Page 150 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL EATING IBERIA

More trinkets, more memories: Faster than the eye could see, he'd change faces,
whisking away mask after mask with a nod, a twist or
From Johor in Malaysia, I took home a bouquet
of miniature straw baskets like the larger ones car- slight jerk of his head. The effect was as mind-bog-
gling as China itself, which is changing faces with the
ried by field hands. In Hong Kong, in happier times, I
same sort of spooky speed.
boughtagood-luckcharm:asmall,greenteapotwith
the Chinese symbol for “prosperity” dangling from a The signature clothespin clipped to a perfectly
red tassel. pressed white napkin at the French Laundry in Cali-
fornia’s Napa Valley is now clipped to a branch on my
A silver-dollar-size ceramic mask left as a turn-
down offering at a Kempinski Hotel in Beijing sits on tree. Itrestsbesideastained-glassimageofanAmish
quilt that I bought at Eli's farm near Lancaster, Pa. I
abranch.WhenIseeit,IrecallthewonderfulChinese
was there with a gaggle of San Diego County eighth-
film,"KingofMasks”-andthereal-lifeKingofMasks,
graders on their class trip. That glass quilt prompts
who doubled as the tai-chi instructor and physician
aboard the Victoria III on a Yangtze River cruise. memoriesoftheyouthfulcuriosity–andwisdom–of

150 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2020