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Bourdain Travel Rants

Anthony Bourdain

He is just so frank, a genius of his craft and truly an admirable man. I think anyone who knows me well is clear on my fascination with Anthony Bourdain. I wouldn't miss his shows "No Reservation" and "The Layover", as he travels from city to city pin pointing the best points of interest, the culture and the most amazing culinary experiences.

Ha! Safe to say, I idolize this man and would love to work with him. In reality, it seems his job is just to go all over the world and try new food.
(Food + Travel = My Ideal World)
I follow him on Twitter and on occasions, I pretend we are friends and I tweet him.

Well, in his most recent set of tweets, he speaks about being en route to the Cayman Islands for another culinary experience. His flight from MIA to the Cayman Islands was delayed through American Airlines. We have all been there, at an airline's mercy for timely transportation because let's be honest here, what's the point of being able to pick your flight times, if they will be delayed 9 times out of 10.

In his outrage, Anthony mentions that he has been waiting for 2 hours. While he waited, as the greatly frank man he is, he updated us real time as it was all happening. His tweets started with:

@Bourdain: Love the poor gate agent, standing mute under the “on time ” sign when clearly we are f**ked. #AA

@Bourdain: What does “special situation” mean in airlines speak? Ain’t nothin’ special about late departure #AA

@Bourdain: Latest news is it took #AA two hours to admit a passenger dropped a wet deuce on a seat. Need to change planes

Unbelievable, how in our day and age a flight can be delayed for 2 hours for something so primitive. Someone had defecated on the plane. They left the flight attendants a less than pleasant surprise. As analytical as I am, I got to thinking. How severe could this "number 2" have been, that it caused an airline to delay for exactly that, 2 hours. Comical but real, there is never a dull moment in travel. One of Bourdain's last tweets on the subject, was him jokingly thinking of paying it forward with the airport panini he had eaten earlier.

American Airlines opted for a very diplomatic answer to this rant by stating that "the flight in question was delayed approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."

Alone.

The expression on her face. The thought process behind her uncomfortable smile as her eyes grew wider, Alone?

There was so much taboo around being a female solo traveler. As I recited to her that I would be taking a trip alone, I felt her tone change drastically. The longer the conversation, the easier it was to hear the mix of confusion, admiration, shock, horror and....well, pity. It is easy to judge when you are standing on the opposite end of the spectrum. The side where you are co-dependent on another human being for what should be, your natural happiness.

For a couple of months now, I had been standing at the edge. I'd been researching my heart out, as curiosity and knowledge overwhelmed me. I had been so reluctant to take the plunge but with good reason, as it was a scary leap of faith. One that would enrich me with insurmountable amount of fun experiences and new sights. When you want something this bad, you can either find an excuse or find a way. I had been bitten by the travel bug and in desperate need to travel. I asked myself, which was more pathetic; The constant disappointment of waiting for a travel companion and watching as my nomadic dream life dissolved? or continually wondering what else is out there?. It was the perfect timing. Contrary to those my age, I did not have a husband or kids. What I did have was, this crazy ambition and fascination with traveling. Why not now? The fear of regret trumped the fear of the unknown once again.

I didn't think myself as very different from this friend but our conversation left me to feel as though we weren't cut from the same cloth. Physically, we resided in the same borough yet mentally we were worlds apart. It was almost as if she didn't understand the concept that there was another way of living rather then conformity (she obviously hadn't read my last post). There was a whole community of people who thought like me, a community of solo travelers. The kind that hadn't limited themselves to the social norm. They too, were also marriage, husband and babies free!-The fact that I was trying it out, made me feel bold, daring and...well, pretty BADASS!!

As I thought about our conversation, a sense of relief, freedom and liberation overcame me and I pulled out my debit card. It takes determination and courage to step into where the magic happens and you do what you love. I was there again. I was at my favorite place, the online airline checkout. The confirmation email verified my happiness once again and the count down began.

A Year Off Would Be Nice

Another Type of Surfing? Don't Mind If I Do! - Part 2

Jenkie. Or at least that's how I thought it was spelled. I heard it from her voice after every gesture. There were no communication barriers or misunderstandings. She was Polish and that was her way of saying thank you.

Her face lit up like a lighting bug in the dark when I agreed to host her for the night. She was 27, single and on "holiday" to one of her favorite cities is what she said. She was couchsurfin for the second time and it was my first time hosting and depending on this experience could be my last??

She told me, she was picking up her bags from the luggage storage lockers in Hell's Kitchen (yes, I said the same thing. They have those?)  She would take the train up to my house on a Friday afternoon. It would be our second time meeting, EVER. I was going against everything my mother had raised me to do. I was going to open the door to a stranger. As the door bell rang for a second  time,  I was standing there peeking from my balcony, talking myself into proceeding with this ridiculous idea. It was as if I felt a rush of curiosity, I had to know. I needed to know. I can't remember my exact thoughts as I was rushing down the stairs. I do, however, remember the very second before unlocking the door thinking "this is it kid, you can easily walk away from this. It's completely optional". Curiosity trumped cowardliness that day. I flung the door wide open, as I extended my hand to help her with her bags. I exposed every single one of my teeth, but it was a genuine smile.  Standing tall at 5'9, dark brown hair, at a fair 175lbs, with the kind of skin that hadn't met the sun in years was Magda.

