I had a chance to try out our new light rail system segments which cost
a billion minus some chump change millions all subsidized by the metro
area taxpayer. This added two more segments which terminate downtown.
The one end of a new segment is about 5 miles away with feeder buses
which makes it just as convenient as going anywhere else in town. It's
been awhile since I've been downtown. Once downtown you can walk or
again take local buses to the outlining areas. I jumped on one and
went to one of the biggest bookstores in the US to check out Chinese
grammar books and on the way saw a sign which said Morroccan tea and
Turkish coffee. On the way back I wanted to check out my books and
stopped in. It was good cheap Middle Eastern food. I really enjoyed
the tea and asked the waiter how it was made. I deciphered through the
language barrier it was half black and half green. The mint was local
generic variety. The secret ingredient was either a couple of drops of
rose water or rose hip to give it a sweet taste. It was served in
ornate pot with tulip glass and saucer. I tried the Turkish coffee
which from what I could tell was soupy pureed coffee grounds served in
a long handle goblet which held enough for two tiny cups. I kicked
myself on the train thinking I should have got a couple of the cups.

PS Mass transit is great if it goes where you want to go. The local
commuters are complaining because they have to wakeup and make a train
transfer to downtown versus sleeping all the way like before. I use to
do that. It's the same commute time with the train because of the
stations.

Jim