Thursday, June 07, 2007

Even a Nature Girl Needs a Day in the City

When my birthday rolled around this year, I was perplexed about how I would spend it. Ken kept asking me what I wanted to do, and I kept shrugging, promising I would figure it out before it was too late to celebrate.

On Sunday morning I woke up, brewed myself a really strong cup of Green Mountain Roasters' Organic Rain Forest Blend (makes me think I can save the rainforests of Central America by drinking coffee), and sat on the couch with my laptop.

Suddenly it dawned on me that it would be great to go to a movie. After all, it's been almost two years since we've been to a genuine movie theater.

My web surfing revealed that there was not a halfway intelligent movie within sixty miles of us. So that led me to a search for a movie in Albany, and I quickly zeroed in on a theater that reminded me of one we loved in Boston. Spectrum 8 Theater in Albany shows a sophisticated blend of foreign, independent, and only the very best of Hollywood movies. And it has an acclaimed bakery and cafe next door. So we piled in to Hector (we've always named our vehicles) and headed south.

We saw a Dutch--German--Belgian--British film about Holland in World War II--The Black Box. It did not disappoint. Thrills, heroes and villains, and some romance. Perfect birthday material.

From Albany we drove to Saratoga Springs. We walked along Broadway, had a glass of wine at The Wine Bar (so elegant), and then to The Grey Gelding for dinner. There is no way to convey how dark it was in this restaurant. It was impossible to see people at the next table, or anything else, though there was a tiny candle shining through frosted glass on each table. The setting was unexpectedly romantic and we sat close, taking full advantage of the atmosphere. The food was excellent, though I could barely tell if my forkful held pasta or asparagus.

Then home to Sophie, who gave us the "Where the hell have you been?" greeting, and a walk in the moonlight.

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