ADDIS ABABA
In front of the National Museum.
RAIN
Life is a search, right? For the right jobs, partners, goals, houses and on and on. Big, huge really, on that list is finding the place to live that suits you—the climate and landscape that make you happy.
ME, I do not like sun. And live in New Mexico! Sometimes the match just isn’t made and you do the best you can—by desperately hoping it will rain when you visit other places.
In Addis yesterday when we arrived and again this afternoon it RAINED. Thank you travel god.
HOTELS
I already said we’re in a perfect hotel—although maybe a bit far out from the center ($20-30 too far). But it is in a regular neighborhood not a hotel row in the “tourist” part of town which makes up for the distance. The best thing, which happens frequently in mid-range to upper-low-range (I just invented that category) hotels, is, instead of central air and central heating, you get windows that open and a little portable heater. Furthermore if, like me, you are usually the only one cold, it is so perfect. It’s like a little dog that will follow you around the room and beg to sit in your lap.
Finding a working ATM. When you land in a city with infrastructure issues which happens now and again in this big wide world—do not think you can walk up the street and get cash. ATMs get system hiccups pretty easily. But if that leads to a citywide search with the hotel driver for that one working machine, what the heck… after all Addis is a new spot on the map of everywhere-in-the-world.
CULTURE: THE HIGHLIGHTS
Haile Selassie’s throne.
Visiting the Holy Trinity Cathedral (Ethiopian Orthodox) took up much of the morning and an interesting informative time it was. A very old church which contains the tombs of many famous Ethiopians including Haile Selassie and his consort. I’ve now been to the tombs of Haile Selassie and Yassar Arafat. Both great leaders with great flaws. Selassie appears to be much revered still, at least according to our self-appointed tour guide who took us all around the compound. Both his throne and tomb in this worn gray cathedral of solemn beauty were wonderful joggers of historical curiosity and we have vowed to explore a little more tomorrow at the ethnographic museum and on-line.
The Cathedral
Tomb of Haile Selassie.
Lucy lives at the National Museum which is a well-maintained and well-organized tour of early Ethiopian history—and considering this was Lucy’s home 3.2 billion years ago—that history is about as early as it gets. I’m sorry to say we did not spend the time we might have going through the eons of ancestry the museum offers. But visiting Lucy was special.
The Girls: Lucy, Teresa and me.
Lunch at Lucy’s Restaurant next to the Museum was okay. Leafy outdoors, good service. We ordered Ethiopian which was fine but did remind me it is not my favorite cuisine. It is either plain sour without embellishments or very ‘heated’ in the pepper sense. Steven had Key Wat, spicy beef stew, which I did find tasty but also very hot. I longed for a pot of sour cream to tamp it down. Remembered this wasn’t Sadie’s. When in Ethiopia…try to….
The good beef stuff and Ethiopian sponge bread!
Back to the hotel late afternoon. Vegging since. So VERY happy to have slept quite a bit last night. Going to try to duplicate it tonight.
More Addis culture of a more contemporary nature.
Wow…what a great time you guys are having. Since I can’t “stand the heat” as your noticed at Abiqui (sp) Inn I would have difficulty finding Anglo food in Ethiopia. Milk cuts the heat better than sour cream. Keep us posted. on your adventures