occurs between the couple at an Orthodox wedding is the placing of gold crowns on the heads of the groom and bride, which the priest then symbolically switches back and forth between their heads.  It's a nice act and for me it creates a link not just between the couple, but also through to the past and their history.

Once the wedding was over, we were all bused over to the reception in Westchester.  I have never seen so much food in my life.  There was a buffet which had been prepared just for the cocktail hour before the formal reception actually began.  By the time the reception began, most people were far more interested in the party than the food being served.  The band kicked off and in traditional Greek fashion, money was thrown to encourage the band to play harder and louder.

The party kept going deep into the night.  The floor was covered in money and once things started to finally wind down, brooms were brought out to sweep the money into boxes for the band.  Most of us were bleary eyed as we began our treks back to the city.

Met and pastrami

I love being able to catch up with friends when I'm overseas.  One of the nicest types of catch up is when you somehow manage to run into friends who are also traveling to the same place you are.  By a stroke of luck, I found myself in New York at the same time as Jimmy and Eva.  They were traveling as part of Jimmy's work to California and had decided to stretch out the trip with a visit to New York.  They had seen on facebook that I was also in the city, so we quickly arranged for a day out together.

They hadn't been to New York before, so I thought it would be best to immediately introduce them to my personal favourite, Barney Greengrass.  We arrived on a very full morning, excited and happy to see each other.  The dining room was packed, so we sat down at a table in the front room next to the groceries.  The huge menu was put in front of us, and I felt like an established old pro as I guided them through the different options.  The service was quick as always, and our table was soon covered with the heavy diner style plates and cups.  Jimmy and Eva delighted in the eggs, lox and bagels.  All of it was "simple" fare, but done in the way that only Barney Greengrass is capable of.  The eggs were fluffy and not greasy.  The lox was all mixed in just enough to keep its form and to still give the intense salty bursts of flavour.  For me, this was what spending time in New York was about, far more so than merely visiting the tourist spots.

After the very filling breakfast, we went for a walk through Central Park.  New York in the autumn is a lovely time and there is no better place to experience that than in Central Park.  The leaves were golden and there was a light breeze in the air.  Since we were all full, the walk was needed for our collective digestion.  On the other side of the park was the Met.  I still remembered how overwhelming the Met was when I first went there.  The sheer volume of exhibits inside was like nothing I had ever experienced before.  Others clearly had the same idea as us that day and we found the foyer to be a crowded mass of people.

Once we moved inside, the crowds dissipated a bit and we were able to walk through the halls at our leisure.  Jim and Eva were traveling with their baby, so we had the additional task of pushing the stroller everywhere.  People were generally well mannered and the presence of the stroller didn't seem to cause any delays or annoyance.

The Met is truly enormous.

It isn't just the huge collection it owns, the space itself is cavernous, so much so that it holds smaller disassembled buildings within its confines.  There are temples and small buildings which are located throughout its interior.  Deep within the centre, there is even an old American colonial house which has been completely relocated.  You can wander around inside and look at the recreation of how life would have looked for those who lived in the past.  I also remembered the Egyptian temple which had been rebuilt inside of it from my last visit and Jimmy and Eva had a great time exploring it as well.

The Met's building itself is quite classically designed, but they've been smart enough to incorporate modern touches and renovations throughout.  I enjoyed sitting with the stroller in the Egyptian temple hall while Jimmy and Eva had a closer look inside.  Looking out of the huge windows, I could see out towards the park and the natural light filled the room with a brightness that you would never see in the stuffier old museums in Europe.

The collections inside were just as incredible as the best places I had visited in Europe.  The wealth of New York's elite had helped to build this place and so it wasn't surprising at all that they had managed to gather up some of the most incredible pieces from around the world.  Every room we walked through held treasures from various times leading up to the modern day.  It was a great way to spend a day, looking through all of the different wonders our shared history has managed to produce.

