I was toying with three possible posts for the blog today. And then I got side tracked. So I am not going to write anything about any of these. But I will give you the synopses and then fill them in once I have some time.
1. A unique Lisbon Restaurant: On a quiet unmarked street, not too far from the Marquis of Pombal square, but away from the din is a small door. It is an intimate door with no adornments and there is only a small sign that tells you it is a restaurant and a bar. Inside, however is one of the most bizarre places I have ever visited. The restaurant (much more appropriately called a food bordello) is a sries of rooms each opening into another crammed with antique furniture from the Portugese colonial period so completely that you have trouble moving around. The chairs are uneven and unmatched. They have enormous head rests and grand red cushions. The light is dim and intimate, like that of a bordello and each room has thick tapestry-like red curtains. People eat in all these rooms and the waitresses balance their giant orders on their hands as they deftly maouver the furniture without tripping. But the main attraction is the menu. The menu is a large book, perhaps sixty pages long which have food and drinks listed along side erotic art. Ppictures of Chinese men with enormous penises doing the unmentionables with beautiful women casually adorn the pages of meat varieties. The pictures are explicit and old fashioned, with almost a lithographic innocence.
2. The girlfriend of a Latin American President told in the style of Ganji no monogatari: We shall examine in great detail the rise (no fall yet) of an acquaintance of mine from the obscurity of academia to the Presidential palace. But entirely in the style of classic Japanese novels. I almost wrote this and then lost it because I was not careful to save.
3. A visit to Coimbra: Home of Europe’s oldest university. Underground Roman markets. A converted church where you play chess with strangers while drinking beer. A million pastry shops. A Turkish gate. A thousand steps to go up and down to the top. Best Sardine-paste bread spread. Forget all the tourist traps. If you are a writer in search for a hide out for inspiration, this is it. More later.
Which one would you like to read? Meanwhile, I better go and look busy.
