Kathy and I in Zurich
Originally uploaded by Jane Rubio.
So the biggest surprise about my trip to Zurich was how much I missed Lebanon. I missed hearing Arabic and saying the silly little phrases I've learned and having people smile and chuckle when I say something cute or funny. Coming back to Beirut, I felt like I was home.
The big shocker was the weather. It was seriously cold, and made me grateful to be in Lebanon and not in Boston. I had to buy boots before I left because I've only been wearing open-toed shoes.
I was soooo happy to see everything decorated for Christmas. It kind of made me homesick, but grateful to be getting my fill. Seeing Kathy was great, and meeting her cool European, mulit-lingual, mostly investment banker friends. We had a fondue one night. Melted cheese in a bowl. I also had roshti, which is like a tater tot pancake. The food here is pretty heavy. I tried not to overdo it on the chocolate; I only brought back a shopping bag full.
You can check out the pictures at www.homepage.mac.com/janerubio/PhotoAlbum20.html.
"The Dying Lion of Lucerne" is a big lion carved into the side of a rock. According to the tourist brochure, Mark Twain called it "the saddest and most moving piece of rock in the world." I wasn't so moved, but I was moved to have read Mark Twain's words. I love that guy. (He and James Baldwin are my favorite American essayists. . .I know you wanted to know that.)
I also went to the Picasso museum in Lucerne. There were a bunch of great photos of him in his last years. He was amazingly prolific, and he really comes off as a family man. Though we all know he was a philandering scuzzball and so much of his stuff is straight-up pornographic (I don't care what those art experts have to say.)
Here's a good Picasso quote (or at least my paraphrase of it): "I knew if I went into the army, I'd become a five-star general. Or if I went into politics, I'd become the President. But instead I went into painting, and I became Picasso." He's hard not to love.
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