El Paso: Coffee, Design, and Geography

French press, Gufo di Milano, El Paso, Texas. August 2016.

August 2016


My airbnb host recommended Gufo di Milano as a place to get good coffee. One day, while apartment hunting, I dropped in.

I ordered a coffee via French press. I did this because:

1. It tastes good. 
2. It reminds me of Prospero's in Tbilisi, where I passed many, many hours, usually with a large French press, because it was the most economical way for me to imbibe a large volume of coffee. (A French press also figured in to my experience in Longmont.)
3. I am frugal, and coming from a large family, volume is important.  

My airbnb host was right. The coffee was good. 

Cafe di Milano, El Paso, Texas. August 2016.

I had to squint and use my imagination a little bit to move beyond the parking lot when I looked out the window. But I savored the comforting Southwest colors of coral and orange spiny oyster and sand, in contrast with a brilliant blue sky.

If you look at the photo above, you can see one example of how El Paso incorporates its many geographical levels - the valley, laps, and peaks of the Franklin Mountains.

Toronto: Architecture

Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Source: Yoldasin.

 
Toronto comes in for some ribbing about its architecture.

The Royal Ontario Museum, for example. It's as if the historic mother building were harboring a neonatal alien in its belly, and suddenly said alien yowwen burst forth, ravenous, ripping open its host.

Then there's the preposterous pencil and eraser construct for the Sharp Centre for Design. Literal art.

Sharp Centre for Design, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Credit: CNN.

When I think of the buildings in downtown Toronto, troops of tall, blue, glassine structures come to mind, interspersed with sandy-colored block buildings.

I also think about new buildings that have sprung up, which interrupt the light that their older neighbors used to enjoy. "Shadowing" is not a new problem for Toronto. On one day, Sandy left her Toronto apartment for a far-away island; upon her return a couple of years later, a brand-new neighbor had shouldered itself in - a tall condo building that darkened her balcony.

Overall, however, I don't know that Toronto is any less lackluster than most other cities. And to tell you the truth, I'm still kind of impressed there is a statue of a businessman, dressed in a business suit, in one of Toronto's pocket parks. It's a real departure from the usual public statue fodder, such as warriors, whether modern or historic.

Toronto: AGO: The Light

Galleria Italia, AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. June 2016.

Some museums in Toronto offer free admission on certain days and times. The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is one of those museums, and Sandy and I took advantage one evening, early. We followed a guided tour that covered the museum highlights.


When we walked through the Galleria Italia, I gasped.

Galleria Italia, AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. June 2016.

Galleria Italia, AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. June 2016.

Galleria Italia, AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. June 2016.

Galleria Italia, AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. June 2016.

Galleria Italia, AGO, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. June 2016.

The best work of art in the entire museum, made all the better because your body and its shadow become part of the installation when you walk through it, sit in it, stand in it.

I had to know - who designed this magical ship of light and lines, the Galleria Italia?

I learned it was architect Frank Gehry.

Heheheheh, more on that gentleman later.