Cyclone Renee, or when the family hits town

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A week has careered past since I took up residence at my Winter Palace, and I must say it’s been a not uneventful week … crowned by a delicious massage at Yamba Remedial massage, and then, on Saturday, cyclone Renee hit town.

We zoomed out to do some shopping, and then, come the evening, we repaired to Angourie and the grand Barbaresco restaurant. I’ve already eaten out three times in the week … and very well too, beautiful Indian food at the superior spot now called Indian Fusion, at the next-door-to- home snackery once called Pippi’s and now splendidly refurbished under the name ‘Sandbar’, but when Renee zooms in from Grafton …

You see, we both Like Food. I don’t mean big old plates of meat and three veg to fill an empty belly, but Food to be tasted and mulled over and enjoyed. We are lucky. Yamba has a quite a number of good and even very good restaurants. But when the family come to town we have … wheels: so Angourie and Barbaresco it is!

We rolled up to the lovely spot at 6pm on the dot, and hadn’t been seated more than a few minutes before the place was buzzing … full house soon … Barbaresco is NOT a secret! The noise level at the previously quiet spot rose dramatically, piped music (why?) chimed in, and I had to strain my underpowered ears to hear the conversation. But my blood orange margarita arrived and I dived blissfully in …

What else is there to say? The meal was as blissful as the margarita(s). To wit: I started with beef carpaccio with parmesan 

and Renee chose the grilled local prawns. 

Sounds simple? No. There are 32 ways to cut and season a carpaccio, 33 to grill and serve -- or ruin -- a plump fresh prawn. We shared a little of each other’s …

Then the main course. Yes, I was having two courses! Mine was green tagliatelle with white fish and pippis … a nice, light dish for a hot and humid night … 

Renee chose the fish of the day: a luscious, thick piece of Jewfish on lentils … 

And somehow the second margarita appeared …

My capacity metre registered ‘satisfied’ as I supped the last delicious mouthful, but Renee was eyeing the dessert menu! So we shared a perfect honeycomb semifreddo … the ideal finale to a first-rate meal.

I really like Barbaresco, and one of things I like about it is that, when you return, most of the same familiar faces are there … you feel ‘at home’, relaxed … oh, and did I mention the food?

Renee dropped me off at the Cove at 7.30. A glass of cold white and the Commonwealth Games? The TV was showing, for heaven’s sake, little girls playing 7-a-side rugby. After little girls failing to synchronise dives, and little girls falling off gymnastic apparati, it was too much for me. I switched off, left the wine in the fridge and found my bed.

But it was not over! My facebook tinkled at 8am. Come for a swim and a coffee at the beach. So I put on my new blue surf shoes, and my fish-pattern badehose, and headed for Main Beach. Main beach was already occupied by Sunday swimmers and a pod of friendly dolphins, but with the help of my shoes I was able to walk out through the waves without incident and have a really good dip.

Coffee. Why not. There is a little place called the Main Beach Kiosk right on the beach … coffee ordered … oh gosh, look what that man’s got. What a super plate of breakfast. We looked at each other. One between two? So for the first time in yonks, I ate breakfast .. avocado, smoked salmon, poached eggs … oh yum. This is a discovery! And just down the hill from my place. I shall be a regular.

Alas, I won’t. ‘The Season’ ends next week. It is officially winter. And the Kiosk closes till spring. Oh well, just as well, I shouldn’t really get back into breakfasting ..

So Renee has trundled back to Grafton. But she and Captain Joe will be back soon … with Darby, Harry, Eli, Noah, Mia (in descending order of age) … Rachel having already gone back to University ..

I had better get into training. I can feel those underused calves aching from breasting the waves… I'd never be able to get astride a dolphin at this rate.

I dont know why blogger has decided to change the spacing and design of my pages, but they ways of blogger are not quite clear ...