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Paris: Eating breakfast of pastry and espresso at the patisserie Paris: Eiffel Tower, Arc d'Triomphe, Louvre, and Notre Dame Paris: anything we had to eat or drink, and I include the tea at McDonald's (relax, we didn't have any food there) Versailles: the first glimpse of Versailles Palace while Leyla said "nice little hunting lodge, isn't it?" Rick Steve had a similar comment in his Paris travel guide, "If you've ever wondered why there's French in your American passport, you can find the answer at Versailles." Baku: crescent moon over the city as the plane was landing Baku: having tea with so many old friends and family in Leyla's old neighborhood; noticing that everyone has a china cabinet filled with lovely crystal and china Novxani: swimming in the warm, clear Caspian Sea Baku: seeing medieval landmarks like the Palace of Shirvan Shah and the Maiden's Tower, more in the style of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, and India than anything European Baku: the Shushah outdoor shashlik restaurant Baku: watching Sponge Bob Square Pants with Lyaman Lyaman, calling to Leyla: "Leyluuuushha!" Lyaman, calling to Joel: "Joel! Lllook at me!" Azeri house talk: Lyaman, calling through the house: "BaBA!" ("Grandpa!") Uncle Eyyub: "Ayjan!" ("Yes, my soul") Ilking: "What a cool word...umbrella." Qusar: seeing flocks of sheep and goats, sometimes with a shepherd, sometimes apparently out on their own |
Qusar: seeing whole sheep up on meat hooks in the market (not sure if this was a highlight, but it was memorable) Tajir's house: all those ordinary farm experiences that most North Americans are no longer in touch with: beehives, happy chickens roaming wherever they like, cow and her yearling. We ate honey, varenia made from tiny strawberries, mulberry molasses, butter, tvorog, Lezghian bread, sour cream, yoghurt. Lezghian bread is similar to pita bread, made in huge rounded rectangles, with holes poked from turkey feather quills. Avaran: on a walk with Leyla, we met three old women outside a house talking. Leyla greeted them with the Lezghian greeting. Leyla talked briefly with one women in Russian, apparently a little difficult for the woman. She asked where we were living and we said we were visiting with Tajir. She said "Tajir I know, you I don't know." Leyla told her "I'm Heurazhad's granddaughter, Ramiz's daughter." The women had known Leyla's grandmother, even before she got married. Where is Ramiz? she wanted to know. "In America." And where do you live now? "Also in America." We went our way, as I thought about how many years this woman must have lived in this somewhat remote spot of the former Soviet Union, and wondered what she had experienced and how she thought about the world. Everywhere: sweet hospitality of friends and family, especially appreciated after some exhausting travel experiences |
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