I find a more private area to lean against the jets of water pulsating with force and set my tailbone in front of one. In the water men float at the edges while smoking cigars and their round bellies rise above the water’s horizon. The pool glows from underwater lights, and dim spotlights shine above the café tables and chairs where couples sip at beers. ![]() The fancy hotel with a magnificent warm water pool is just a short trip outside of the city. In the taxi ride I sit on my hands to act as shock absorbers. Later in the day Sophie invites me on a short jaunt out to a pool, “It is all from a natural spring but put into hot tubs and swimming pools. The next day in class I cannot sit comfortably, it feels worse on my left butt cheek so I sit tilted. The cobblestone streets add a lovely ambiance but are not a smooth ride. On the bus back from the restaurant I bruise my tailbone. I pretend to love it, my teacher explains, “The cheeks are considered the best part.” So I reach and tear a tiny little cheek off a freshly killed and skewered member of the rodent order. But the flavor is that of old meat – it is tough, chewy, and the flavor of overly smoked. I wish I could say the taste was fantastic or even good because I hate to feel like the snobby foreigner unable to appreciate roasted rodent. The animals are served whole and people take turns picking off pieces of meat. ![]() The carcasses arrive at our table grilled on large sticks that puncture their small bodies from the ass through to the mouth. In the Andes region it is grilled guinea pig. Before the arrival of those animals – easier to domesticate and then butcher for meat – local peoples ate the local flora and fauna. Animals like chickens, pigs, and goats are transplants to “the new world” of the Americas. In the modern world we rarely think about what animals are native to our part of the world, but indigenous peoples connect to meals passed down through hundreds of years. Specifically we have come to eat cuey – guinea pig. The teachers have reserved a large table and pre-ordered all the food to insure that we all get to try the delicacies of the region. It is place where the people from the city go for special family occasions to eat a meal as if prepared by their great-grandmothers. This restaurant is not listed in the travel guide. Disappointed at the end with the reveal of the expense of such higher quality and then the logistical nightmare of traveling with such fragile items.įrom there our group of twelve students and two teachers walk along the road to a restaurant. I could remind them of how it just feels different to know where an item is made rather than some anonymous factory in China. The thought crosses my mind if I had one of these mugs and my friend was over drinking tea from it I could tell them all about this factory. ![]() The tour guide explains their production numbers, the large orders they fill for weddings, how some of the designs are traditional while others are modern. The next room houses thirty women sitting at stations to add colorful designs ready then for the final room with the oven to glaze it all together. We start out at a ceramics factory with a big open room drying thousands of mute brown colored mugs and bowls. It would be a busy week for many, and the relaxing, atmospheric dinner was just the ticket-a way to inject a bit of Ralph Lauren’s easy elegance into the itinerary.The Spanish language school in Cuenca, Ecuador organizes a half-day visit to the rural areas for us students to experience more traditional traditions. Midway through the meal, Nicholson, who wore a camel-colored suit flecked with diamantés, posed to the group: “Should we cheers to fashion week?” And as the room contained some of the biggest runway show fixtures and party attendees, everyone rose their glass in unison. What followed was an elegant dinner served on RL homewares like saddle leather chargers and plaid trimmed salad plates. Guests carried moon-shaped satchels and messenger bags in calfskin or suede dyed in very Ralph Lauren hues of caramel and tobacco brown. The reason for the celebration? To fete Polo Ralph Lauren’s latest fall accessories collection, dubbed the Polo ID Collection, which was on the bodies of several attendees, including Charlotte Groeneveld, Ariel Nicholson, Laura Love, Ivy Getty, Amelie Zilber, Tylynn Nguyen, Chriselle Lim, and more. As there’s a Ralph Lauren polo player-shaped hole in this week’s NYFW schedule (they will show next month in Los Angeles), the label decided to tide friends of the brand over with a cozy dinner hosted at, where else, but The Polo Bar on East 55th Street.
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