16 May, 2012

Savouring the moment


My husband celebrated his birthday on the weekend.  Since we married many many moons ago, we have always done something special on our birthdays and anniversaries, and the only times we haven’t have been if a) we’ve been ill, or b) on a flight somewhere exciting.

So I booked a fancy restaurant, one we’ve been to before but haven’t visited for ... um ... too many years to remember.  (We’re guessing at least seven.)  We went on Saturday night, keen to avoid the Sunday night Mother’s Day Brigade on his actual birthday.  Saturday nights is their degustation night.  I booked the six course menu, as the nine course seemed just too much.

We got dressed up, took a taxi (so as not to be tempted to drive home after too much alcohol), and ordered a glass of champagne on arrival.  The restaurant is in an old Bank building, with ceilings double height, large Greek Corinthian columns surrounding the main room, and a grand bar; suitably luxurious surroundings to make my husband feel special.  The service was impeccable, as was the food, and matched wines.  A tiny serving of crab on a transparently-thin wafer whet our appetites (and not included in the six courses) and then, over the next two and a half hours, we savoured salmon with horseradish cream, paua ravioli, venison with beetroot risotto, rack of lamb with pea gnocchi, a divine divine brie with a fig compote (almost our favourite course), and a selection of chocolate desserts with peanut butter ice-cream.  Fortunately the servings were small enough that we didn’t feel stuffed, and the matched wines included half glasses as well as full glasses, so we were able to stand without wobbling at the end of the meal.  The price was what we expected, but we got a discount by using a gold card for an entertainment club, so we felt as if we’d had a bargain.

We didn’t have to rush home on a deadline to baby-sitters, or to tip-toe into the house scared we'd wake the kids.  We could sleep in on Sunday morning, knowing we didn’t have to rise early for young children, or to ferry older children to sports activities.  We didn’t have to save the money for school fees, or a child’s birthday present, or music lessons.  We simply enjoyed an evening, and celebrated our relationship.

12 comments:

  1. Sounds like a FABULOUS evening! I'm truly jealous of all the adult fun.

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  2. My mouth was really watering throughout your description... I'm glad you had such a good time.

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  3. Yum yum...I'm also drooling here nowwwww mmmmmm...:-D

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  4. Happy birthday to your husband! I'm glad you had such a wonderful evening!

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  5. sounds lovely... this is a fine reminder to seize the day and remember to book such things! If I am imaging the scene correctly, this particularly restaurant has **long** been on my list of places to go. After three years of training here in Italy, I think I'll be ready for the 7 course meal adventure! Glad you had a special night to celebrate good things in life!

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  6. What a wonderful way to spend time!! Happy birthday to your wonderful hubby and I think you should celebrate that way far more often!

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  7. Happy birthday to your husband!
    Yes, your evening sounds lovely.

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  8. Splendid time to go and eat with your hubby!

    The dinner sounded Yummy! Now I'm hungry.

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  9. I'm drooling. Seriously.

    Sounds like a really wonderful evening, and I hope your husband had a lovely birthday!

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  10. Sounds like a wonderful evening out! One of the many bonuses to "this" life, isn't it?!

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