First order of business was to get fed. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't deprive myself of the pleasure of hearty meals, the unhealthier the better. Out of courtesy, I asked if she had any place in mind she had read about or wanted to try. She looked at me confused, trying to find a piece of crumbled paper that was in her bag from a couple days ago. She wrote down the name of a place she passed by. "It's, ehh... Mexican food, we don't eat it a lot in Poland" she said. I tell her I know a couple places. In my head I'm thinking: Rosa Mexicana, Dos Caminos, La Esquina etc.. I tell her, "finish getting ready so we could go". She screams my name in a heavy accent to let me know she has found the paper. I had never heard such a horrible pronunciation of Chipotle. That was it? She wanted Chipotle? Lol, I was thinking fancy she was thinking simple casual style dinning. As we started to engage in conversation the second order of business was to help her say my name correctly. All else fails tell her to call me Mimi.

She tells me that she doesn't eat meat. I'm not sure how to take that. Was she vegetarian? Well, I put my persuasive skills to test. Told her she atleast had to try it and if she didn't like it, I would pay for her meal. Let's just say I paid but she loved it. I felt accomplished. If she left that very second, I knew I had made an impact in her life.

That night there was another travel event in the Lower East side. The bar screamed travel, as it was called "Destination Bar". We met up with Glenda and her friend Jackie. Glenda explained to Jackie who Magda was. I immediately saw the judgmental facial expressions, as Jackie battled with this crazy idea and the norm. I wasn't entertaining anyone's view on this. I put myself in this situation, it was something I wanted to do. We met some people and grabbed a couple half priced drinks. I wasn't trying to generalized but she drank like a fish (obviously this was coming from a girl who had two drinks, eyes glazed and was ready to dance). She taught me Polish words and told me she wanted me take her around a day in my life On our ride up to the house, I told her I had a great idea for tomorrow. Her eyes lit up, as I explained to her that there was a beach I wanted to take her to. My exact word were "girl, we are gonna get you some color". I think she was excited about it, if not she was pretty great actress. As the night came to an end, I handed her some sheets, a pillow and a towel. Jenkie!

Blueberry/Strawberry Pancakes

Yankee Stadium

I heard the shower running, she was an early bird. Since I was playin an amazing hostess in this crazy movie, I got up to make her Pancakes. She said they don't eat it much in Poland and they actually call it omelette. Based on last night's conversations, I had learned she loved fruits, snowboarding and pancakes. I like to think I was doing pretty well. Due to the humidity and the sun not showing up to our planned outings, we decided to skip the beach. I took her shopping since she said that Poland was pricier than the states and she loved buying new things. She didn't want to do regular touristy stuff. I took her for a nice home cooked meal at my loving yet judgmental mothers' house. Magda was so thankful and excited, but shy and reserved all at once. She told me it was the best meal she had since she had arrived in New York. I patted myself on the back for the second time, even though my mom had made it. I took her for a walk near the Yankee stadium, followed by a Jamaican restaurant near my house.  As we drove away from the restaurant, she frantically asks me to pull over. She wanted to take a pictures of kids playing in by the water hydrant. She commented on how easy life is as a kid. I drove over to the South Bronx hoping to expose her to the low income housing area. Magda had taken so many pictures, as to capture every single second. We bought some moscato and conversated about the pictures she had taken, the things she had done and compared it to her perception of the Bronx prior to staying at my house. 

A lot was to be learned about this experience. We weren't too different, me and her. She was from another side of the world, but yet she was just as curious and enthused about learning more and wanting more from life. She thanked me for showing her around but I was far more grateful for the experience. It was my turn as i waved goodbye, I uttered the word dziękuję (Jenkie) meaning thank you. She look up in shock, smiled and said "we learned alot this weekend".

By hosting Magda, I had opened my door to another country, lend my couch to another culture and my mind to a world outside my comfort zone. Would you do the same?

Insatiable Wanderlust

Euphoria. An overwhelming feeling rushes through me the second I enter my debit card information during the online check out for an international flight. It just gives me a sense of accomplishment and relief. I am constantly asking myself why is it that such a simple change of scenery and direction brings excitement to my life.

Maybe it's the way the tiny white grains of hot sand massages the soles of my feet leaving a footprint with every step as I slowly approach the vast ocean in front of me, or the way the bright rays of sun kiss my skin ever so lightly causing my pigmentation to be a darker shade. It could very well be the warm hearts and caring smiles of a native stranger that with one look helps me forget the distant past and troubles. I enjoy embracing a new culture. As a New Yorker, I live in a society in which everyone is always on the go, and therefore find myself wanting to go somewhere new. See, home is dead time to me. I am constantly living in anticipation of being someone somewhere else.  It's not the destination but more the journey and the objective is to learn as much as possible. I have come to the realization that I have a restless spirit (or a mild case of ADD, depending on how you look at it).

I sit at my desk at work day in and out daydreaming of all the places I would rather be traveling to. Trying to break away from life’s tedious monotony, I look up destinations; sign up for vacation deals and indulge in reading travel blogs to help me pass the time. It has become an addiction in which I now wish to not only participate in but also contribute. A couple of years ago, I fell in love with a nomad, whose stress free and careless ways were a constant reminder that there was a world out there ready to be explored.  He recited a quote that will forever be embedded in my memory.

"The world is a book and those that do not travel only read one page"

And what kind of person would I be if I didn’t attempt to read the whole book? You see, I have been bitten by the travel bug and for the past two years found myself immersed in what some call "Wanderlust", which by definition is a very strong and irresistible impulse to travel. This blog is mostly in his memory. He would be proud of the places I will visit and the things I will see. Yes, it’s a travel blog. But above all, it’s a love letter to the love of my life. A crazy, random, and poorly written love letter. The kind he’d appreciate and know me to write.

Along the way I will also share tips, deals, and experiences that I find whilst documenting the memories because as we all know, they have a tendency of fading. So I invite you on this journey, see the world through my eyes, because life is an adventure!

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