Go With the Flow
Plus my 'get through scary situations' life hack, crawfish, and an Armenian rosé
Hello!
Welcome to the end of February. I have to say, this month typically drags on, but living somewhere warm where they celebrate a major holiday has really sped it up.
Mardi Gras is not a one-day event in Louisiana, but a season. From Epiphany to Lent there are parades, galas and other celebrations. Mardi Gras, as you very likely know, means “fat Tuesday” and celebrates the last day of eating fatty foods before sacrificing meat and whatever else for Lent. Of course, in today’s world it’s also just a big party. Louisiana is 86% Christian, but I have no idea how many people actually give anything up for Lent.
Mardi Gras is celebrated all over the world, from balls in Venice to carnival in Rio. In Louisiana, celebrations range from small parades to elaborate affairs. Everything is organized by krewes, or social organizations. Much of Mardi Gras revolves around tradition and ritual, including the masks. “To ‘mask’ connotes transformation - a new face and attire allows an individual to transcend everyday life, to escape the prosaic and immerse him- or herself in the magic and power of Mardi Gras,” says the Louisiana State Museum.
The Courir de Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday Run, is another tradition going back to early ritual. Someone is designated Le Capitaine, and they ride on horseback. Others ride on horseback or run on foot, and they go house to house gathering ingredients for gumbo, including live chickens that are thrown in the air while the Mardi Gras revelers (who are often drunk, even though this takes place in the morning) run through the fields to catch them. They also sing this song, La Chanson de Mardi Gras, as they go home to home. This is a very basic explanation. Next year, I’m going to do a deeper dive into Mardi Gras, and I hope to make it to Mamou, where the courir hasn’t changed much over the years.
For now, here are some photos of this year’s celebrations in New Orleans.
Be a Better Traveler - Go With the Flow
Last month, I wrote about how to be a better traveler in 2023. This was one tip:
Make lemonade: Inevitably, something will go wrong on a trip, and the more you travel the more opportunities there are for things to go awry. Whether it’s a flight cancellation, getting sick, or any number of things, it happens. I cannot count the number of times something has gone wrong on a trip, but more often than not, embracing it makes it better. In Puglia, wineries were not open the hours they said they were, and their websites were maddeningly out of date. It turned out better. In Indonesia, the bus never came when it said it would, so my friend Brianna walked along the side of the road until we came to a police station, where the officers gave us one of the best meals of the trip and drove us home. Sometimes there isn’t really an upside, but you have to laugh, like when Brianna and I got bed bugs in Malaysia, or Nathan and I got a flat tire on the edge of a cliff in Georgia, or when my brother Robert and I almost had to spend the night on a bench in The Netherlands because hotels were shockingly expensive and booked. There was nothing good about these situations, but I was lucky to have travel partners who, like me, found them hilarious. And now they’re funny memories instead of something bad that happened on vacation.
Post bed bugs, torrential rains, a harrowing boat ride––still having fun!
Revisiting that today, because this week paid subscribers got a guide to Ghana, where going with the flow became essential when we got stopped at checkpoints.
From the newsletter:
Nathan and I rent cars everywhere we go, and I always say you should too. This is the only place I’ve ever been where I can’t recommend it. The driving is a little crazy, but not any crazier than Naples or Jordan or other places where I think it’s perfectly fine to drive. I wouldn’t drive in Ghana because we got stopped at random checkpoints and were forced to pay bribes in aggressive, sometimes scary ways. If the traffic police (who have a long history of corruption––it got so bad a few years ago, apparently, that the government stopped checkpoints altogether to stop bribery) would have simply asked for money I would have handed it over. In the end with the exchange rate it wasn’t that much (ranged from $5-40) and not worth the hassle. But instead they made up issues (that our license wasn’t valid, that we were speeding–both not true), then forced Nathan out of the car, forced me to stay in the car, yelled at us, and threatened us with nights in jail. Because we know Ghana is safe, and because we knew we weren’t doing anything wrong, we stayed calm. But it was nerve wracking and I can imagine people who haven’t gone through checkpoints before would be justifiably freaking out. At one particularly long stop, where a group of cops took Nathan about 30 feet away and wouldn’t let me out of the car, I did start to get a little worried they were going to put him in their car and take him to the police station or something, and I dialed the U.S. Embassy to call just in case. FWIW, corruption at checkpoints is not unique to Ghana, and people who are obviously tourists are targeted more often.
This was not fun! It was kind of scary, cost us money, and put a bad taste in my mouth about what had otherwise been a great trip. The Ghanaian government shouldn’t want things like this to happen (and I’m sure they don’t) because it discourages tourism, and tourism is something they’re trying to increase. We were a little rattled after the first checkpoint (which was the longest and most aggressive), and less so at the next ones. (Reiterating what I said in the post––Ghana is a very safe country for tourists.)
When we arrived at our hotel, it was nothing like the pictures and not very clean. But what can you do? Within a few minutes of arrival we were sipping G&Ts on a gorgeous beach, feeling relieved to be out of the car at least until the next day. And you know what? I’m so glad we had the car! Because the next day a friend recommended we visit Kokrobite, a surfing town on the way back to Accra. It was one of the best parts of the trip and we couldn’t have gotten there otherwise.
I’ve shared this before and I know it works for some and freaks others out, but here’s how I get through bad situations. I think, ‘Ok what’s the actual worst that could happen?’ Then I envision that scenario. The plane crashes, we spend a few nights in a Ghanaian jail, etc. Usually, the worst case scenario is death, and in that case you’ll be dead and not care (I know! Like I said this doesn’t work for everyone!) But the worst case scenario is also usually so unlikely that thinking about it makes me realize I’m being ridiculous, and then I think, “ok that’s not going to happen, so what’s actually likely.” And it helps me reset.
