FAREWELL KIGALI. 2014.
We Do Love our Books and Electronics and Bed.
Breakfast with the Animals.
What fun we have had and are having. It’s the fun of family and travel and mixing the important things of knowing more about the world with being silly about cold water showers and teasing about each of our peccadilloes. Steven takes being the guy responsible for two ladies seriously, is a great debater and comedian. Enjoys a variety of foods although his sister’s tastes can get even too weird for him. Teresa is the person with socks lined up neatly in the hotel dresser drawer, the reader, and a partaker of small meals of sardines and peanut butter. I am the cop-out artist, turning the various currencies over to Steven to handle, and the obsessive book collector. Also, even though I do enjoy new tastes to a point I was wildly happy to have ordinary pancakes yesterday.
We’ve found a great Kigali bookstore—unfortunately. Does keep my suitcase from blowing away in strong winds though. A gourmet restaurant named Heaven owned and operated by an American couple; a book “A Thousand Hills to Heaven” has been written about it. Perfect Japanese Plum pancakes. Another excellent restaurant last night, Republika. All local foods, tiny grilled fish (Sambaza) from Lake Kivu, a chicken dish, sugared fried plantains and wine. It has been a perfect first phase of a long journey.
Steven is happy for Breakfast…in HEAVEN no less.
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- Must be walking toward Heaven. For the pancakes and the art.
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- Heavenly or Devilishly Alluring.
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- Heaven’s dining room.
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- Wanted this piece in Heaven’s Gallery. Oh well.
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- Heaven’s MOST Heavenly Japanese Plum Pancakes.
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- We stayed Inside Afrika…near Heaven.
I want to end our Rwanda trip with a few photos from the memorials and burial places. These are the same churches I visited in 2010 but as you can see the condition of the clothing has deteriorated while the sites have been determinedly maintained and even improved. I suppose the cloth items will have to be stored differently at some point in time if they are not to disappear completely. I am grateful that I saw them; those bloodstained simple shirts and blouses and trousers and tiny baby covers will never really leave my mind. I’m not sure grateful is the right expression except I feel that I know something more about the depths of good and evil that is all about us and within ourselves by witnessing these places, these sites sitting so peacefully and green and flower-infused in this countryside that was hell. Maybe it makes me a little wiser or better of a human to know this…but I’m not really sure. Sadly.
And at the end of the day we had a quiet dinner and then drank a little and even laughed a little and walked home quietly.
Yes indeed, being able to taste the various foods in local restaurants whereever I travel, is one my favorite learning experiences when traveling internationally: not only does one learn about the local products and how creative people can be in preparing the meals (hopefully with not too many stomach troubles as a follow-up!) but it also provides opportunities to meet the locals and start conversations about anything, life, etc….which is why we ought to travel around the world. Cooking is an art of love and sharing, so should be all travels!