The Restaurant at the End of the Road*

This is Danielle who is Italian and  lives with her husband, Federico who is from Spain. They live in the house at the very end of Wildwood Trail, down a dirt road. Danielle loves any excuse for a party, and last night  we met, on their rose draped front porch along with neighbors Ann and Paul,  for appetizers and wine. and to meet Jianshe, a visiting Qi Gong master from China. We were quite an eclectic group but when it comes to throwing parties, mixing generations, nationalities, cultures, food and wine I think the picture of Danielle, carrying course number five --Spanish ceviche made by Fedde, says it all. Courses six and seven, a sautéed zucchini with garlic and tomatoes and Chinese dumplings,, were prepared by Jianshe . 

The conversation veered among subjects and I ventured to say that I wished we could get rid of borders. Paul commented that as long as there were different cultures and different attitudes toward life, there would continue to be  disagreements and therefore borders.  Jianshe  spoke about the fact that the Chinese cultural revolution was a new opportunity for him because he, along with the majority of Chinese people in the countryside, had lost everything,. Instead of giving up, he saw it as freeing him to discover a whole new world. He began to practice QiGong, ("Life Energy Cultivation") a system of posture, movement and meditation  and now travels the world teaching ...his version of removing borders, both physical and mental....

He is off to Lima, Peru this evening. I wonder if he will be dreaming of the eighth and final course,  Dani's signature Tiramisu?

*I confess that this picture was taken yesterday, but how could I not bend the rules a bit and publish it?