Friday Five: Date Nights

Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! by Capital Brewing Co.

We're very busy. Other than working full-time jobs, he does brewing and I do theatre. We are on committees for these things. We also try to fit in exercise. It can be tough to find the time to spend together without just sitting on the sofa in a state of exhaustion. So we have instigated a night a week where we go out and do a thing together. It doesn't have to be a big thing - but it is our thing. We enjoy each other's company and need to make time for us, rather than letting all our other concerns take priority. We alternate between who gets to choose the activity/ venue; sometimes we are more creative than at others. You can probably guess who chooses which. We are having fun.

5 Recent 'Date Nights':

1. Capital Brewing launch of Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! - Capital is a great summer after-work spot, with lots of space to sit outside and relax. It's very casual and welcoming to all - cyclists; families; dogs; drinkers... it's very inclusive. Handily located near not a lot of anything else, it is a true destination venue. We went for launch of their latest beer: the Cascara Cherry Bomb Sour! It's a kettle-soured collaboration with Ona coffee and, at less than 3% abv, it's a perfect drink for a summer afternoon, and you can still drive home. Or stay and have a session.
2. Vice at Palace Electric - We went to our favourite cinema to see this film written and directed by Adam McKay about the crucial years in the life of Dick Cheney. It that made me angry. The film is well-acted (Christian Bale is notable as the former U.S. vice president) and the direction excellent; the politics are despicable. It took all of my self restraint not to boo most of the characters. Now I just have to try and unclench my jaw. I disliked the very end (please stop insulting my intelligence; I can draw my own comparisons without them being spelled out to me) but the fly-fishing lures at the end credits were a nice touch.
3. The Brindabella half-price pizza - It's a golf-club watering-hole, with beautiful views over the greens (is that what they're called?). There are parrots in the trees, there is good beer on tap, the pizzas are half-price on Wednesdays, and it's within easy walking distance of our house (downhill on the way home). What more could you want?



Chilli Prawns Pizza at The Brindabella

4. Permanent O-course, Weston Park - So much more fun than I remember this being as a child. I may have finally overcome my pathological aversion to orange and white triangles. Him Outdoors and I took turns in navigating around a lovely park in the soft light of the evening with kangaroos for company, and finished it off with bubbles by the lake and fish and chips. 



Him Outdoors finds the prize!

5. Tim Minchin at The Canberra Theatre Centre - The gig was amazing. The man is phenomenal: talented; witty; angry; edgy; passionate; funny; charismatic; good-looking; intelligent; mischievous; sensitive... Shall I go on? (Him Outdoors says 'no'.)

Friday Five: Pizza Toppings

Friday is fish and chips night. But occasionally it is pizza. It is never Hawaiian pizza, or anything with bananas on top. That's just wrong.

5 Favourite Pizza Toppings:

1. Margherita: fresh tomatoes; sliced mozzarella; basil and extra-virgin olive oil (simply the best!)
2. Capricciosa: mozzarella, tomato, mushrooms, artichokes, prosciutto, olives
3. Frutti di mare: tuna, shrimps, mussels
4. Napolitana: anchovies, olives, capers (especially if I need salt)
5. We Love Ewe: slow-roasted lamb; button mushrooms; caramelised onions; blue cheese and walnuts (exclusive to Pesto in Arrowtown - I miss it)

Travels and Tribulations 2

The travel hassle begins again. Taxi to Rimini train station; 12 Euros. Waiting on the platform for an hour – Him Outdoors still has dodgy guts and is doing a lot of groaning. We find a seat on the train to Bologna and a place to store our luggage which is very fortuitous as the train soon fills up; standing room only.

We are at one end of the carriage and when the train pulls into the station at Bologna and the doors don’t open, it turns out to be the wrong end. We have to clatter and bang our cases (never travel with a bike!) all the way down the aisle then negotiate a way across the station to the Aerobus (5 Euros) to the airport.

Here we pick up a car and drive to Florence; quite a baptism of fire for Him Outdoors on the wrong (right) side of the road. There are lots of tunnels (of course you never check where the lights are on a hire car that you pick up in broad daylight!) and lots of trucks whizzing by very close. He keeps drifting right and we are missing the trucks by inches. I don’t wish to turn into my mother (sorry, mum), but I keep flinching and telling him to keep his eyes on the road when they are drawn to the glorious Tuscan countryside.

We find our hotel relatively easily. It’s a delightful villa, quite peaceful, surrounded by trees and a half-hour walk out of town. We dump our bags, the bike and the car and then thankfully walk into town.
I take Him Outdoors on a quick walking tour and we race through the sites – Ponte Vecchio, dazzling with its array of gold jewellers; the Uffizi , outside which I point out the Room With A View moment (there are lots of people taking photographs but the beautiful view is ruined by a massive crane in the way); and the Palazzo Vecchio, which he decides is his favourite building.

The Piazza della Signoria is as I remember, with all its fabulous sculptures including Ammannati’s fountain of Neptune, Giambologna’s statue of Cosima I de’ Medici and his Rape of the Sabine Women, and (my favourite) Cellini’s Perseus, having just slain Medusa. There are also copies of Michelangelo’s David and Donatello’s Mazocco, the heraldic Florentine lion.

We pass the Bargello; Casa di Dante (where the poet supposedly lived); Orsanmichelle; and the cathedral, campanile and duomo. It’s all incredibly impressive stuff, and quite breathtaking. The Lonely Planet writes,

“The French writer Stendhal was so dazzled by the magnificence of the Basilica di Santa Croce that he was barely able to walk for faintness. He’s not the only one to have felt overwhelmed by the beauty of the city – Florentine doctors reputedly treat a good dozen cases of ‘Stendhalismo’ each year.”

A very short queue beguiles us to duck into the baptistery – the first one of which was built in the 5th or early 6th century AD; this one was reconstructed in the mid 11th century. Bronze doors, marble floors and mosaics on the roof add to the majesty of the place which is credited with launching the Renaissance.

We wend our way through the streets and walk back more leisurely to the Piazza Pitti – the Pitti were the rival family to the Medici; the Palazzo now houses a number of museums – and Café Bellini where we have a beer and pizza. The pizza here are thin and crispy and swimming in sauce and mozzarella. I have one with artichokes, olives and ham – bellisimo!

I collapse into bed but I find it hard to sleep as my mind is full of images and cultural icons crowding in upon each other. Or maybe it’s the cheese.