Travels with Dan

My 31st birthday

I had quite a long birthday this year. There was the party on Saturday and then on Monday the Facebook messages from back home started rolling in (because we’re 14 hours behind Perth and people had started waking up) and then Tuesday was my actually birthday.

I worked during the day on some paid editing work. Glen came home at about 5:30 and the present he’d ordered for me had arrived so timing was perfect. The gift was nine magnets with Instagram photos of our various travels over the past eight months.

It’s really lovely as they’re all of us (except one, which is just of me skiing) being silly in different locations. The microwave is metallic (unlike the fridge door) so I’ve stuck them there over the stove.

We went for dinner at Canoe, one of the fancier restaurants in Toronto. It’s on the 54th floor of the TD Bank so you have an amazing view over Downtown, of the CN Tower and out across the water. At night, it’s quite pretty with all the lights down below. During a sunny, clear day it would be something to see too.

We had some cocktails, shared a delicious raw seafood starter (I ate five oysters. Glen can’t stand them), and then we had our mains. Glen had three bits of beef and I had poached halibut (which makes me think of the Eric the Bee skit from Monty Python). For dessert, Glen had sticky toffee date pudding and I had four cheeses and a port.

The food was very good, the company exquisite, and the view lovely. After dinner we explored more of the underground city, walking from near Union Station to King Station, all without going outside. Made us realise there’s still a lot of Toronto we haven’t seen yet.

When we got back home, we wolfed down the final three episodes of House of Cards (season 2). God, it’s good. So moreish, I don’t want to give anything away but just to say it’s well worth watching (despite a few weak parts earlier in the series), and if you love nasty political drama, check it out. Unfortunately it looks like we’ll have to wait a year before the next one comes out. What to watch in the meantime…

So, that was my day.

Now, I’m 31.

Doesn’t feel like it. Looks like it, according to Glen (we laughed), but doesn’t feel like it. I think it’s going to be a great year though: my book coming out in a couple of months, lots of travel planned, and a wedding.

Bring it!