My Kind Of Town

The essentials painted on the flood wall: the Arch, the baseball stadium, the downtown Hilton Hotel for some reason, the Four Seasons Hotel and Lumiere Place casino. Plus some do-dads and ornament. And an unexpected proposal. I like how the sharp lettering appears to break through the Arch's skin.

Sometimes CDP blogs get debates about the value or horror of graffiti. Remember that this appears in a place where it is not only permitted, it is encouraged. I like the boldness, color and fantasy a lot. It is art.

I edited the picture of my granddaughter below since I did yesterday's post. I like it. Kim likes it. We like Seattle. Seattle won the Super Bowl. So there you go. Perhaps if Caravaggio painted pictures of babies one might look like this.
                        

La Vita E Bella

It was a pleasant Stupid Bowl Sunday in St. Louis. Took a drive up to Bellefontaine Cemetery for some pictures of William S. Burroughs' grave for his 100th birthday on Thursday (post to follow). Went by the office and actually got something done without being interrupted. Mrs. C and I attended a performance by our superb St. Louis Symphony, at which the Dutchman Jaap van Zweden set a world land speed record for Beethoven's 5th and led the most exquisite, nuanced interpretation of Shostakovich's 5th (a personal favorite) I've ever heard. Afterward, we had our annual Stupid Bowl dinner at the new restaurant Nathalie's, and it was terrific. La vita e bella.

Nathalie's occupies a a grand old home on Lindell Boulevard near the cathedral. It was formerly the home of Savor and Salt, both very good but relatively short-lived. Nathalie's shares ownership with Overlook Farms, a bit more than an hour north of here. We ordered from the Chinese New Year menu. The bacon-wrapped dates in a red chili sauce were fabulous. I had tangerine duck breast with wild rice and vegetables from the farm. The duck was perfect and the side dish had The Best Broccoli I've Ever Had In My Life - and I've been to France. We will be back. To Nathalie's. And France, too.

BTW, the first pic is from the graffiti-permitted section of the Mississippi flood wall. Whether to take it as literal or ironic is up to you.                         

Lillet martini with gin and vodka

Nathalie's kept some of the charmingly odd decor from Savor, including the Buddhist, ancient Egyptian and Rococo bits

Madeleine Monday

Haven't had much of the granddaughter lately since we've been away. Had dinner at Emily, Brian and Madeleine's home on Saturday. The darn kid keeps getting cuter. We brought her a toy monkey from Costa Rica, which, naturally, she crammed straight in her mouth.        

Gee But It's Great To Be Back Home

Let sunshine be banished. The forecast in Tamarindo every day was 94F/34C and sunny. How monotonous. Let's get back to the Midwest.

This railroad runs near the Mississippi just south of downtown. The smokestacks in the background are across the river in Illinois. The reference in the title is to a very old Simon & Garfunkel song I can't get out of my head today. 

I have no idea why there is a windsock on the pole. Not like helicopters are buzzing in and out of the area. Maybe the sign (hard to read here) that this is an emergency meeting point has something to do with it.                                 

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day: Entry

Two Costa Rican entries for the price of one, which is a really great deal since they're free.

The first is the old castle where the music school is located. Mrs. C and our guide, Esteban, approach from the left.

The second is the back entry to the town of Filadelfia. There is a shot of the front entry out on the highway here. There are important archeological sites of pre-Columbian peoples there. The arch shown below refers to roots and identity. The one in the link calls the town "archeological city."

God Bless You

Graffiti can be awful, an insult, a desecration. See, for example, Nathalie's recent post about some sad destruction in Avignon. 

But it can also be innocent and charming. I did not see any American or European style tagging in Costa Rica (although I bet there is some in San Jose). These pictures are from the inner walls of the castle where the music school is located. Not just Billy Loves Erika but rather a bold declaration: Billy Says, I Love You Erika. The top one isn't even romantic. It says simply God Bless You. Go find that in London or New York. Banksy doesn't write such things. Another reason to love Costa Rica.

OH, BY  THE WAY, THIS IS STL DPB'S 2,500TH POST. Am I nuts or what?                          

Pura Vida

You could say that pura vida is the national motto of Costa Rica. It has a simple literal translation - pure life - but the levels of meaning are much deeper than that. It expresses an attitude toward living in a complete, happy and content way. The words describe how we should treat one another.

This young man was a member of a crew setting up at the farmers market. (He didn't just fall off the plantain truck.)  Our guide asked him for me if I could take some pictures. He thought the idea was terribly funny. Pura vida.                        

Fruit & Veg

There is an outdoor farmers market in Liberia. It seems to get going about mid-afternoon and run into the evening. There was every kind of edible tropical plant, plus eggs, queso fresco, breads and I don't know what.

It's all very inexpensive - to us. The pineapples above were about US$ 2 each. Limes had strange skins that would put off American shoppers, although we never saw one like these in a cocktail. I'm less certain about the next two. Maybe casava root, followed by red potatoes and a kind of squash, or maybe something else altogether. The lush fruit at the bottom is mango.