Last Saturday, I celebrated my 28th birthday with my beloved. After feeling like I’d been 27 for the longest time, I finally crossed over. Whether it’s cosmic energy gracing my consciousness or actually just my digestion dissolving, my sight seems a little clearer and mind less cluttered. It has been a year of revelations – a tough year. But an important one. What happened? Moving in with my boyfriend and starting a new job are the major players in changes. A little along the way, I came close to packing it all in to move back home, with the view of living comfortably with Mum, Dad and Sis forever, just like it’s always been. However, I didn’t. The big life changes did not break me, Big Girl Sally was resilient. All of this happened also in the midst of me trying to figure out who I really am and whether I was cut out to live life on Earth. As you can imagine, it’s been emotional.
With lots of guidance and counsel from friends, family and trained professionals, I am starting to feel like me again. This time last year, I was about 30% of myself, if even that. Now I’m closer to 80% and I’d be a fool if I didn’t lend some reflection to the journey made. Of course the goal is 100 but I’m by no means complaining right now. This time last year, I was getting ready to go to Scotland to climb Ben Nevis, with added hope of getting high on thin air and miraculously ‘curing’ myself of the low moods that I’d been prone to. I gave up – no, stopped – halfway up the mountain. I didn’t get high, I got bored and settled for the views from where I stood instead. No shame in it, I just didn’t want to go further at that time, and that was the right thing for me. But now, deep down I’m saving a bit of me for Ben Nevis. Next time, I want to make it to the top. I wonder if my boyfriend is up for Round 2…
We had an amazing day last Saturday. My love took me to Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred Pétrus, where we lunched and wined. In true Sally style, I had the foie gras (I love foie gras) with ponzu green beans and burnt hazelnut bread to start. Simon had salmon and lobster ravioli with some funny looking blobs on the plate and let me tell you, the quality of both dishes were of the God-spoke-to-me-in-a-dream ilk. The first time I saw God was on the life-threatening drop from The Tower ride in Tivoli, a theme park in Copenhagen. This was the second. Accompanying our lunch were three glasses of very fino wino. I have no idea what they were called. I rarely list down wine names, especially prestige ones, because I rarely buy two of the same bottle. How can you, when there are just so many to experience in the world? On a separate note, the few times that I have repeat prescriptions on wine, I’ve found that the second bottle tastes completely different to the first. Mysteries of the universe. The only consistent tasting ones are Campo Viejo Rioja. I drink those to get merry. Good thing they’re only about £8 each.
All that talk about wine and I haven’t even gotten to the main yet. We both had slices of suckling pig served on a plate as huge as a tray. When I say slices I actually mean slice – we had a slice each, surrounded by the weird and wonderful bits and blobs that fine dining establishments tend to use in their creations. The tastes and textures were wonderful. Who would’ve thought that pork and cuttlefish make a delightful pair?
We indulged in some dessert – white chocolate for Simon and dark for me. This was after a palate cleanser of sorbet.
I thought that that was the end of our lovely meal, but was pleasantly surprised when this bad boy came out!
Wonderful, and probably worth more than diamond encrusted three-tiered gateaus in most cake shops. The only thing that made this lovely lunch even better was that the restaurant didn’t feel at all snobby or suffocating. One of the waiters stepped on my foot by accident and he apologised like he’d shot my dog, then kept looking at me to see if I was okay. I pretended to be angry and in retrospect I think it gave him a panic attack but I laughed it off. He got that we were cool in the end. I think. I hope.
So afterwards, we headed off to our next destination: Ironmonger Row Baths! We had a nice relaxing treatment and added use of the spa. It was lovely! I’m getting all sleepy just thinking about it now. My only criticism of IRB is that they lack a hydro pool, aka jacuzzi. What spa doesn’t have a jacuzzi for crying out loud? In Fulwell Cross Leisure Centre they have one. In Denmark they have one. Slightly off-topic but in Denmark, they also had a dead sea pool which was very salty and thus made one very buoyant. I remember getting it in my eyes and feeling the flames of Hell burning for at least fifteen minutes afterwards.
For dinner, Husband/Boyfriend and I headed towards Smithfield’s to a bar that looked like something out of the 50s. Exotic decor and a touch of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution graced our surroundings. We ordered some tapas plates and shared them with joy. Tuna nikkei, ceviche, lamb chops and a couple more that were delicious. We hungrily ordered more after failing to convince ourselves that we were full. Then came the cocktails! I can’t remember what they’re called (see point above about fine wine) but I took some snaps.
Later, drunk on alcohol, we got into a bar fight and beat up some people (this is untrue… to an extent). There was a live jazz band from Philly before us playing some real spicy music. I sat there and thought to myself that such a long time had passed since I was so consistently happy, and decided that 28 was going to be a fantastic year. Soon after, we left Oriole and made our way home, playing out a few theatrics worthy of Eastenders in the street (we are both extremely dramatic, whether Simon wants to admit this or not). But in the end, it was okay. It always is! There’s only love in the end.
Now as I sit and reflect on my adventures past, I feel positive with a sense of excitement for what lies ahead. I don’t know where I’ll be in a year’s time, if I’ll still be writing in this newfound blog, but I hope to stay inspired. I’m going to say that my target is to post another update next Sunday, making it a week’s time. Until then, arrivederci!
Girl of the Universe 