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Meeting Frances Mayes

At a book signing at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park recently, I had the pleasure to listen to Frances Mayes, author of  Under the Tuscan Sun : At Home in Italy , talk about her fascinating life in Tuscany. Mayes spoked about how food and  community are deeply intertwined. As an example, after the olive harvest, locals go to the piazza to share their olive oil with one another while each one believes his/her oil to be the best of the lot. When asked about her favorite food experience in Italy, Mayes mentioned the first communion celebration of a neighbor's child where 140 people were invited and a procession of pastas were served at the end of which, four men carried a roasted cow from the Val di Chiana. She said that in Italy, an eight-hour meal would not be unusual and that guilt is never associated with food.  After her talk, Mayes read a chapter from her new book, Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life . It was followed by a Q&A session and book signing.  Someon

Bacolod Revealed

What a great opportunity I had to visit Bacolod when my friends from Los Angeles were visiting their hometown! I took a local bus for Iloilo that stopped in numerous towns along the way. It was an interesting but long ride with vendors coming up the bus and peddling in a sort of mantraspeak their " puto, bayebaye, bingka ". I bought the bingka, a mini version of bibingka (a rice cake). Two hours later the snacks for sale were " balut, mani mani, mais ". Arriving at the bus terminal in Iloilo I jumped into a taxi for the port and took the fast ferry to Bacolod. It was just an hour and 15 minutes away. But before boarding the ferry, I bought some mais (corn) as I was starving. In Bacolod I was met by my friends and we drove to Los Feliz Alegria Resort in the outskirts of Murcia (where there is a large outdoor market). Our gracious hosts, Julie and Joe Torres, are the owners of this lush and secluded resort where the swimming pool is fed by cool spring waters that t

Viewing Rodin Up Close

The Three Shades It is both a privilege and pleasure to see Rodin's craft up close and observe the nuances of his creations,en plein air, at the Cantor Arts Center in Stanford. Seen from behind, The Three Shades are a picture of powerful musculature. These three pieces are one and the same but turned at different angles. Up close, you can see the curvatures and indentations, feel the strength emanating from the composition and enjoy the play of light on the surface. Rodin's contemporaries were the Impressionists and his works are as much about the effect of light on the object or subject as they were with Monet and his generation. And since many of Rodin's works are displayed outdoors, light is a defining factor in his ouevres . Notice the contrast of light and dark on the faces of these two Shades and how light intensifies the facial expression. And here are their hands, as expressive as their physique, like the fingers of Michaelangelo's David in the Sistine C

What you can eat for $20.00 or less

A friend suggested I write about what $20.00 can buy for dinner at restaurants in the Bay Area. I've chosen four restaurants (plus 1) where I've recently dined and here they are...... One of the main draws for dining at Applebee's is their 2 for $20.00 menu which includes two entrées and an appetizer. There are at least 8 entrée choices including a riblet basket, bacon double cheeseburger, fiesta lime chicken, three cheese penne pasta, sirloin steak, two kinds of salads and the double crunch shrimp seen above. The appetizer selections include mozzarella sticks, buffalo chicken wings (or honey chicken wings), spinach and artichoke dip and crunchy onion rings. What I like at Applebee's is that it is easy to ask the staff to substitute vegies with rice or mashed potatoes or french fries. Nothing's too difficult to please you. And they don't skimp on the plate of food they give you. I always go home with leftovers.  http://www.applebees.com/ The next restauran

Meeting My Favorite Blogger

David Lebovitz When I started reading " The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City ", I couldn't put it down. So I read on through the last page. And then I wanted to read more of David's works. I thought I would have to wait for his next book to be published but no! Luckily Mr. Lebovitz is one of those rare writers whose works can be easily accessed. He has a blog, http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ , he's on Twitter and Facebook and his photos are on Flicker. At a book signing in San Francisco last year, David graciously autographed our books and talked to us, his fans, about his upcoming book, Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes . David's blog is as colorful as his life in Paris and the dishes and desserts he features with recipes to boot. The stories he shares on Facebook are novel and interesting. And his tweets are one of a kind.  Here's a sample: "Had a terrific evening. Till that bird rel

Masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay: The Birth of Impressionism

Exciting times for art enthusiasts are on the calendar for 2010. The De Young Museum in San Francisco will be presenting consecutive exhibitions beginning with Birth of Impressionism : Masterpieces from the  Musée d'Orsay which runs from May 22, 2010 to September 6, 2010 followed by  Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond : Post-Impressionists Masterpieces from the Musée D'Orsay from September 25, 2010 to January 18, 2011. Some 100 paintings will be on display in the first exhibition including Les Raboteurs by Gustave Caillebotte, Saint Lazare Station by Claude Monet,  The Dance Lesson  by Edgar Degas and Portrait of the Artist's Mother by James McNeill Whistler. Other artists in this show are Bouguereau, Manet, Morisot, Pisarro, Renoir, and Sisley. The Post Impressionists' collection consists of 120 canvases foremost of which are The Artist's Bedroom at Arles by Vincent Van Gogh, Portrait of the Artist with the Yellow Christ by Paul Gauguin and selections from