Antonio Maceo & Robert E. Lee

I've been spending a lot of time in the fan with my new friends. This morning I wandered down to one of my favorite old-time fan favorites. A little bodega style cafe called Kuba Kuba.

A bright mural of Cuban independence figure Antonio Maceo adorns the brick entrance just off grove and monument avenues. Not far off the tall statues of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and other confederate civil war heros stand stiff and proud. Perhaps a little symbolic of Richmond itself. What a pairing...

Call me a nerdy bohemian romantic. Call me whatever you like, but I spent the morning in my little bodega nibbling on empanadas and sipping cafe con leche while reading poetry. It was lovely. I'm enjoying re-discovering the character of my home city in all its eclectic mystery. Old southern history blends with funky new school arts. African American, student, and gentrified baby boomers all intermingle or at least coexist. And more and more surprises keep popping up waiting to be discovering. A city on the upswing coming into its own. A good place to be...