The long day of walking through the Met had reinvigorated our appetites.  Anyone who claims that old cliche that American food is "terrible" has never been to New York.  This is one of the gastronomical centres of the world.  Every time I've been here, I've been amazed by variety and quality of the food options.  It ranges from the simple food carts by the side of the street, all the way through to some of the best fine dining restaurants in the world.  We decided to go with something more in the middle of that range.  We arranged to catch up with some of Jimmy and Eva's friends for dinner and decided on going to Eataly in the Flatiron district.  Eataly is incredible.  Inside Eataly, we were once again amazed by the sheer volume of items like we had been inside of the Met, though this time for different reasons.  We walked around all the different aisles of food and then bought cheeses and meats, along with bottles of wine to eat amongst the throngs of people shopping, eating, talking and laughing.  We were just getting started with the eating though.  This was just a simple appetiser to get us ready for more food, as we arranged to go upstairs to one of the many restaurants inside of Eataly.  When it was our time to go up, we walked up the stairs and found ourselves walking past Nina Dobrev from the Vampire Diaries.  The girls all giggled at having seen a celebrity, adding to this New York experience.  Once we were seated upstairs, the food began to arrive.  We all felt like family, so the plates were all pushed to the centre as everyone picked bits and pieces from every dish, trying to experience as many different flavours as possible.

Once we finished with dinner, everyone sat back satisfied (or so we thought).  A few drinks were ordered as we talked about our days and our respective trips.  The waiters came back to the table with menus for dessert.  We looked through the menus, but nothing in particular popped out at us.  Someone at the table started talking about Katz Deli and the incredible pastrami sandwiches they made.  Eva and Jimmy had never been, so they listened intently as everyone at the table described in detail the fatty delights offered at Katz.  It was at that point that someone at the table asked "why don't we go now?"  I'm not sure who it was who made that suggestion.  At first we thought they were joking.  We had just finished dinner, and it was close to 10:00pm at this stage.  We all looked at each other and we all started to think "why not?"  It might be a bit strange, but there wasn't actually anything stopping us from going.  We all started to respond together, as though a wave had overtaken us, and decided that this was actually the best idea of the night.  We paid our bill, then went downstairs to grab a couple of cabs to take us over to the Lower East Side.  Our two cabs made their way through the city and dropped us right next to the shining lights of Katz Delicatessen.  We were late enough that there was no more lineup outside.  Inside, there was still a bustle of people, but there was enough space for us to all grab a large table together at the back.  A group of us went to the counter with our tickets in hand and ordered our sandwiches.  It was hard not to laugh, as we then carried the trays laden with food back to the tables.  We joked that this was in fact our "dessert" for the night.  The earlier dinner did not stop us as we all started eating.  We were clearly not famished or hungry, which strangely helped to give us an additional appreciation for the food.  We were here purely for the pleasure of the food rather than any need to satiate hunger and that changed our collective perspective entirely.  Every bite was chewed more, savoured a little bit more which made us appreciate how special it was.  The sandwiches were all eaten and we were left with plates of pickles to gnaw on as we realised just how much food we had been eating over the last few hours.  With that, it was time for everyone to go.  We gathered outside of Katz to say our goodbyes.  Some hopped into cabs, whilst I headed towards the subway.

It was a great day.  A day filled with far more food than I could have ever imagined.  The bookends of two meals from Jewish establishments with a middle of Italian food seemed to be an apt analogy of what New York is.  This city, so rich in its history of both Jewish and Italian Americans, has pushed out a unique culture towards the rest of the world.  We had experienced a true overload of that cultural mix in a single day.

Norfolk and Newport News

We woke up to a miserable day in Richmond.  There was a huge storm rolling in and the sky was dark.  We still wanted to explore the region a bit more, so we decided we would drive out towards the coast.

The coastal region around Virginia is famous for its association with the US navy.  Along the coast are famous ports and shipyards, and Reh and I both wanted to see some of these.  His work with the military and my own personal interest in military history was more than enough reason for us to make the drive out.  We reached Norfolk a bit before lunch.  We went to the naval base to join one of the tours, but got lost on our way there.  We found ourselves stuck in front of a huge entrance area, looking through our phones to try and work out how to get to the start of the tour.  Looking in the rearview mirror, we could see two armed servicemen approaching the car.  One of them walked straight to the driver side window, whilst the other stood back, his hand on his gun.  The serviceman at our window was incredibly polite and helpful and directed us back onto the road towards where we needed to go.  We found our way to the small office where the tour of the naval base started.  The rains started coming down as we jumped into the coach to take us through the base.  We passed row after row of enormous ships, gawking at their size.

No photos were allowed on the naval base!  It seemed an appropriate requirement given where we were.  We were happy to be there, so we pressed our faces up to the windows of the bus as we slowly drove by the ships.  Somehow, even with clear instructions to take no pictures, there were still some people on the tour who felt compelled to take photos.  At the end of the trip, those people were pulled to the side by large American military personnel and forced to delete the photos from their phones and cameras.

