Not too long before we left for Oaxaca in October, we lost our dear friend Bram to a stroke. Bram loved life. He especially loved to travel and to eat. Like us, he often took pictures of his food. Bram's friends decided that one way to celebrate his life would be to deposit his ashes at various spots throughout the world. While we were in Oaxaca, our mutual friends Dick and Victoria delivered a baggie of Bram's ashes to us. They also placed Bram's picture and some ashes on the Day of the Dead altar at their bed and breakfast, the Casa Ollin in Oaxaca.We took our assignment seriously. Flo carried the bag of ashes through the rest of our trip as we looked for places that would would represent Bram's love of travel, people, art, knowledge and food.
In the courtyard of the Casa Arnel we placed some of the ashes in a pot shaped like a frog, symbolizing Bram's life partner, Kermit.
Next we added ashes to a planter in one of the best restaurants in Oaxaca. La Biznaga is at Calle García Vigil 512. The seating is in a fairly plain court yard with a bar to one side, the kitchen in the back and two huge chalkboards for menus. Bram's ashes are in the planter to the right of the picture below.
La Biznaga serves traditional Oaxacan food with nontraditional touches. The presentation is artful. My beef filet (pictured below) was cooked to tender perfection and covered with a lively tamarind sauce.
The flan was dense, ornamented with coconut and perfectly placed on a pool of luscious caramel sauce. Bram would have loved the taste and the look.
After two weeks in Oaxaca we took a bus to Mexico City. Of course we took some of the ashes with us. We immediately started searching for more good Bram spots.
We felt that Bram would feel especially at home in the Zona Rosa. The sophisticated shops of all types would have piqued his interest.
One of our early stops was the Catedral Metropolitana, the largest and oldest cathedral in the Americas. It is a huge building filled with fascinating architecture and painting. We left some of Bram there, in a very secure area near this famous statue of the black Christ. While we were placing the ashes a choir was practicing heavenly music nearby.
On another day we visited the Latin American Tower, an important Mexico City landmark. At 45 stories, the tower looks down on all of Mexico City and most of the surrounding valley and mountains. We left some of Bram's ashes at the top. Below you can see the view from that spot.
Our hotel in Mexico City was in Colonia Roma. One of the sights in the neighborhood is Rio de Janeiro Plaza. This lovely park is surrounded by interesting old buildings and art galleries. In the middle is a bronze copy of Michaelangelo's David. Some of Bram's ashes are resting there.
And finally, as we flew home, Flo placed some ashes in the magazine pocket, in the exit row.
We will continue our part of traveling with Bram. We hope to hear from others taking part in this loving task.
