13 stories tagged family
Maggie graduated high school this spring and heads to college in the fall, Lisa starts high school, and Jennie starts middle school. A father of six on growing older, watching children turn into teenagers and then adults, and realizing, right on schedule, the same things every generation realizes. With Ecclesiastes, Aristotle, Strauss and Howe, and a lot of cooking.
Back in Saigon for the last days of the trip: a Vietjet hop from Da Nang, dinner at Brick & Barrel in the rain, a morning walk along the Vàm Thuật, bún bò and a long wander through the alleys, an Italian sub from Big Boss Bistro, bún chả cá in Chợ Phạm Văn Hai, a new nephew, and roast duck and pork for dinner.
Our last day in Da Nang: the family off to An Lão at 4:30 am, coffee and noodles high on the Hải Vân Pass, the old fort at the summit, a Thai lunch in An Thượng, an $89 apartment with an infinity pool, one last family feast and the elders' memories of March 1965, chè and kem bơ with Fozzie, and a sunrise on the beach before the flight to Saigon.
A Saturday on the Sơn Trà peninsula: the Lady Buddha and Linh Ứng Pagoda, a secluded beach café and the fishing boats below the mountain, an obscene amount of seafood with Diem's brother by the Trần Thị Lý Bridge, plaster statues by the river, and a late feast on the floor with the family from An Lão.
A near-midnight feast of chicken feet and quail balut, early-morning laps and a pot of cháo gà, coffee in the shadow of the Dragon Bridge where Diem and I had our first date, a morning at Chợ Cồn with mắm nêm, tương ớt and kem bơ, a new McDonald's, a Moonmilk snack run, and a seafood night at the house.
Two more days in An Lão: a wet market in the early morning, a feast on the floor before 11 am, bánh xèo and balut on the back patio, an eight-course housewarming on the river, and grilled chicken in a garden under the palms.
After a wonderful lunch with my newly discovered grandfather-in-law, it was getting time to prepare our departure. It was a couple hours to Qui Nhơn, and I was expecting...
The Constant Epicurean. Ep. 111, Dining With The Dead. In this edition of the Constant Epicurean we visit Kong Chro, Gia Lai Province for an unexpected meal with my wife's grandfather. A man thought to be dead for decades.
I’ve spent much of the past week working on a new project. Building travel guides piece by piece. First for Atlanta and then for the rest of the world. I expect it to be...
As we ventured into the seemingly untouched expanses of the Upper Peninsula something seemed amiss. We strolled the beach in Mackinac city, in the shadow of the great...
It had become apparent that my time in Vietnam was going to be, at least for the moment, indefinite. The local people's council was not making my ability to secure our...
What an incredible process. Primarily fun and new and exciting, somewhat bureaucratic and painful. Traditionally in Vietnam, the wedding photos come well before the...