After the naval base tour, we made the short drive into the centre of Norfolk and went onto the USS Wisconsin.  This old battleship from WWII is now a permanent museum and we were able to walk throughout the ship and its interior.  It was a great opportunity to see a ship like this.  In the past, I've been able to go onto other museum ships to have a look around, but never have I been on anything this enormous and famous.

It was incredible just how open the ship was.  It didn't seem like any part of this floating museum was off limits and we were able to walk through what seemed like every section.  We moved from the operational parts of the ships all the way through to the living quarters.  Being able to walk through all these parts of the ship, I felt like I could imagine far better the conditions that these sailors would have gone through.

Even though the ship was now decades past its retirement, it was still an imposing and impressive vessel.  This was one of the most powerful battleships ever built, probably the most powerful ever built by any of the Allied nations.  With its huge forecastle and enormous guns, it was like a guard for the city of Norfolk, even if the guns were, strictly speaking, pointed towards the city...

The rest of Norfolk felt deserted.  With the storm coming in, most people seemed to have retreated inside.  Walking through the streets, we found ourselves almost completely alone.  It wasn't clear whether this was just a quiet town or if it was a sign of a greater level of malaise.  It made me think back to my days living in Canberra.  On certain days, going into the centre of Canberra you could have been mistaken for thinking you had walked into the scene of some post apocalyptic world where all the people had disappeared.  This place sadly had that same feeling.

We went back to the car and drove back towards Richmond.  On the way there, we decided we would go through Newport News.  This town with its pretty name was any but pretty to look at.  Following on from our nautical themed trip, we drove to the shipyards to try and get a better look at the creation of America's naval might.  The whole area around the shipyards was awful.  There were crumbling and decrepit buildings everywhere.  It wasn't like in Baltimore, which had old and beautiful buildings which had fallen into disrepair, these were just terrible looking buildings in terrible condition.  Driving past the shipyards themselves, we saw some enormous industrial equipment and monstrous ships that towered over all the surrounding buildings.  As we had been driving close, I had even caught sight of an enormous gantry crane, so large that the words "Newport News Shipyard" was written across the length of the beam in script legible from a huge distance away.  I wasn't sure if other parts of Newport News were nicer, but driving around these areas didn't seem nice at all.  We drove a bit further South towards a park and walked out to get a better look at the ships being worked on.

They really are impressive.  These monsters are capable of bringing a level of death and destruction greater than anything else in history.  They're more than just war machines, they are floating cities made purely for the single purpose of projecting America's might.  Newport News may not have been so impressive, but these machines sure were.  We drove back towards Richmond.  The rains were now hammering down on the car and the roads were surprisingly poorly lit.  We eventually made it back, completely exhausted from the long day.  The streets were still quiet, but we found a small jazz bar near the hotel.  We sat in there listening to the jazz band, eating dinner and drinking beers.  People were dancing and laughing.  It had been strange in the South.  Whenever we had found indoor places like this, they were warm and full of life.  When we had been outside, it had felt almost deserted.

Virginia

I liked Virginia.  I was starting to understand the atmosphere of the "South".  There was a mood to the whole place which was different to anything I had experienced before.  There was this feeling of run-down grandeur, of a place that whilst refined in its actions and behaviours, had definitely seen better times.

Everywhere we drove felt relatively "rural", even if it actually wasn't.  There was a feeling though that nothing was ever too far from the natural world.  We walked through wooded areas, nature reserves, parks and other bucolic areas besides the river.  All the while, we were still within the city of Richmond.

There was never a rush or any crowds either.  Instead, we were able to enjoy the quiet of our surroundings.  The people were polite and always greeted you with a smile, though it was hard to tell whether this was being out of mere courtesy or a genuine desire to be kind.

