Day 17 – Secrets of the city

To take the focus off much criticized food coverage and make you jealous types happy out there, I will look for the interesting tidbits about the city every day. And then will hide them in the text.

Back to food for the moment. In the morning we went to the bakery and got some stuffed buns for the teachers and nannies – we were feeling bad for last week. On the way Georgia realized where we are going and started to cry. We agreed that we will still go because we have to give the give the teachers the sweets – there is no way we could have finished 20 of them by ourselves. So she was pretty content and allowed to be dropped off. When I picked her up, teachers said Georgia did not cry. She said she did. Will see.

We went to the Zemaiciu Smukle for lunch. It is a two-part restaurant separated by the French restaurant in the middle. Georgia and I went inside the main building to the bathroom and mistakenly went down to the cellar via the original stairs you have to bend in half to go though. There was a labyrinth of rooms with tables and chairs. One room had some people inside, the rest were empty. We stayed in the outdoor part. The service was good, the food was nothing spectacular. Forto Dvaros is still the winner.

Tried to get the tickets to Israel at the agency downstairs. They said no problem. Charged the card. Afterwards they’ve called and said it turns out there are no tickets for the dates we wanted, how about a different set of dates. Will ask Olga to move the wedding.

In the evening we walked around Subaciaus gate area. Based on the explanation board Subaciaus gate was facing Moscow. It was supposed to be threatening looking but of little military use. Now it is practically in ruins but is being reconstructed. No one knows the exact origin of the name. One theory is that “subaciaus” has a root “dog” is the name if you read it in Russian. Main executioner’s assistants used to live in the area and they were responsible for taking care of stray dogs.
There are amazing views of the city from there. This site has the panoramic views but it is too slow to view from here: www.panoramas.lt/m_katalog.php?p_id=243&lg=4. There are groups of students gathered on the grass – some drawing, other drinking, still others both.

We passed by Saviour Hill where beautiful Church of the Assumption and the Missionaries’ Monastery built in mid-16 hundreds is waiting for its turn for renovation. We are getting lost in the church names.

Next we walked past Uzupis along Vilnyale brook. And then we walked into a little park café Green Duck. It had inviting menu of Turkish dishes. We happily ordered our favorites. Dan got Iskender kebob, I got chicken on skewers, salad, and yogurt dip.

The girl at the bar turned out to be the bartender, the waitress, and the cook. We should have gotten suspicious when the dip arrived richly spackled by hot red peppers. Georgia could not eat it. Next arrived Iskender kebob covered by a sauce made from mixing a bottle of hot red pepper with tomato paste. Dan started to eat it and said too spicy. Should have been a clear enough signal but I decided to confirm anyway. When I was able to see again through the tears, I saw Georgia offering some olives. There was a little vermouth in my glass, not to be counted on so I’ve tried to stop the fire by eating salad (why does so little fit on a fork at a time!). Then Georgia announced that she had peed. I grabbed spare clothing and we headed behind the café. With the corner of my eye I saw Dan downing the last remains of Coke and moving on to Georgia’s juice. Behind the café Georgia got a bit more relaxed and decided to go all the way. So we ran to the bathroom to clean up. When we came out, the chicken had arrived. Our taste buds refused to provide any feedback. Now we know why the Duck is green. It was kind of funny.

Here are a few more things about Georgia. After the Duck we went to the youths playground and on the way she peed again. So there she was standing in the stroller naked and we were trying to change her. In the meanwhile she was trying to strike the conversation with passersbys: “Hello, I am Georgia.”

She was clearly in a much better mood than at the beginning of the evening. She picked up a little flat stone stuck it to her stomach and said: “I’ve taken the pill to stop the stomach ache.” For a few minutes she was walking around the lawn healing the other organs very dramatically. If that’s coming from the kindergarten exposure, I wonder what’s next.