The Birthday Girl

Back in February, when Alejandro and I celebrated our anniversary at the Cheesecake Factory, we decided then and there that we would bring his sister there for her birthday in April.

Sandra had never been to the Cheesecake Factory before, but had heard good things about it.  It made reservations for us, and in spite of the typically horrendous Mexico City traffic, we arrived ahead of time.

While we waited for our order, we gave Sandra a couple a small gifts that we had bought earlier and put aside for her birthday.  There were a pair of silver filagree earrings and a small lacquerware plate with a butterfly on it.  (Sandra loves butterflies.)

(all photography by Alejandro)

  

We had warned her that the portions were very large.  I suppose that's why she ordered a salad.  She was surprised to see how enormous the salad was.

Then it was time to order dessert.  I did not realize that she is not that fond of cheesecake, but one of her favorites... carrot cake... was on the menu.  I whispered to the waiter to put a candle on it.  He returned with the entire wait staff, and they sang "Las Mañanitas", the traditional Mexican birthday song.

Everyone was very satisfied with their meals, and I suspect that we will return in the future for another family celebration.

Lunch at Liverpool

No, not the city in England, but the Mexican department store chain.

Last weekend Alejandro and I wanted to do some shopping, so we took the Metrobus down Insurgentes Avenue to one of the largest Liverpool stores in the country.

Including the basement, there are five floors of merchandise here.

After we finished our shopping, we decided to have lunch.  The two of us ate once at the downtown Liverpool, and we were quite disappointed with the food and service there.  However, a couple of Christmases ago, I ate at this branch and had a good meal.  However, rather than eat at the restaurant located on the mezzanine, we went up to the top floor.  Most of that floor is taken up by a food hall called  "Experiencia Gourmet".

The "Experiencia Gourmet" includes a very large wine section and a deli counter of imported products.  There are other counters which sell food to eat there.  These include Asian and Italian food, seafood, and Spanish tapas.  You can sit at one of the counters, or you can take a table, and they give you a menu including all the different kinds of food.  That is what we did.

Alejandro ordered a pork sandwich and an Asian bowl of beef, crab and rice.

I had roasted tomato soup and spinach cannelloni.

After finishing and paying for our meals, we went to the other side of the food hall and indulged in some gelato.

I am not saying that our meal was one of our top culinary experiences, but the food was good.  We would eat there again if we are at that Liverpool.  Although the next time, we would sit on the terrace, which we did not even notice at first.

Oscar Winning Film

Last weekend Alejandro and I saw the Brazilian movie "I'm Still Here" ("Aún Estoy Aquí" in Spanish, "Ainda Estou Aqui" in Portuguese).  The movie won numerous awards including an Oscar for Best International Feature Film.  The movie was shown in its original Portuguese with Spanish subtitles.

(image taken from the internet)

The film is based on the true story of Rubens Paiva, a politician who opposed the military coup d'état in 1964.  The dictatorship removed him from his office as congressman, and he returned to his career as a civil engineer.  However, he secretly continued to assist political exiles.  In 1971 he was arrested by police and disappeared.  It was 25 years later that the Brazilian government, once again a democracy, issued a death certificate for Paiva.  He had been murdered at the headquarters of the intelligence agency.

The movie centers around Ruben's wife Eunice.  She was also arrested and spent 12 days in prison where she was interrogated and tortured.  After she is released, her goal was to hold the family together and to discover what happened to her husband.

The film is gripping and is certainly deserving of its Oscar win.  Actress Fernanda Torres who played Eunice is superb.  She won a Golden Globe for best actress in a drama, and received an Oscar nomination.

It should be noted that the U.S. government supported the military dictatorship and the CIA aided the dictatorship's terror campaign against dissidents.   

Turning the Page to April

Regular readers of my blog know that on the first of each month, I show you the picture that I used for that month on the calendar that I have custom-made using photos from my travels.

If you have a very good memory, this picture may look vaguely familiar.  In January I showed you a painting which I had completed , and the calendar photo was the model for my painting.

I wrote at that time that Sayil was a Mayan city in the Yucatan Peninsula that was at its height more than 1000 years ago.  This palace is the most impressive of its remaining ruins.