Later on, we decided to drive through Hollywood Cemetery.  This was an enormous sprawling area on the edge of Richmond that was the last resting place for many of the most famous figures of the Confederacy.  There were various monuments to the Confederate dead and some of the graves of the Confederate leaders were incredibly ornate.  The very last spot we visited was the grave of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy.  We weren't alone when we got there.  Several other groups were standing there, looking on with a quiet reverence.  At different points, men approached solemnly and placed small stones on his grave, as though to make some sort of offering.  They stood in front of the grave, hands together and heads bowed in respect to this man and his cause.  I found it to be deeply disturbing.  The fallacy of the "Lost Cause" was still clearly pervasive in this country and seeing this bizarre procession of mourners seemed to reinforce the idea that many still didn't appreciate what had actually happened.  Maybe the fact that Reh and I aren't from America gives us a better view.  Sometimes, being removed from something provides an objectivity that is otherwise impossible to obtain.  Irrespective, we were both dumbfounded by what seemed to be a completely inability to be introspective in these matters.

It was hard to understand the true reason for the continued refusal to acknowledge the sins of the past.  However, being in the South made me understand the nostalgia that there may be.  The atmosphere of the place lends itself so strongly towards this idea that things were better before.  Maybe it is that simple, a powerful nostalgia for something never experienced which has blinded some to a less savoury reality of what happened.

Heart of the Confederacy

We kept driving South, deeper into Virginia.

We were now well and truly away from the American North East.  The buildings and scenery were changing.  The people were different and spoke differently as well.  Even though it still looked to be relatively "North" on a map, I was learning that Virginia really was culturally "South" for the purposes of America.  It was an uneventful drive, going down more highways that needed refurbishment and seeing nothing of note along the way.  Had we had more time, we probably should have taken some back roads so that we could have seen nicer things.  The weather was turning a bit when we finally drove into Richmond.

By the time we reached our hotel, it was late and the weather was awful.  We went and got a quick dinner before we went to bed.

The next morning, everything had changed and the sun was shining brightly.  We went outside and walked around the city a bit.  Richmond is a beautiful place.  It is a small city, but we later looked into it further, and found out that it's the home of numerous Fortune 500 companies.  So it turns out this relaxed little city still provides a plethora of high quality jobs for the local population.  It explained a lot.  Even though it was a bit smaller, the city centre seemed clean and relatively well developed.

We went over the Tredegar iron works, which had been turned into a museum full of old Confederate memorabilia and artefacts.  It was a lovely old building and the grounds of the place were spotless.  We went for a walk around the area before going inside.  The parklands were deserted so it was a quiet walk.

Inside the museum itself, there weren't too many exhibits.  It was quite small and definitely geared more towards a younger crowd than us.  There were interactive displays and games to be played.  We found a "dress up" section (which was again geared towards kids) which had a Confederate officer's uniform.  I of course decided that this would be hilarious to try on.  I wonder if I was causing anyone to roll in their grave?  An Asian dude, wearing the precious uniform of a racism driven cause.  There were several exhibits which seemed to make a little bit too much light of the Civil War and didn't seem to be as open about the causes as should be appropriate.  This would sadly be a bit of a recurring theme we would experience.  That being said, there were still several incredible exhibits on display.  The highlight was probably a copy of General Lee's surrender.

We jumped into the car and drove towards the centre of Richmond.  Within the grounds of what is now a university hospital is the "White House of the Confederacy".  I couldn't take any photos inside, but I was a bit shocked by how lacking it was in comforts and how simple all the furnishings were.  The whole building felt like it had been built on the cheap, and even the "marble floors" were actually imitation.

As part of the complex, there was a museum. Inside there were a huge range of different things to see, including the uniforms and weapons of many of the famous leaders of the Confederate forces.  I was able to see up and close the uniforms worn by individuals such as Longstreet, Jackson and Stuart.  In addition to those were flags.  Lot and lots of flags.

There was still clearly a great deal of pride for this flag, the symbolism of which still sharply divides.  There museum seemed to give a reverence to these flags which I found slightly uncomfortable.  A lot of time had past, but there were clearly still many wounds which hadn't healed.  Sadly, it seemed as though the lack of healing was to an extent intentional.

This day of wandering around different Confederate sites had been very eye opening.  It had been very interesting to see, but it had also taught me a lot.  It was a miracle that the Confederacy had lasted as long as it did, largely it seemed, due to the early ineptitude of the Union.  In particular, I questioned deeply the wisdom of the Confederate leadership in launching into a war with the industrial powerhouses of the Northern states.  We had learnt that Tredegar had been the largest and main steel work for the entire Confederacy.  I had also see first hand that these states were not by any means capable of manufacturing capacity, seeing the pathetic state of their "White House".  For their leadership to have launched into conflict with an opponent so much stronger was quite simply irresponsible.

