Georgia at the Stanley Hotel with President Zuma on the TV

The Carnivore at Carnivore

Here I am with President Zuma’s Kenyan Twin at Njuguna’s

Happy Times with the Rift Valley at our backs

I landed in Nairobi 15 minutes early and zipped through customs and baggage claim. Georgia and her friend Alex, a staunch Kenyan-born Republican met me at the airport.  I had not seen Georgia in quite some time and I was thrilled to see her.  She and Daun live in Lavington, which is a suburb about 15 minutes outside of the city center.  When we reached her apartment, I was happy to find Daun already there.  They have a beautiful apartment with lots of cool paintings and carvings and a fantastic photo wall with framed photos of friends and family.  I am happy to report that I have made the wall!!  Their apartment is just fantastic and every piece of art has an interesting story of how or why it was purchased. Whether it’s on the wall or on a table or tucked in a corner, there is always some wonderful piece of eye candy to catch your attention.  I just love their apartment – lots of windows and light and a lovely balcony with a view of the perfectly manicured courtyard.

We had some drinks and then headed to Open House for Indian food.  Daun and Georgia refer to it as Open Ass because that is what happens the next day.  Anyway, the food was deeeelicious and spicy as ordered.  We had some chuckles about the time in Romania when we went to an Indian food restaurant and requested that our food be made very spicy, thinking it would be the usually mild dishes.  Much to our surprise the food was on fire.  That night I saw colors and on another evening, one of our friends Ellie had to go to the hospital due to a whole in her gullet created by the molten food. Although pretty spicy, the food did not send any of us to the hospital or drive us to hallucination.

The next morning we got up early took a walk around the neighborhood before Daun had to head to work.  Georgia and I drove to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Project, which is a haven for orphaned elephants and rhinos. Then we drove to the Giraffe Center, which is a hotel and breeding place for the Rothschild giraffe, which has white lower legs and light-brown spot pattern.  The hope is to reintroduce breeding pairs back into the wild to secure the future of the subspecies. It’s fun place because you get pellets of food, which contain a little molasses, to feed the giraffes.  They come up and take the food from your hand with their extra-long leathery tongues.  Some people put the pellets in their mouths and the giraffes lick the food out of their people’s mouths.  I did not engage in this type of intimate exchange.  But the best part of the day was when we found our way to the Karen Blixen House, after giving a ride to an elderly Swede to the police station to catch a Matatu (a public-shared taxi). It was so cool to tour Karen Blixen’s house, the author of Out of Africa and Babette’s Feast — truly a great day.

The next morning we went for another walk then Daun headed to the office and Georgia and I went into the city for a bit of an adventure.  The first stop was the Memorial for the 1998 bombing of the US Embassy, which consists of a beautiful park surrounding and fountain with a wall listing all the names of the victims.  There is a glass building with photographs and also a 45 minute film about the bombing.  It’s a beautiful tribute to all the innocent people killed in senseless violence.  Then we headed to The Stanley Hotel in all its Victorian elegance.  It was built in 1902 and was the country’s first luxury hotel, The Stanley has played host to royal safaris and a long line of living legends. These include such famous names as the writer Ernest Hemingway. It was in a Stanley hotel bedroom during 1933/34, recuperating from amoebic dysentery and prolapse suffered on a hunting trip below Kilimanjaro, that he thought up themes and wrote some of his most famous short stories and books, several of which the hotel. After Georgia and I looked at all the old photos we sat at the historic bar for a coke (although it was happy hour somewhere on the planet – it was too early for the devil’s brew).

We then set off in search of a gallery and shopping.  I was able to buy some souvenirs and a fantastic painting by a local artist David Ndambuke from the Kamba tribe.  After a stroll through the City Market, it was about 1:00pm and time for lunch.  We went to a local restaurant called Jamia Plate to eat.  I have Ugali (made from cornmeal – sort of like a big mound of polenta, but white), Sukuma Wiki (Kale), and Kenyan beef stew. Georgia had Ugali, Sukuma Wiki, and beans.  It was really funny because the waitress kept talking to me as if I were the local instead of Georgia.  She even asked me, since Georgia is a vegetarian, if she could eat beans.  I shrugged and said I don’t know; ask her.  Then Georgia asked for directions and the waitress started explaining to me and asking if I knew certain streets.  I finally chuckled and said I am just visiting, Georgia lives here.  Georgia and I got a good chuckle on that and kept laughing about “Can she take beans?”  the food was great, but the huge mound of Ugali proved too much for us and we left half on our plates.  The entire meal cost all of 500 shillings including tip (about $6.00)

Dying to try Nyama Choma – Kenyan’s most popular dish of roasted meat, w hopped in a taxi to Njuguna’s Place for the best Nyama Choma in town.  Georgia warned me not to take photos without asking because a lot of politicians go there, and it was a Friday afternoon. Njuguna’s Place is like a roadside diner with indoor and outdoor seating.  The place is well-worn and no beauty, but the atmosphere is lively and a buzz with lots of conversation.  There is a huge grill filling the air with the mouthwatering smell of grilled meat.  There is a large glass encased, walk-in refrigerator where you can see the butcher cut your slab of meat from the animal carcasses hanging on large metal hooks.  I ordered half a kilo of goat (the most common choice) and the charred meat was deeeeelicious.  The fat and grizzle from the meat is the best part.  The waiter serves the slab of meat on a large cutting board with a pile of salt at one end of the board.  He then takes his large knife and cuts the slab into chunks.  Using your hands, you grab a chunk and dip it in the salt and feast on some of the tastiest charred meat this side of the Indian Ocean.  YUMMMMMMMYYYYYY!!!!

