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Watermelons, Jazz & Ghetto

Watermelon Salad at DOSA
It was not too long after the book reading ended that I realized that if I have any chance of having a quiet moment in this eventful weekend, it would be now, for a short lunch break. I had to head over to the Pacific Heights neighbourhood, and teach my 2nd perfume class ever in San Francisco at Alex Sandor's studio. I also needed to eat something inspiring, and relax a bit, if at all possible. Fillmore's jazz festival was on at full capacity, with mardi gras bands popping in every corner. Nikki Sherrit accompanied me for a lunch at DOSA, and for about an hour of sanity, we just enjoyed quiet conversation with a completely familiar face, and without needing to smell anything from a scent strip.

We had a couple of delicious dosas (Souther Indian crepe made of garbanzo flour and filled with anything your heart desired, plus an overdose of spice), and this amazing watermelon and basil salad (also spicy beyond the necessary, which works better than coffee in waking me up).

Building Blocks
Natural Raw Materials for Perfumery - Photo by Jessie Glass

And than I tried to make my way to Alex' studio but ended up going down Fillmore instead of upwards, and ended in what I later learned was the "Ghetto" (which I kinda figured out based on how many heads were turning to watch me go and making comments I was mostly trying to not hear). It was a bit unnerving, and could not for the life of me hail a taxi cab. I don't get easily unsettled, and Vancouver is well known for having way less than pleasant street corners; but walkers by kept giving me wrong directions (which brought me to the "Ghetto" to begin with), and I was starting to seriously run out of time; so I just used the best navigation tool I could think of at the moment and called Alex for directions to get me out of there fast.


Perfumery Session in Progress
Perfume Making Class July 7th @ Alex Sandor Studio - Photo by Jessie Glass

The class went very well, and one of the students, Jessie Glass, is a professional photographer, so we have a bunch of pretty pictures from the whole class, which you can fully view on Flickr. Here are just some of my personal favourites though (there is something to be said about photos of people smelling stuff):


Custom natural perfumes from the July 7th class at Alex Sandor's studio

Ayala & Carol
Ayala & Carol - photo by Jessie Glass
Ayala & Alex
Ayala & Alex - photo by Jessie Glass

Honeysuckle & Curry Leaves

San Francisco
Oh, wait! The account of my olfactory adventures in California is not quite over... Thank goodness for photographs to be my silent reminders!

Mango & Goat Cheese Salad @ Dosa
To make a long story short, if you're ever in San Francisco, do yourself a favour and have dinner at Dosa, a Southern Indian restaurant that makes heavenly food that is ever so slightly on the fusion side (for example, the mango and goat cheese salad with orchid flowers in the picture above is definitely not what you'd normally find in ethnic Indian restaurants and as far as I know not exactly part of homemade Indian cuisine either).

Curry Leaf Infused Coconut Custard Cake @ Dosa
And this dessert - a coconut custard cake, was decorated with crispy coconut cookie, and - brace yourselves - a crystallized fresh curry leaf!!!
Absolutely divine combination of flavours that not only bursts in your mouth, but also inspired the imagination.

Honeysuckle in San Francisco
And walking up one of the many hills of this up-and-down city, we spotted gigantic honeysuckle (the flowers were seriously HUGE) that smelled beautifully, not surprisingly... Afterwards all I could think of is merging coconut, honeysuckle and curry leaf in a perfume... Mmm...
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