The END!
Full circle.
East coast to West coast and back–three weeks “on the road” and here we are in Washington DC about to fly back home.
It has ended brilliantly with two memorable meals–both cooked by others.
For three weeks I’ve stayed out of the kitchen–apart from making four omelets in Palo Alto.
JOY!
We have relied on the kindness of friends for places to stay–without their generosity this trip would not have been affordable.
New York City was the US launch and a lively pop-up event at a Scottish bar and restaurant called St. Andrews in the heart of the theatre district.
Enthusiastic POLDARK fans in the pub snug
An American version of Demelza!
Our friends Melanie and Bruce kindly lent us an apartment on West 22nd Street–a long stone’s throw from where the bomb went off last week.
Melanie sent us photos of the Malibu Diner where we had lunch together–now a crime scene.
Then on to Dallas–hosted by our friends Cindi and Jay.
It’s hot in Dallas–every day! Close to 100F–we duck in and out of air-conditioned buildings and cars.
Screening of the first episode of season two of POLDARK at a local cinema–over 200 in the audience and it looked fabulous up there on the BIG SCREEN.
Q & A afterwards with Bill Young–the Vice President in charge of programming at KERA, Dallas’ excellent PBS station.
Thanks, Bill, for your creativity, perseverance and organization.
Some of the Dallas folks had scrapbooks of my FIRST visit to Dallas with Angharad 39 years ago!
Poignant visit to Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum in the Texas Book Depository, kindly hosted by the museum’s British executive director, Nicola Longford.
With Nicola Longford
The Texas School Book Depository on Dealey Plaza. The museum inside is the second most-visited site in Texas after the Alamo.
Brilliant audio tour helps bring some understanding to the tragedy.
Breathless we fly to Los Angeles and arrive late at the lovely little house in Los Feliz of Christy, widow of TV director brother Peter–who died suddenly ten years ago of a heart attack.
Christy helped make the original contact with the flourishing bookstore in Larchmont Village, Chevaliers, where LA Times TV critic Robert Lloyd moderates beautifully the next evening.
With Robert Lloyd, TV critic for The Los Angeles Times
Sold out of books!
The following day a visit SoCal (KOCE), the PBS station for Los Angeles to record some pledge material with Maura Phinney.
A short flight to San Francisco and on to Palo Alto I visit the Gates of Hell (!) in the Rodin Sculpture Garden on the Stanford University campus with our local host, Holly Brady.
Big turn-out at Books Inc— our third visit to this remarkable bookstore opposite the Stanford campus.
They’ve hosted us for all three cookbook tours.
I demonstrate that a diagnosis of Diabetes is not the end of convivial eating and drinking–in moderation, of course!
We sell out of books again.
We fit in a private tour of LucasFilms HQ in the Presidio quarter of San Francisco, close to the Golden Gate Bridge, thanks to Hilary and Yves.
It’s here that cutting edge special effects in films and animation are created. The halls are lined with artifacts at every turn.
We head back east for the final event at Arlington Library last Sunday.
We stay with our friends, Irv and Iris. Irv, retired Washington correspondent for The New York Times, agreed to moderate the event at Arlington’s Central Library. A double act is born!
The sell-out audience (over 180) enjoyed it enough to buy us out of cookbooks.
A good finish to a whistle-stop, heads down, no-time-for-shopping tour.
We spend a blessed 24 hours with our friends Ray and Ann in their waterside house on Chesapeake Bay–where I learn to breathe again.
Ray cooks a delicious meal of crab cakes with the local catch and pork fillet with clams–bliss it is.
Back in the D.C. last night Iris cooks up a storm for us.
Salmon marinated in soy, ginger and garlic preceded by an intriguing cantaloupe melon soup served chilled.
First day of autumn passes.
The prospect of walnuts and wood fires.
A bientôt, America and thanks!
Robin Ellis 