More International Dining

As I mentioned previously, I am now staying with Katie, a former teaching colleague, her husband Olivier, and their son Christian.

On Saturday night, after our visit to the zoo, they took me out to a Japanese hibachi grill.  It was my first experience at that sort of restaurant.  We were seated around a large metal grill, and we watched the chef prepare the food... the grilled vegetables, the fried rice, and our selections of meat.  It was quite a show, and the meal was very good.

 

Last night I treated them to dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant not far from their house.  It was an excellent choice.  The food was superb.  My gazpacho was very authentic, and all the tapas that I ordered were very good.  In fact, the ham croquettes were the best I have ever had... even better than what I have had in Spain.

Later today, I will leave their home and spend the last few nights at the Red Roof Inn.  I will definitely need to go on a diet when I return home to Mexico City!

In the Rainforest

On Friday, I went to the home of my good friends Katie and Olivier to spend a few days.  Katie was my colleague in the Foreign Language Department where she taught French.  Her husband is originally from France.  Their daughter Nina is currently working in France, but their son Christian is still at home and will be graduating from high school this spring.

On Saturday they took me to the RainForest pavilion at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.  I have been to the RainForest numerous times, but it is always enjoyable to visit again.

Katie, Christian and Olivier inside the entrance to the RainForest.

The RainForest was completed in 1992.  The two-story building is one of the largest indoor tropical exhibits in the world, and contains more than 10,000 plants and 600 animals, including birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles from the rainforests of the world.

It was a fun afternoon at one of Cleveland's most popular attractions.

International Dining

This trip to Ohio was not only an opportunity to see the eclipse, but also to visit friends up here.  It has definitely not been a trip conducive to dieting because practically every day I have been going out to eat.  The restaurants have represented a variety of international cuisines.

After spending several days with Duffy and Carlos, I went on to visit my friends Cliff and Jeramie.  During the time that I spent with them, we went out to "Das Schnitzel Haus"... obviously a restaurant that specializes in German food.  It is one of their favorite places, and I like it also.  The food is good, and the portions are very generous.  I always leave the restaurant with a full tummy.

Cliff (left) and his husband Jeramie

I joined my cousin Gail and her husband Wes for dinner at "Barroco", a restaurant which specializes in "arepas", a typical food of Colombia and Venezuela.  An "arepa" is a patty made of corn flour with a stuffing.  I had an "arepa" filled with "ropa vieja", a shredded beef dish. It was very tasty, especially with the sauces that they have on the table.  I like the spicy peanut sauce best of all.

Yesterday, I got together with my friends Nancy and Fred.  We usually go to a Mexican restaurant called "Dos Coronas" which is not far from their house.  Most Mexican restaurants up here are not that authentic... more Tex-Mex than genuine Mexican.  However, "Dos Coronas" has an excellent Aztec soup, and their "carnitas" (pieces of braised pork) have an authentic flavor.  Their portions are enormous. I made the mistake of ordering a bowl of soup instead of a cup (the soup is thick with chicken and avocados) in addition to "carnitas".  I was not able to finish everything, which is unusual for me.

I am now staying at the home of my friend and former colleague, Katie.  The international tour of food will continue because we are going to a Japanese steak house tonight.

Lots of good food, but even more importantly, the good company of dear friends! 

   

A Bunch of Retired Teachers

I wrote a long time ago that there is a group of retired teachers from the school district where I taught that get together for lunch every month.  For many years, I did not attend because I thought that it was a ladies-only get together.  I was told that I should join them, and the last couple of years I have attended when I was in Ohio.

Before I made this trip back to Ohio, I emailed a couple of my former colleagues and wrote that I could come to this month's lunch if they scheduled it while I was up here.  April's lunch was yesterday, and I was in attendance.  The number of former teachers always varies, and sometimes I would not know all of them.  However, yesterday the eight retired teachers were all people with whom I had worked sometime during my teaching career.

Long-time readers of this blog have already met a couple in the group.  Carol (far left) was a colleague in the foreign language department, and years ago she traveled with me to Mérida, Yucatán.  Next to Carol is Nancy, who, along with her husband Fred, has traveled to Mérida and Mexico City.  Lucy (second from the right) says that she is planning to come to Mexico City in the fall, and I am looking forward to playing tour guide when she visits. 

It was a wonderful get together, and I enjoyed seeing everyone.

More on the Eclipse

 Here are a couple more photographs related to the solar eclipse...

Alejandro found this historic picture and sent it to me.  In 1932 a total eclipse of the sun was visible in Detroit, Michigan.  At that time, Diego Rivera was painting a series of murals in the Detroit Institute of Art.  He, his wife Frida Kahlo, and several other people, climbed to the roof of the Art Institute to view the spectacle.

My cousin Gail found this fantastic photo on Facebook and sent it to me.  We see the total eclipse above Cleveland's iconic skyscraper, the Terminal Tower, which was illuminated for a few minutes as if it were night.

So Long, Farewell

On Tuesday morning, the day after the eclipse, our little group of high school classmates got together for long, leisurely breakfast at Bob Evans, a popular chain of restaurants that originated here in Ohio.

Heather, who came in from Virginia to see the eclipse, hit the road after breakfast, so we all said farewell to her.  Even though I am going to be in Ohio for another week, my social calendar is very tight, and I will most likely not have a chance to see Gayle again before I leave.  

So, our breakfast get together ended in hugs and kisses and farewells.

Our mini-reunion of Berea High School grads.

Total Eclipse of the Sun!

The event had been hyped by the media for months as a once in a lifetime experience.  For once, the experience lived up to the hype.  Yesterday's total eclipse of the sun was incredible!  Given the fact that April in Ohio is often cloudy, rainy or even snowy, we were concerned that we would not have clear skies to fully appreciate the event.  But the weather was splendid... only some thin wispy clouds and a high temperature of 72 F.

We had a small gathering at Duffy's house, and we were able to see it all from his patio.

Our friend Gayle used to work at the NASA research center here in Cleveland, and she brought approved glasses for everyone to use.  When the eclipse began, we all donned our glasses.

My friend Frank (who used to housesit for me when I would travel to Mexico), Gayle and me

Carlos and Duffy gaze upward as the moon begins to cover the face of the sun.

Gayle also brought filters for photographing the eclipse with the cameras of our cellphones.  However, only one of us had any luck at all capturing pictures of the event.

At two o'clock the eclipse began.

At 3:14 the eclipse reached totality, and it lasted about 4 minutes.

At that point we could look at it without glasses.

The temperature went down noticeably, and it grew dark.  However, it was not pitch dark because the skies beyond the path of totality were still bright.

Then the eclipse started to recede, and we put our glasses on once again.

It was a truly amazing event, and I am so glad that I came to Ohio to see it.

My thanks to Duffy and Carlos for hosting a spectacular get together!