Newstocks

Local recommendations

Went to Beau Rivage at Newstead for lunch on Saturday, on the recommendation of a friend, and we were thoroughly impressed. It has an excellent panoramic view of the Hamilton waterfront, the service was exceptionally friendly and accommodating, and the food was great. It was warm enough for us to be able to sit on the terrace area outside, and we were only one of three tables, so Aidan was able to roam happily around without us having to fight to keep him in his chair. Highly recommended.

On Saturday evening we had my company's annual dinner at Lido, so we opted to stay at Elbow Beach for the night. We did the same last year, but were unimpressed with our room in the main hotel building, which was small and old. This year, however, we were given a complimentary upgrade to one of their newly refurbished rooms in the various buildings dotted around the site, and the difference was huge. It was a big, modern room, with the bedroom and lounge area at one end, the toilet, shower and sinks at the other, and a huge bath in the middle. There was a nice flatscreen TV and a Denon sound system too. My only beef was that although you could plug your iPod into the sound system, you needed a cable to do so, which they didn't provide. We were charged a rate of $150 + taxes for the night, but even though this was supposedly an upgrade, when we enquired about the standard rate we were told that during the low season, $150 was it (unsurprisingly, I think it was more like $350 during high season). Well worth it once in a while for a special treat.

Older

Celebrated my 36th birthday on Saturday. So I'm now officially closer to 40 than to 30. Awesome.

The highlight of the day was Mandy's present to me: a long weekend in New York in April. Highlights of the trip will include a night at the opera (to see La Boheme at the Met) and a night on Broadway (to see David Hyde-Pierce of Frasier fame in the show Curtains). Since I've never been to Broadway and haven't seen a full-scale opera in years, I'm really looking forward to it. Since Aidan isn't particularly excited about theatre or opera just yet, however, he'll be staying with granny.

In the evening we went to Bistro J for dinner - the first time either of us had been there. We really enjoyed it. It's a small, cosy place, with the (admittedly limited) menu chalked up on a board on the wall. The food was good and the service was friendly; we'll definitely be going back.