Georgia and I ordered Tusker Malts (beer) and 4 bottles came.  We explained that we only ordered 1 each and the waiter explained they come in twos – Georgia laughed and said that was a great marketing plan for the beer: Tusker they come in twos. So we said we only wanted 1 order and he took two bottles away.  We were having such a fun time.  I even met Jacob Zuma, president of South Africa (or at least his Kenyan twin). One of his friends overheard Georgia say he looked like Zuma and we all had a good laugh. His Excellency bought us two rounds of Tuskers and shared his braised beef and vegetables with us so I could taste a different type of dish. He also shared a big tin mug of beef broth with me as well.  Soon we were a big group of friends laughing and joking.  We also learned what Sukuma Wiki (the Kale dish) means: sukuma means push and wiki means week, together it is push the week; kale is inexpensive and you can buy a lot and it will fill the week with food to eat.  God I love Kenya.  I am having such a great time. President Zuma told me that a visit to Nairobi is not complete without going to eat at Carnivore, so that is where I am going tomorrow night. Daun picked us up and off Georgia and I floated wearing our rose-tinted beer goggles back home. Later that evening we watched some great films at home (Annie Hall, The Duchess, and All About Eve).  Another stellar day!

Saturday, we drove to the Banana Hill Art Gallery, which had really cool paintings and lots of interesting metal sculptures from found objects.  I was able to resist buying because most of the pieces were huge and too big to carry and for my wall space and floor space at home.  Then we drove to the Rift Valley and took some photos and I bought a carved map of the Rift Valley and a paperweight for which I overpaid of course.  If you remember from an earlier posting, I paid $40 for a flimsy t-shirt of the Great Wall in China.  I always get the P.T. Barnum price for the suckers born every minute – the shame!!

Back at D&G’s apartment, some of their friends stopped by for drinks and a chat and then D&G made their infamous pasta dish they call Rolley Polley.  The ingredients are simple: prawns sautéed in olive oil and lots of garlic served with pasta, capers and parmesan cheese.  It is good and gassy.  The funny story connected with this dish happened in Romania, a country not known for over-spiced (or spiced) food.  A neighbor knocked on their door when they were making Rolley Polley complaining that they smelled a gas leak coming from D&G’s apartment.  The smell turned out to be all the overwhelming odor of the tons of garlic sautéing in the olive oil.  The dish is FANTASTIC, but not good for dating.

Unfortunately, it is Sunday and my last day in Nairobi.  My flight is at 10:30pm.  I will head to the airport around 8pm.  I have had such a great time.  The city is just green and beautiful and the people have been to warm and welcoming and they have a great sense of humor which is the cherry on top.  I am sad to leave.  D&G have created a great life here and I can see why they do not want to leave. I know I wish I could stay longer.  Daun and Georgia have a great relationship; I admire the way they are so kind to each other.  It’s rare that I have witnessed such a healthy couple. Perhaps I will learn something from them, but it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks or for a leopard to change his spots.

BUT before heading out, we went to watch a cricket practice and to eat some meat for lunch at Carnivore.  Carnivore is a huge restaurants catering to tourists and locals.  It’s a big meat fest just celebrating all types of meat.  The entrance has “Carnivore” logo in red with a giant metallic lion’s head above it.  I started the lunch with a Dawa made by Dr. Dawa, which means medicine.  It’s a drink made of vodka, sugar, and honey (sweet enough to make your teeth hurt).  Then came the hot towels to cleanse our face and paws along with a small pottery bowl of batter-dipped fried potato wedges and small diamond-shaped bits of pizza.  No rest for the weary, the waiters brought around piping hot cast iron plates for each of us.  We were told to let the Carnivore flag fly in the middle of our table for a continuous dance of waiters with large hunks of meat on long metal skewers that they hold over your plate as they shave off slices for your personal consumption.  When you have had enough, you simply lay the fag on the table to show you surrender.

I had leg of lamb, beef, chicken, turkey, pork ribs, the balls of an ox, ostrich, ostrich meatballs, crocodile, lamb sausage, and lamb chops.  By the end of this dizzying array of meat, I was having a hot flash and felt drunk and had to shake around in my chair a bit.  I do not think I will eat meat for the rest of the week.  To calm ourselves after the meat fest, we each had a bowl of ice cream, which is just what the Dr ordered to cool my meat fever.

After lunch we went on Biscuit’s great adventure to find the cricket practice at the Gymkhana Club (a fancy private health club with a gym, a pool, squash courts, saunas, etc..  The address was not quite clear; we just knew it was across the street from the Aga Khan Hospital.  We drove around in circles and then Georgia called a friend for directions, which she texted to Daun’s phone.  Since the streets in Nairobi are more often than not nameless, it is like finding one grain of salt in a sea of black pepper.  Just when we were about to give up, we turned a corner and there it was.  Unfortunately, by the time we got there and parked the cricket practice was over.  Well, at least I saw more of Nairobi and a little bit of the more low-rent sections as well.

Well that is all I have to report about my time with Daun & Georgia in Nairobi.  They are terrific hosts and the city does not disappoint.  Now I just have to relax until their friend Alex picks me up at 8pm for the airport.  I hope you enjoyed my tales of this primate adventure as much as I had writing them.

Farewell…until the next adventure…