We went back to the hotel to rest for a bit, on our way up we asked the concierge where we should go for dinner.  Without hesitation, he told us to go to "Comfort", a restaurant not too far away from us.  When we arrived, the restaurant was completely full.  We sat inside the restaurant at the bar and I ordered a local IPA from the bartender.  During our travels, I had been trying as many local IPAs and rye whiskeys as I could.  I had never been too much of a fan of IPAs in the past, but I had developed a taste for the intense flavours.  The ryes I had been given varied greatly, but all seemed to have the sharper flavour which I liked.  I looked through the menu and I ordered what I thought looked to be the most "Southern" dishes.  I got a plate of fried catfish, cheese grits and deep fried okra.  The plate brought to me looked like a waiting heart attack (albeit a delicious one).  It was all delicious, though I needed another drink to wash it down.  The fried foods all had a lovely crunch, the grits were creamy and rich.  There was no pretension to any of it and it felt homely as you would expect of this type of food.

For dessert, I ordered a banana toffee style of dessert which also seemed to be a bit of a throwback to the past, even if not so far back as during Confederate times.

I left feeling very satisfied.  This meal was the most "Southern" I think I had ever had and I enjoyed it immensely.

Smithsonian and chicken

Reh was asleep and being lazy.  I didn't want to waste any of my precious time, so I went back to the National Mall.

There are so many "Smithsonians" along the National Mall and I we didn't have anywhere near the time to see them all.  I went quickly into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum because I wanted to have a look.  The inside was as grand as the other buildings along the mall, but the exhibits weren't as awe inspiring as in some of the other places I had been.  I like animals and the natural world, but I think that we are now beyond the point of looking at stuffed versions of the them in an old museum.

I went next door to the Smithsonian's museum of American history.  This was a building filled with the treasures of America's history, ranging from colonial era treasures all the way through to more contemporary items.  When you first walk in, you are greeted by a large metal sculpture that moves and shimmers in the light.  Behind it is the "Star Spangled Banner" which inspired the American national anthem.  Standing in front of the tattered old flag, you feel a strange sense of connection to not only this incredible piece, but to the very foundations of the country itself.

Further inside the museum, there are incredible items to be found almost everywhere.

I found a case containing the gloves that Mohammed Ali wore in one of his famous fights.  They looked fairly pristine given they were used by him to pummel his opponent into submission.

I found Kermit the frog!  He appeared surprisingly lifelike sitting there, staring into the distance.

I found a death mask of Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated.

I even found Don Draper's suit from Mad Men.

Before I left, I accidentally stumbled past one case which I had managed to miss.  Inside were Judy Garland's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz".  I looked at these now slightly faded slippers.  They encapsulated the entire golden age of Hollywood which helped to create the entire image much of the world has had of America.  Without any context, these slippers meant nothing, but with the benefit of their story and their connection to the movie and their wearer, these shoes helped to tell the story of modern America.  They were simple looking shoes, but these were indeed a treasure worthy of any museum in the world.

I went back to the Airbnb and packed up.  Reh had woken up and was tottering around the apartment.  It was time for us to head to our next location.  Before we left DC, we had one more stop to make to meet Reh's cousin.

It seemed like a pretty nondescript chicken restaurant on the outskirts of Arlington.  The moment I arrived it felt a bit "weird".  I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I almost felt like I had been here before.  That was of course impossible, because this was my first time to DC.  Still, there was a familiarity to this chicken shop that I couldn't place.

I walked into the restaurant and I was advised to order the chicken with rice.  The whole restaurant was filled with the smell of roasted chicken.  There was a slight hint of the spices that the chicken was cooked with and I was hungry.  I was still having the strangest feeling of deja vu as I took my tray of food and walked over to the table.  As I sat down, I suddenly had another flash of memory and I asked our host "did Bourdain come here?"

That was it!  This was the Arlington chicken shop that Anthony Bourdain had been to on an episode of "No Reservations".  Our host thought about it, and said "you know, I think it might be".  He hadn't brought us here because this was on some celebrity food tour, he had just brought us here because this was a beloved chicken shop for people who live in DC.  Bourdain's visit didn't change any of that.  The chicken was as good as Bourdain seemed to think it was.  The meat was juicy and succulent, the skin was crispy with a deep and peppery flavour. I've always been a fan of Bourdain and this was the first time I had been able to go to one of the restaurants he had visited!