...it was the last day of 2011, and I was getting ready for New Year's Eve.
As mentioned a few posts back, one of my Christmas presents was a dress I chose with New Year's Eve in mind, and another present was going to a posh restaurant here in town with RJ for a 6-course dinner. Pictures of the restaurant can be found on their website. This picture from the outside was obviously not taken on New Year's Eve (and not by me), but it gives a pretty good impression of the kind of place it is:
I love clothes, and most of all, I love dresses. And of course, any occasion for dressing up is most welcome! And so I got my brand new dress and brand new shoes and brand new pair of tights out (even make-up!) and got ready for New Year's Eve:
RJ and I were placed at a table large enough to seat four (I hate it when they cram people in at restaurants), and there was plenty of space between the tables, so that nobody was listening in on conversations at other tables, and the staff was able to move around well while serving and removing used plates etc.
The menu was very good; it was nothing of the utterly ridiculous kind like "stuffed pea on jus of some-unheard-of-exotic-stuff" (although I must admit I am not opposed to culinary experiments as such). It was plenty, and fresh, and delicious. One course I found very special and refreshing was a sherbet of quinces and calvados.
Twice during the evening, the chef came to every table to ask if we were happy with everything. The lady who owns (?) the restaurant greeted everyone personally and also came to every table to ensure all was well.
The meal ended at about 11.00 pm, and there wasn't anything else planned from the restaurant's part, such as music or fireworks. So we drove to my parents' and sat with them and my sister and a friend of my parents and waited until it was time to get the champagne out. At midnight, we stood on the balcony, clinking glasses on 2012 and watching the fireworks all around.
It was beautiful and moving.
Klingt gut, das Kleid und die Strumpfhose gefallen mir richtig gut!
ReplyDeletePünktchen habe schon was Tolles an sich (;
Das Kleid und die Strumfhosen gefallen mir auch! Zehr schon!
ReplyDeleteSounds as though you had a wonderful time.
You look great, and I'm glad your dinner was so wonderful. And I love your blog header picture. Perfect.
ReplyDeletePerfect evening. Wonderful dinner and lovely dress (I like your shoes too!)...then top off with a visit and celebration with your family. Couldn't be better.
ReplyDeleteDanke, Mella! Ja, ich mag Pünktchen und Tupfen auch gerne, habe nur leider sehr wenig getupfte Teile in meinem Kleiderschrank.
ReplyDeleteFrances, what a surprise to see you writing in German, thank you! And we had indeed a wonderful time.
Nan, thank you! You are the only person who has noticed the changed header - it was actually my sister who said to me today that it was about time to take the christmassy one off :-)
Jill, your comment came through just when I wrote mine. Yes, it was all perfect! The shoes were not planned - I came across them by chance, not even looking for shoes, but they were at half price already AND only that one pair left of that model, in my size. Could have just as well had my name tag on it!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to get all dressed up and go to such a nice restaurant, and then to cap it off quietly with champagne, but enjoying fireworks with your family and friends on the balcony. Sounds perfect to me!
ReplyDeleteOops! Just noticed my German spelling mistake. How nice of you not to point it out! I love German, but only did it at school and have never had much need to use it.
ReplyDeleteAre you completely bilingual?
I have to say that the first thing I noticed was the change of header picture. Very appropriate. I like the idea of changing headers for the seasons or whatever. Which is odd considering that I've never changed the header for this blog and only once for Eagleton Notes and that was many moons ago.
ReplyDeleteAgain I will say that I think your outfit is stunning and your evening would have suited me perfectly.
Despite the amount of time I spent in Germany I would certainly struggle with my German these days although having seen Francis's comment (I assume Mella is a native German speaker) I was tempted. Perhaps next time....
Sounds like you had a great evening! And what a lovely restaurant!
ReplyDeleteSounds like an enchanting evening, and you look stunning! Love the outfit!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Mary
Dear Libby, it sounds like a wonderful evening. Mine was not so exciting, although I spent it with our son and his wife and 3 children. We played dominos until 10 pm and then called it a night. The little one, (22 months) was getting a little cranky and wanted to be cuddled and put to bed. It was another 30 minutes ride home and hubby and I were off to bed before midnight. I did stay up and read for a bit, I am sure it was past midnight! Hubby was off to never never land in his dreams! We we woke up....(it was wonderful sleeping in) it was just another beautiful day, only the calendar year had changed. I guess that happens when you get older LOL. AHHHH I am heading for my 60th next month....it just doesn't seem real. I think I am dreading the number more than the day....
ReplyDeleteMeike! What a perfect New Years Eve. I have never heard of such a delicious and unusual sherbert/ice as calvados and quince.
ReplyDeleteNow that calvados would have been nice to toast the new year in with my husband, but I made do with a glass of red wine. *))
Its the company that counts, right?
xx
julie
ps Love your outfit
Kay, it was perfect!
ReplyDeleteFrances, it does not make a difference to me whether I read, speak or write in German or English. My Italian is a bit more rusty, but thankfully, I manage to keep it still fluent - something that can not be said about my French, sadly.
GB, I have started to even add a header picture only in December; until then I had never really thought about it. But I think I'll keep changing it now according to the season or occasion.
Sonia, it truly was a memorable evening, and the restaurant is very nice.
Thank you, Mary, and the same to you!
Linda, you'll be a great 60-year-old - don't let the number frighten you :-)
Thank you, Julie! You are right about the company; it could have been a boring evening, had there been someone else with me. But somehow, we never run out of things to talk about, and so the 4 hours we spent over dinner felt like a lot less.
Sounds like the perfect evening. My sister lived in Berlin for many years with her German husband (they are now in Malta) but I do envy her ability to speak another language. She was an interpreter over there, so must have been pretty good, but she never felt that it came naturally to her. My language skills extend to GCE French.
ReplyDeleteMaggie, I have had two more languages on my "wish list" for a long time; Arabic and Russian. But as I do not have much (if any) practical use for either one in everyday life, I doubt I will really tackle learning them before retirement, which is more than 20 years in the future.
ReplyDeleteYes, a very valid point. If you aren't going to use a language, there is no incentive to learn it.
ReplyDeleteFab dress and fab legs too!
ReplyDeleteIf I had legs like those I'd never put them away!
Your evening sounds perfect.
SP
Thank you, SP! Maybe it does get clearer now what I meant when, some time back, I wrote here on my blog about not liking my face much. There are better things to look at :-D
ReplyDeleteMy mum gave me that dress for Christmas, but I had chosen it at the shop a week or so before. It was cheap enough (35 Euro from H&M) so that I would have bought it anyway, but of course it was even more welcome as a gift.
There was a tag on it, stating that H&M give a small percentage of the price on this dress to an organization in Bangladesh, and purchasing this dress enables a child there to go to school for one week.