Our Anniversary Continued
Our anniversary dinner at the Marco Polo restaurant at the Treasury Casino was fantastic. It was like a real date - a sophisticated type date that Dave and I hadn't made time for in years. We got a taxi into town and went straight to the restaurant. We were encouraged to have a predinner drink in their lounge area (a nice touch) and ordered a mojito (lime, mint, bacardi concoction) for Dave and a strawberry daquiri for me as I wasn't feeling too adventurous plus the casino does one of the best daquiris around. We chatted and talked about work and life and then moved into the restaurant for one of the best meals I'd had for a while. It was standard silver service - you know, pay $30 for an entree that you had to squint to see on the plate BUT the taste sensations were divine. And there is something to be said for small portion sizes - allows you to actually get through a three course meal without feeling like you are going to burst. We had scallops (Dave) and Prawns (me) for entree, beef fillet (Dave) and Ocean trout (Me) for mains and a banana crepe thing and a macadamia baklava (shared) for dessert - and THEN because Dave must have mentioned it was our anniversary we also got a plate of petit fours with Congratulations piped in chocolate on the plate. I would have photo-ed it for the blog but it really didn't seem like that kind of restaurant where I wanted to whip out my mobile phone and take photos ;) Even I have some class.... sometimes.
Readings
I must say that since completing my PhD I've really enjoyed reading again - and not just pop-psycho-thriller trash that doesn't make me think too hard, but stuff where the authors actually hang together sentences with subject and predicate. I've been through all of the girly trash that's funny but after 5 books leaves you wanting more - and leaves you able to complete the book in your head because they're all the same after awhile. So in Borders the other day I picked up 2 books that I thought were a bit more ..... sophisticated? Oh I don't know if that's the word... I'm not going to start reading War and Peace or anything (tried it once, lasted 6 pages..), but I feel like I want to have to stop and think about what the author is saying. So I started with The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (her first novel by the way) and it is absolutely magnificent. It is time travel science fiction meets love story. I've always been a fan of time travel books to be honest. I love the brain strain it takes to figure out what's going on. Interestingly enough I've always believed in the much believed notion that you cannot set up a time paradox by appearing in the past in a place where you currently are - i.e. you can't meet yourself in the past. This novel rejects that assumption and has no problems with Henry (the main character) of 43 sitting and having ice creams with his 8 year old self. I loved it. It was inspiring - it told of a love that was there before they even met and a love that existed long after they were gone. It's a must read.
I'm off to begin now a book that was first recommended to me in January of this year but I didn't think that I had the oomph to stay with it..... The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Review to follow.
