Author: postcardsfromsanantonio

Writer Gayle Brennan Spencer's blog meanders through posts reflecting her Austin home base and slow travels.

Dijon, France: From beef Bourguignon to sushi

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Above: A chilled, creamy edamame soup with a dash of St. Germaine elderflower liqueur and islands of burrata at L’Arome in Dijon.

As the historical capital of Burgundy, Dijon enjoys a reputation as the primary destination for experiencing its most prized regional products – comte cheese, charolais beef and wine. However, the restaurant scene no longer is about just the famed boeuf Bourguignon, as delicious as it is. This blog’s customary alphabetical format for focusing on places we ate means a flavorful detour to sample a couple of seafood and vegetarian offerings before hitting the boeuf Bourguignon.

The lunch menu at Azerole features a set trio of amuse-bouches and a choice of a featured fish or meat for your main course. The fusion restaurant lists the set selections of the week online so you know what’s cooking before making a reservation.

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Austin, Texas: Fanfare for the dead adds to our melting pot

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feathered headdresses adorn dancers parading for day of the dead in austin
Colorful Día de los Muertos sugar skull stamp labeled “USA Forever,” surrounded by flowers and candles.

Above: Folkloric dancers wearing colorful feathered headdresses participate in Mexic-Arte Museum’s annual Viva la Vida fiesta in downtown Austin.

Death is democratic, given that in the end, blond or dark, rich or poor, all people end up being skeletons.”

Jose Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913)

For many in this country, ghosts and skeletons are regarded as frightening spirits one should try to outrun. The dead should remain firmly anchored under their grave markers. But Mexican Americans have contributed a cultural change in how death is viewed. Ancestral spirits can be invited to visit, welcomed with family feasts and fiestas.

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Hallowed inspiration for bedeviled costumes

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articulated demon-scarer cathedral museum of leon

Above: A 17th-century articulated “espantadiablo,” Cathedral Museum of Leon, Spain

The devil-scarer or demon-scarer is part of the repertoire of figures and amulets that, due to their ugliness, represented evil. They were used in exorcism rites…. This devil-scarer… is believed to have come from a female convent and was used as a ‘weapon’ to scare away or exorcise the carnal desires of the novices and nuns.”

“The devil-scarer against female sexual desire,” Ana Gaitero, Diario de Leon, January 24, 2023

If seeking a terrifying look this Halloween, dressing as the caped crusader found in the Cathedral Museum of Leon, Spain, with a milky white stare and threatening toothless scream, would more than accomplish your goal.

Critics of American Halloween customs complain frightening ghoulish and violent costumes defile the religious origins of All Hallowed Eve, a holy day preceding All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. But it is not difficult to see how costumes developed from traditional religious portrayals of good and evil through the centuries.

Skelton costumes have become ubiquitous. Why not seek out fresh inspiration for costumes in centuries-old religious art? One could go noble by dressing as Saint George slaying the dragon.

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