"VT San Francisco Meeting - Feb. 1, 2003" Personal Page by Rixie

At least 50 VT members and guests gathered at El Mansour, a Moroccan restaurant in the San Francisco Richmond District, for an extraordinary evening of drinks, dinner, and laughter.

The interior of the restaurant was set up like a giant tent, with seating -- around round tables -- on low padded benches and cushions. There were colorful rug hangings on the walls, and a white, billowy ceiling.

The meal was Moroccan style (or toddler style!): no plates, no eating utensils, and a common dish. To keep everything hygienic, waiters came around with a silver basin and poured warm water over each guest's hands; we were each given a towel that served as our napkin for the meal.

After that, the food just kept coming -- course after course. There was homemade bread still warm from the oven that served both as an accompaniment to the bowls of lentil soup and a serving scoop for the salad tray that followed: chopped tomato salad, cumin-spiced veggies, marinated cucumbers and carrots sliced paper-thin.

The third course was my favorite: a delicious pie-like concoction of chicken, almonds, and cinnamon baked in flaky phyllo and topped with powdered sugar. As David commented, "It's like a Krispy Kreme doughnut with chicken, but it works!"

That was followed by the main platter: servings of shrimp and scallops, skewered lamb, rabbit, and chicken.

Before the final course, our hands were again cleansed with warm water and scented delicately with a rosewater rinse. Dessert was banana fritters and mint tea in glasses.

The photog from So Cal

We more or less took over the small restaurant. Every time something noteworthy happened, dozens of digital cameras flashed. One of the waiters remarked, "You people must all be camera buffs!"

Here Yubert sets up a shot. That's part of David's head in the foreground.

VT friends from opposite ends of the state

It was great fun to meet some of the folks I'd encountered on the forum before, including Giampiero, Stephanie, Yubert, Elizabeth, RJ, Jenn, Hasan, and many more.

Here's a shot of Elizabeth (va8eha) and Jenn (Jenn_D). I was in the original photo, but because I was very close to the camera, I looked like The Giant Talking Head! I cropped myself out.

What belly?

A belly dancer entertained us, and more than one male face took on a slack-jawed look. I once tried taking a bellydancing class, and I can tell you that it's harder than it looks, coordinating feet, hips, arms, and fingers, and it's quite a workout...as you can see by the shape she's in. As Jenn commented, "I'll bet she can wear those low rise jeans!"

VT joins the dance

The entertainer pulled viewers -- male and female -- out of the audience to dance with her, and the VTers did us proud. In case you're wondering, the hairy arm in the photo isn't hers; it belongs to Tom (thall89553), lol.

GeishaGirl, the beautiful Hostess with the Mostest, is visible at the bottom left corner of the picture.

VT guests

Several guests of VT members joined us for the evening, and they were good sports as we laughed at in-jokes ("SOMEBODY deleted that post!" -- meaningful look at Giampiero...), and chattered about the forum.

Left to right: David and Lisa, friends of GeishaGirls' and, we hope, future VT members; and my husband, Kelly.

Jenn and Vladimir hold forth

It was a unique and fun-filled way to get acquainted with other VTers. Thank you, Stephanie, for the VT shirts -- I'll treasure mine! -- and thank you, Rochelle, for all your hard work, putting this meeting together! It totally rocked!