I work 4 days a week so when Fridays come
around, I try to do something special.
Now that may mean catching up with a friend, going to a movie or
sampling some of the cafes that keep on opening up in Auckland. It seems that every week there is a new café
or restaurant, or two or three, on the scene.
How do they all survive?
Last Friday, although strictly speaking it was
last week’s Friday, not yesterday (confused?), I had such a lovely day where
everything turned out just the way I’d want.
First up I headed for coffee and cake at L’Oeuf in Mt Albert. I must be one of the few who haven’t had un oeuf at L’Oeuf (an egg for those without
the benefit of my school taught French), mainly because I seldom go out for
breakfast or brunch – I will have had my breakfast early and by mid-morning I
am more than ready for a coffee, especially after a drive into the city. Anyhow, in my book, cake and coffee go so
much better than eggs and coffee (just saying…).
Do you ever get that anxious feeling when you
step inside somewhere new? I do, but at L’Oeuf I was instantly made to feel
genuinely welcome by the waitstaff. So much so that after all their warm
attention I practically skipped out the door.
Great service, guys.
I chose this delicious pear and cardamom cake, along
with a latte. The waitress placed them
in front of me and explained they had a new barista so if anything was not up
to scratch I was to let them know (it was all perfect). Later
she came by to check and to have a little chat.
Now the really annoying thing is that I used to
live close to this cafe and now I don’t.
I sat there wishing L’Oeuf had
been around then. C’est la vie.
Moving on and a short drive to the Capitol
Cinema to see Wadjda. This is a little gem of a movie about a spirited
young girl (played so captivatingly by Waad Mohammed that it’s almost like
watching a documentary) who
comes up with some ingenuous ways to save money for a bike she covets. As we follow her daily life and attendance at
a strict religious school, the film gently illustrates the restrictions of
women and children in Saudi Arabia. Directed by a female Saudi Arabian, the
movie explores the issues simply and effectively and in a way that leaves you with
hope. My feminist hackles rose several
times but I was heartened a few days later hearing a radio movie reviewer say
that since the film’s release, bicycle areas had been introduced in Saudi
Arabia for young girls to use (one of the problems Wadjda faced was that it wasn’t
seemly for girls to ride bikes in public).
The last thing to put a smile on my face before leaving the city behind was missing
all the normal Friday afternoon traffic and cruising home with no delays. Bliss.
I love the fact you treat yourself on your day's off. I seem to spend my non working days catching up with all the domestics and hardly ever get out to treat myself. I agree with you about how so many cafes and restaurants keep going. There are new ones opening up all the time in Wellington.
ReplyDeleteI was definitely not going to do housework on this day unless I really had the urge, which would be most unlikely!
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