dirty south

On the eve of my departure to Sydney I thought I would recap my trip last week to Memphis, Tennessee. I know what you're thinking. Memphis? What's in Memphis? Barbecue and... Elvis? I had the same reaction, but then again, when I think about it I'm not sure what I would associate with Kansas City. (Barbecue and....... and....... and...).

And so last Monday I bravely traversed the Mason-Dixon Line for the only good reason there is--the love of a boy. Andrei picked me up at the Memphis airport, which I somehow managed to get hopelessly lost in. The only way we eventually found each other was to agree to meet "at the Starbucks." Not bad. (Here, Andrei mumbles something about "directionally challenged" and women, especially Asian women.)

We had lunch at his house with his grandmother, Lelia (beautiful name, no?), and then decided to take a walk with Bassie, Andrei's very cute and slobbery basset hound dog.

Me and the Basset

Bassie liked me immensely, surprising everyone, but I always knew that us bitches would get along. Something that I didn't really understand about dogs until this trip was that they try to eat their own poop (or other dogs' poop) ALL THE TIME. And the dog walker, in this case me, can only pray and struggle to pull the dog AWAY from the poop before it makes contact. Or perhaps it's just Bassie, who has an acutely keen nose and no good taste whatsoever.

The rest of the week's highlights included: gorging ourselves on Memphis BBQ, touring the National Civil Rights Museum, visiting the Memphis Zoo, touring St. Jude Children's Hospital where Andrei's mom works, going to New Years party, and enjoying the perfect 68 degree weather that lasted the entire week I was there.

First, the BBQ: divine. I'm not really sure what this age-long battle between Kansas City BBQ and Memphis BBQ is all about, but it was pretty clear to me that Memphis BBQ is top-notch. We visited Neely's, which has been featured on Food Network and USA Today, and got pulled pork sandwiches with the most delicious coleslaw ever. Sidenote: despite not being technically American, coleslaw is my favorite American food of all time, hands down. Corky's was also excellent, especially those delicious little bread rolls. Finally, we went to Tops BBQ, which was my least favorite by far because the barbecue sauce was sour and a little too funky for my tastes.

We drove downtown the next day to visit the National Civil Rights Museum, which has been built inside the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The museum was SO absolutely detailed and outlined pretty much every single event and person who participated in the centuries-long fight for civil rights, from Nat Turner and Harriet Tubman to Malcom X and MLK Jr. The balcony that MLK Jr. was standing on when he was assassinated is still intact, and they have built a scintillating exhibit across the street in the boarding house where James Earl Ray purportedly shot from. This exhibit included all sorts of conspiracy theories regarding the assassination, and there's nothing I like better than a conspiracy theory.

The Zoo was also pleasant, especially the polar bear and sea lion shows that we attended. The biggest, FATTEST male sea lion in the show was named Andre and weighed in at over 600 lbs. A coincidence, no?

Andre the fatty.

The Memphis Zoo also had two Giant Pandas on exhibit, who were cute but not very giant at all (and to be honest, they did not look very well cared for).

For New Years Andrei and I went to his friend Phoebe's house for a lovely dinner party with other friends and Phoebe's parents. We drank ourselves silly and had yummy cheeses and grapes--an overall superbly classy New Years.

Finally, here are some pictures of me with the Anghelescus:

(Check out the bowtie.)

Also,

The Dialogue
Bassie: You guys are going out?! I want to come too!
Andrei: Olé!

:)