SUSHI?

Trip Start Aug 01, 2008
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Trip End Jun 30, 2010


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Friday, January 9, 2009

Yes, sushi.  It was a surprise to us, as we'd heard that the Japanese place in town had been bought by some Chinese folks and no longer served sushi.  We had been planning a night out at a well-known Congolese restaurant, Chez Gaspar in La Cite (the local, non-expat part of the city) with some friends and their visiting family, but one of them had a bit of a bad belly and wanted something more familiar.  So we met out for drinks at one of our regular hangouts -- Le Pyramide, right on the beach, a nice setting to begin their last night in town.  The suggestion of sushi came up since apparently it was close by, although I didn't recognize the name of the place.  It turned out to be at the posh hotel, Villa Madiba (?) right across the street.  This place is swanky, you could be in New York or LA.  The restaurant has a deck looking out over this pool with violet water which goes right up to the edge of the sides.  I forget what our architect friend called it, but it was a very cool effect.  And it was true, they had sushi, at somewhat outrageous prices, but it was tasty and the whole experience was totally refreshing -- like stepping out of Pointe-Noire for a few hours.  There was only one other table of people there, and we ended up starting the meal at around 10 o'clock.  The fact that it was a Thursday night enhanced the feeling of escape...or was it the wine?

Another quick story.  Ann-Mary and I were at one of the nearby cafes that we've learned to love -- Le Citronelle -- having coffee, when we overheard the couple at the next table speaking something that sounded a lot like American English.  You pick up the ear for this when you don't hear it so often.  We decided not to say anything, but I had noticed the woman walking toward town from our neighborhood as we were heading out to run our errands.  The next day at work I got an email from a Canadian woman, Camille, a teacher who was looking for an opportunity to become more familiar with our school.  After I responded, she explained how they were new in town and hadn't really met anyone and how she was kicking herself for not saying anything to this English-speaking couple sitting next to them at the cafe the day before.  Of course it was us, so today we met her there and learned her story, and maybe she;ll come in to give us a hand.   But she also speaks some French and is looking for opportunities to be in a French speaking school environment, so we'll see where it goes.  Speaking of Canadians, I don't know if we've mentioned our other new Canadian friends who live around the corner with a pool and a dog and four cats.  Melissa and Mary Helene, who love our boys.  AM had met them a while ago, but we just ran into them at Twiga restaurant and invited them to join the fun on New Year's eve at Phil and Melanie's.  They're actually away now for a month, but we have the key to their place and, of course, pool privileges.  It's walking distance from our house -- hurray!  Melissa also is not working, so she's another possibility for school volunteering.  Camille also has a dog, and our friend Regis just got two puppies, although his wife returned yesterday from France and said she only wants one -- Phil and Melanie are ready to take the other...so maybe it's time to start the Pointe-Noire expat dog owner's club.
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