To celebrate Steph's birthday, we went to the Hippopotamus Restaurant in the Museum Hotel in Wellington for a degustation dinner, along with Colin and their friends Simon and Jackie. It was a very fun evening - good company and delicious food! We were also sat by the window so had a good view of the harbour. We had six courses in all. Steph did the wine matching, but the rest of us just picked drinks to go along with the meal as we wanted. That menu in full...
Salmon Sashimi
Cream of cauliflower with scampi tails and crustacean oil
Seared Snapper fillet with wilted bok choy and lemon buerre blanc
Roasted beef fillet with braised beef cheek and port wine and truffle jus
Croustillant of goat cheese with macros salad and mulled wine reduction
Crepes Suzette
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Saturday, August 21, 2010
visited!
Mum came to stay with me for a few days following the wedding anniversary party - she had a few friends to catch up with when she was here, but we got to hang out and visit a few places in Wellington.
We had dinner at the fantastic Floriditas on Cuba Street - it's the third time I've been there but I always enjoy it! It's kind of like the Wolseley in London in that it starts at 7 for a breakfast sitting and then just stays open until supper time with different menu items depending on the time of the day.
We went out to the comfortable Lighthouse Cinema in Petone for Oliver's school fundraising night - a preview screening of the new film Predicament (starring Jemaine Clement). As it was a charity night we got lolly mixtures and champagne - excellent! I enjoyed the film, it was the right side of creepy! Strange to see Jemaine in a different role!
We also went to Circa Theatre for a production of The Great Gatsby which was really well done, always an interesting story. I worked out later that Miranda Manasiadis who played Daisy is also Jemaine Clement's wife!
On the Wednesday night we went to the Backbencher pub opposite Parliament to be in the audience for Back Benches, which is kind of like Question Time for NZ. It goes out almost live on TVNZ7. The pub was really crowded so Mum and I were stuck around the corner but it was still quite enjoyable to see all the banter going on. My knowledge of NZ politics is still very weak!!
We had dinner at the fantastic Floriditas on Cuba Street - it's the third time I've been there but I always enjoy it! It's kind of like the Wolseley in London in that it starts at 7 for a breakfast sitting and then just stays open until supper time with different menu items depending on the time of the day.
We went out to the comfortable Lighthouse Cinema in Petone for Oliver's school fundraising night - a preview screening of the new film Predicament (starring Jemaine Clement). As it was a charity night we got lolly mixtures and champagne - excellent! I enjoyed the film, it was the right side of creepy! Strange to see Jemaine in a different role!
We also went to Circa Theatre for a production of The Great Gatsby which was really well done, always an interesting story. I worked out later that Miranda Manasiadis who played Daisy is also Jemaine Clement's wife!
On the Wednesday night we went to the Backbencher pub opposite Parliament to be in the audience for Back Benches, which is kind of like Question Time for NZ. It goes out almost live on TVNZ7. The pub was really crowded so Mum and I were stuck around the corner but it was still quite enjoyable to see all the banter going on. My knowledge of NZ politics is still very weak!!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
ruby!
I went down to Timaru for the weekend to celebrate Mum and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. We had got them to give us the invite list and contact details and had then organised everything ourselves. We'd got invitations made at an American place online, and also put an ad in the Timaru Herald - Fiona had pilfered a few of Mum and Dad's photos and scanned them in so that we had electronic copies of everything.
Mum and Dad vacated the house before lunchtime on Saturday and went off for a surprise lunch - their friend Belinda and her husband (Mum and Belinda became good friends in Sydney just after the wedding) had flown in from Tasmania for the party and had kept their arrival a secret. In the meantime, us children and spouses set about organising the house for party central. We'd set upon a 'ruby' theme so we rearranged the furniture and decorated with red balloons, confetti etc. We welcomed the guests with ruby cocktails (Kir Royales) and I'd made a big chocolate cake decorated with red hearts. Fiona and Tiana made some fantastic food - casseroles and roast meat, as well as four different types of hummus! John had also put together a fabulous playlist of some of Mum and Dad's favourite music, and we had some of the photos playing on a loop on the new, big plasma screen TV.
The guests started arriving at dead-on 7.30 and had dressed for the occasion in red-themed clothing. We had about 25 people in all, so it was the perfect size for the house - there was the conservatory and the deck for people to spill out on. Having the welcome cocktails and the theme meant people were party-ready as soon as they got there, so it all warmed up very quickly. The food went down really well, although I think Mum and Dad were eating left-overs for a few days! They had a fantastic evening, so it was brilliant to get so involved in all that and make a special day for them. Photos are here
Mum and Dad vacated the house before lunchtime on Saturday and went off for a surprise lunch - their friend Belinda and her husband (Mum and Belinda became good friends in Sydney just after the wedding) had flown in from Tasmania for the party and had kept their arrival a secret. In the meantime, us children and spouses set about organising the house for party central. We'd set upon a 'ruby' theme so we rearranged the furniture and decorated with red balloons, confetti etc. We welcomed the guests with ruby cocktails (Kir Royales) and I'd made a big chocolate cake decorated with red hearts. Fiona and Tiana made some fantastic food - casseroles and roast meat, as well as four different types of hummus! John had also put together a fabulous playlist of some of Mum and Dad's favourite music, and we had some of the photos playing on a loop on the new, big plasma screen TV.
The guests started arriving at dead-on 7.30 and had dressed for the occasion in red-themed clothing. We had about 25 people in all, so it was the perfect size for the house - there was the conservatory and the deck for people to spill out on. Having the welcome cocktails and the theme meant people were party-ready as soon as they got there, so it all warmed up very quickly. The food went down really well, although I think Mum and Dad were eating left-overs for a few days! They had a fantastic evening, so it was brilliant to get so involved in all that and make a special day for them. Photos are here
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Rainbow over Auckland harbour
Just had a weekend up in Auckland - partially for work and partially to visit friends. Weather was really variable - some rain, some sun. But it did mean dramatic skies and some gorgeous rainbows!
I went up the Sky Tower (I think it's the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere) and had this gorgeous view over the harbour. That's Rangitoto Island in the distance.
I went up the Sky Tower (I think it's the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere) and had this gorgeous view over the harbour. That's Rangitoto Island in the distance.
Monumental!
I climbed up to the top of One Tree Hill during my Auckland visit. It sits in the middle of Cornwall Park and is the top of old volcano. There's a monument to the Maori people but sadly the one tree was properly cut down a few years ago.
Sunday, August 01, 2010
roaring!
Wanted to share this photo for a couple of reasons - it reminds me of Megan who is capable of roaring (allegedly)! And also note the little bar at the edge of the shelf, I think this could be unique to Wellington - it wouldn't take a lot for a little earthquake to jolt thousands of dollars of wine off the shelf at New World, hence the protection!
connected!
My internet radio, which was my gift from work when I left London, finally arrived this month and I've connected it up. It is absolutely brilliant - you can either listen live to any radio station as it broadcasts on the internet, or you can 'listen again' to any previously broadcasted shows. 6 Music has been saved from the axe, and that remains my station of choice for music, although it is quite odd to switch it on on a Monday morning and Dave Pearce Dance Anthems is on!
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