Today Matt and I had the perfect day. When I started to catch on that I was having a perfect day I got that Velvet Underground song "What a Perfect Day" stuck in my head, which is a small price to pay for actually having a perfect day.
We started our day with cappuccinos and scones, which is the best breakfast ever. Then we headed out for a day at the beach at Shek-O, which is supposed to be the "last little village on Hong Kong Island." It sort of took a long time to get there, since we had to take the Island Line almost to the end and then take the 9 bus over a really steep and winding road. The trip was worth it though, Shek-O is tiny and quiet and really laid back. We got off the bus and were met by a swarm of tiny, old Chinese women straw mushroom-style hats that tried to sell us spots on the beach with umbrellas and chairs. We declined and walked through the town, which is so tiny, and decided to cruise around the residential areas. The houses were huge and the cars outside of them were gorgeous and very fancy. Imagine my surprise when we came across a car with a Kerry/Edwards sticker on it! I was happy not only because it wasn't a Bush sticker, but also cause that means the expats are voting. Yay! This election is so important. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and the weather was warm and not too humid. The water here is warm, so swimming is nice, although it is not the cleanest water in the world.
For dinner we went to the Black Sheep and I felt like I was in heaven. It was that perfect time of day when the day is over but the night hasn't begun yet, and light has a sort of warm color. My feet were still sandy, I had that lazy after-a-day-in-the-sun feeling, the restaurant had reggae on, and I was sipping the most perfectly spiced Sangria. I couldn't believe my delight when they brought out the warm, crusty french bread and had roasted garlic to go with it! I didn't think it could get any better till they served the grilled calamari. We had a long, slow dinner and watched the sky turn to night.
Since it was National day, there were alot of locals out barbecing with their families, and it looked really fun. You can rent barbecues at the stores along the beach, and they have all different sorts of meats and vegetables for sale. It looked like alot of fun, especially if you like barbecued fish balls.
Now this is the part where I reveal my horrible addiction to sweets: when we got off the MTR in Admiralty, Matt said he would split some of the Maxim Bakery cakes with me. Admiralty MTR is our "home MTR station" and there is a Maxim Bakery there. They have the most beautifully decorated and arranged cakes and truffles, with shiny glorious fruit on top and chocolate shavings and it is just fabulous. Every time I walk by I stare longingly at the cakes. So imagine how happy I was when Matt said he was in the mood for cake! I was ecstatic! We picked out three miny cakes and headed for home. I was so happy I felt like skipping home.
But wait, the perfect day was not over! When we reached the top of the stairs, we heard loud booming noises...and then we remembered it was National day and Hong Kong was having a fireworks display. So we watched the longest, most fantastic fireworks display I have ever seen. It was better than sky show in San Diego.
We got home and showered and I had that warm, tired, wonderful clean feeling that comes after a long lazy day at the beach. We had tea with our little Maxim's cakes and watched 24. It was glorious.
It is good that I had a day like this because it seems like everything in my life is going haywire right now, and all the events in the past 4 months have been timed perfectly wrong. But I guess this is what people live for, the wonderful days that come along every once in a while. I guess I was worried I wasn't going to get anymore good days.
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