All this to say. Something is going to go wrong on every trip, from flight delays to a bad meal to aggressive traffic police. Go with the flow.
Aside from that, Ghana was amazing! We saw elephants in the wild! We learned/relearned so much history. The coastline is beautiful. The Makola Market is one of the coolest markets I’ve ever visited. The peanut cabbage stew is one of the best soups I’ve ever had. It is a safe, thriving, bustling place. Sharing more about it on Instagram stories later today. And you can read the whole guide here.
Travel for the Food
It’s crawfish season in Louisiana. Crawfish––also called crayfish, crawdaddies, mudbugs, freshwater lobsters, and any number of other names elsewhere in the country––thrive in swamps. It’s the official state crustacean of Louisiana (yes, some states have this designation), and the state produces 100 million pounds of crawfish per year. Most people boil them with corn, potatoes and a spice blend (cayenne, garlic powder, paprika, clove, coriander, all sorts of things). Delicious.
My parents were in town last weekend and we got them from Crawfish on the Geaux in Baton Rouge. Some of my favorites were at Cajun Seafood in New Orleans a few years ago (I don’t know what’s in their spice blend but it’s unique to others I’ve had so far). And everyone keeps telling me I need to buy them fresh from Tony’s Seafood and boil them myself. Stay tuned!
Wine of the Week
I stopped in Spirit Wine in New Orleans on Friday and they happened to be doing a tasting. The store reminded me a little of Bottles Up (which I really miss working at!) and the owner used to work at Lula Cafe in Chicago. 💛
I liked all the wines they poured, but this Shofer Rosé stood out, not only for how it tasted but for its story and the fact that rosé season can start in February in Louisiana because it’s 82 degrees every day. 🙌
Armenia has been making wine for more than 6,000 years, just like its neighbor Georgia. But Stalin banned it and basically said Georgia was for wine, Armenia for brandy. Now, the fragmented wine industry is finally coming together and getting some international recognition. Did you know there are dozens of grape varieties only found in Armenia? Like Areni, grown in the highlands and used in this rosé. It’s fresh yet full-bodied, with lots of red cherry, strawberry and spice. I know a lot of you are in Chicago. You can find it at Off Premise, Door 24 and House of Glunz (as well as Avec and some other restaurants).
Weekend Reading
Baklava took a break in Turkey’s pastry capital after the earthquake. Now it’s back. Last time, I talked about how special the food in Gaziantep is. The Imam Cagdas baklava included (we even had it shipped to Italy for our wedding!)
The death toll in the Syria/Turkey earthquake is now more than 50,000
This Eater package on mall food was fun. Brought me back to high school.
Will always read an Usher profile, especially if it’s written by Hunter Harris (P.S. the
newsletter is how I know anything about pop culture).Italy has kept its fascist monuments and buildings. The reasons are complex.
How are we supposed to recognize good products? (From Ashley at
who is brilliant as always.)Proud to have signed this letter to the NYT, along with many of my freelance colleagues, about editorial bias in the newspaper’s reporting on transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. You can sign it too.
The new rules of tipping - “At restaurants, the previous range of socially acceptable and ethically expected tips was 15 to 20 percent; now, it’s 20 to 25. This goes for whether you’re at an Olive Garden or I Sodi and whether you liked the service or not. (Tips are often pooled; don’t punish the entire staff because your fish didn’t come out in a timely fashion.) The higher your disposable income, the more you should tip, but anything under 20 percent is rude. Blame this on inflation, COVID, the heightened awareness of the fact that more than half your servers’ salary probably comes from tips. It’s just the rules; don’t complain.”
The new rules of travel etiquette – #6! #8! #24! #25!
A tour of Mitchelville, the First Self-governed Town of Formerly Enslaved People in the U.S.
A look inside Oslo’s fully electronic transit system
When did hospitality get so hostile?
Gumbo’s long journey from West Africa
What it’s like to travel around Afghanistan right now - This is the main takeaway: “The Taliban regime is a pariah around the globe and desperate for any kind of positive media or positive portrayal of what is a brutal and disastrous reign,” says Azizzada, who is Afghan American. He believes that foreign vloggers and influencers who go to Afghanistan under the current regime are participating in “atrocity tourism.” “At best, these travel vloggers who visit Afghanistan are clueless and naive,” says Azizzada. “At worst, they are useful idiots whose opportunism helps whitewash the Taliban’s awful crimes.”
Malcom X’s family is suing the CIA, FBI and NYPD. Here’s why.
Workers are dying in the EV industry’s ‘tainted city’
If anyone was wondering what happened to Marissa Ross
American Girl just announced that you’re old (The newest historical dolls are from 1999!! They have Tamagotchis and bubble chairs. 🤣)
Other things:
Snack: I’m addicted to the Zapp’s Spicy Cajun Crawtator chips.
Cook: I made this paprikash with dumplings and cucumber salad last week. Definitely going to start making dumplings more often–they were so easy.
Listen: Has moving to the South turned me into a country fan?
If you liked the newsletter today, please pass it to someone you know who’d enjoy it, and tap the heart icon above, which helps me reach more readers. Next week, paid subscribers get a guide to Los Cabos.
–Rebecca 💛
Glad you found a wine shop in Baton Rogue!
This week’s episode of Hidden Brain was about hidden sources of joy and talked about terrible trip often make the best memories. Like you talk about it’s not always easy to see the funny/sunny side but it certainly makes a bad situation better. (& thanks for sharing that Armenian wine!! 🇦🇲)