ANTHONY BOURDAIN: TRAVEL AND HIS WORDS OF WISDOM

Anthony and our daughter briefly crossed paths and he graciously posed for this lovely photograph.

In tribute and sorrow I create this blog post in honor and memory of Anthony Bourdain.

I have had a fascination and curiosity about Anthony Bourdain for many, many years.  I know this might sound too personal and possibly inappropriate for a MEXICO AND BEYOND:  LAURA'S PHOTO JOURNEY blog posting. However, his passion for travel and food resonated with me and consequently I writing  this posting in his memory.

Since his death I often think of Anthony Bourdain, not only with a heavy heart, but also with a smile on my face.  My husband and I "met" Tony during our "nomadic life" while living in and exploring Latin America including Mexico, Central, and South America. Those were the days before the web, the Internet, casting, et cetera, et cetera, but we did make Anthony's acquaintance when we had occasional access to television. When we returned many years later and settled down to live full time in Mexico, Anthony Bourdain still kept us company.

I would like to celebrate Mr. Bourdain's life with some of the highlights of his professional life and some of his wonderful travel quotes which I still take to heart whenever we travel. 

Anthony Michael Bourdain (June 25, 1956 - June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, travel "documentarian," and television personality who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. He was considered one of the most influential chefs in the world.

Mr. Bourdain was a 1978 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of a number of professional kitchens in his long career which included many years spent as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan.

Mr. Bourdain became known for his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000). His first food and world-travel television show, A Cook's Tour, ran for 35 episodes on the Food Network in 2002 and 2003.

In 2005, he began hosting the Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure programs Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005–2012) and The Layover (2011–2013). In 2013, he began a three-season run as a judge on The Taste, and concurrently switched his travelogue programming to CNN to host Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

Mr. Bourdain's death was announced to the world in the following statement: "It is with extraordinary sadness we can confirm the death of our friend and colleague, Anthony Bourdain," CNN said in a statement Friday morning. "His love of great adventure, new friends, fine food and drink and the remarkable stories of the world made him a unique storyteller."  

Mr. Bourdain will be greatly missed, but I hope his unique personality and talent will endure for many generations to come.  The following are travel quotations which I find not only wonderful, but oh-so true.  Thank you, Mr. Bourdain! 

The 13 wisest things Anthony Bourdain said                                 about travel

By: Noelle Alejandra Salmi June 9, 2018 for Matador Network

"We will miss him, but we won’t forget what he has taught us — to travel with open minds and hearts, to travel fearlessly. As we remember Anthony Bourdain, we share with you some of his best pieces of travel wisdom."

On having an open mind

1. “If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel — as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them — wherever you go.”

2. “Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed pope mobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald’s? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”

3. “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”

On planning

4. “Nothing unexpected and wonderful is going to happen if you have an itinerary in Paris filled with the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.”

5. “I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times.”

6. “I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one. Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I think, and I’m always trying to push people to allow those things to happen rather than stick to some rigid itinerary.”

7. “When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out."

On the world

8. “It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance, seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and what’s happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there — with your eyes open — and lived to see it.”


9. “It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I still have to go, the more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough; to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom…is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go."

On connecting

10. It’s those little human moments that stick with you forever, the random acts of kindness.”

11. “To be treated well in places where you don’t expect to be treated well, to find things in common with people you thought previously you had very, very little in common with, well that can’t be a bad thing.”

On the journey

12. "As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life — and travel — leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks — on your body or on your heart — are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”

13. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

MORE TRAVEL QUOTES FROM ANTHONY BOURDAIN

Source:   https://www.burgerabroad.com/bourdain-quotes/

1.  "Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown."

2. "I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one. Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I think, and I’m always trying to push people to allow those things to happen rather than stick to some rigid itinerary."

3. "The journey is part of the experience - an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca."

4. "Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed pope mobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and MacDonald's? ... I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once."

5. "Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride."

6. "If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel - as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them - wherever you go."

7. "I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable."

8.  "It seems that the more places I see and experience, the bigger I realize the world to be. The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know of it, how many places I have still to go, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough - to know that there is no final resting place of the mind, no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom, at least for me, means realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go."

9. "I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times."10. "Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund."

11. "As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life - and travel - leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks - on your body or on your heart - are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt."

12. "When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out."

13.  "Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go."

14.  "It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance, seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and whats happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there - with your eyes open - and lived to see it."

15.   "If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move."

16.  "There’s something wonderful about drinking in the afternoon. A not-too-cold pint, absolutely alone at the bar - even in this fake-ass Irish pub."

17. "I wanted adventures... I wanted kicks - the kind of melodramatic thrills and chills I’d yearned for since childhood, the kind of adventure I’d found as a little boy in the pages of my Tintin comic books. I wanted to see the world - and I wanted the world to be just like the movies."

18.  "My brain and body and nervous system, they see a plane ride, a long plane trip, as an opportunity to sleep with nothing coming in, nothing to do. I just go offline the minute I'm on the plane."

19.   "Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind."

20.   "I often use the hypothetical out-of-control ice-cream truck. What would happen if you were walking across the street and were suddenly hit by a careening Mister Softee truck? As you lie there, in your last few moments of consciousness, what kind of final regrets flash through your mind? ‘I should have had a last cigarette!’ might be one. Or, ‘I should have dropped acid with everybody else back in ’74!’ Maybe ‘I should have done that hostess after all!’ Something along the lines of ‘I should have had more fun in my life! I should have relaxed a little more, enjoyed myself a little more’ That was never my problem. When they’re yanking a fender out of my chest cavity, I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered."

Thank you, Anthony Bourdain, for sharing your life and wisdom with us.  You were one of a kind and will be greatly missed.  Further tributes which I find especially touching:

“Anthony was my best friend. An exceptional human being, so inspiring & generous. One of the great storytellers who connected with so many. I pray he is at peace from the bottom of my heart. My love & prayers are also with his family, friends and loved ones.” Eric Ripert fellow professional chef and friend