There's an air of excitement and anticipation whenever a new Bond film is on the cusp of premiering. Last weekend we were disappointed to see it still had a few more days before opening, so we'd made a pact to see it some time this weekend. As it turned out, Saturday was the day and I scootered over early to secure our favourite seats at a favourite time in the later afternoon. That accomplished, we busied ourselves with other relaxing pursuits before we made our trip over to Shinkong Mitsukoshi complex for the big event.
It was as spectacular and polished as other films before it and Daniel Craig was, as always, the best Bond ever but.....(!) Perhaps our expectations were too lofty, maybe the wait was too long, but the end product felt a little stilted in parts. We missed Judy Dench as "M", but it was more than that. The characters felt a bit wooden, too much disbelief had to be suspended and the characters were like comic book heroes and villians, much more so than the usual 007 fare. Oh well, despite not quite living up to our lofty ideals, it was rollicking good fun all round!
We'd booked in at the nearby "Spice Shop" for dinner and the food was as delectable as ever. They have a particular grilled fish entree which is just the very best of its type anywhere, and believe me, we've eaten in a fair few Indian restaurants around the world, including India itself! After supping on these delicacies, we went home for some home screen viewing accompanied by our German chef baked cakes that we'd picked up earlier in the day...just the exclamation point on a nearly perfect day!
On Sunday, we watched a little cricket beaming live from the Gabba and with the Aussies secure in their ascendancy over the Kiwis, the hangover from the World Cup Rugby was just a dull ache in the background. As rain spat and worried the umpires into calling a temporary halt to proceedings, we took the opportunity to motor up to the foot of the steps to challenge the stony demon! Cass was keen to have a crack this week and despite the unseasonal heat and humidity, she suited up in climbing gear with hat and sunnies and hopped on the back of the scooter. We tapped a steady pace relentlessly up and up, pausing only when we encountered various "roadblocks" of other walkers. The summit was a hard haul on this day and we were both drenched in sweat and leg weary. The subsequent "warm-down" stroll around the ridge line track was delightful and much needed!
On the first section of steep steps on the way down, a coterie of walkers paused and watched something blocking the path. Filled with slight trepidation we edged closer to spot the family of macaques crossing the path and rustling the foliage on the other side as big daddy ushered his mate and offspring through the tree growth on the eastern side of the steps. They're lithe and flexible, such graceful climbers and clamberers. By the time I got the video going, the close action was gone, but they stayed around for a little while oblivious to the gawking of the humans, and cracking and splitting thinner branches as they crashed through to greener pastures. Cass was slightly horrified yet also fairly thrilled to get a close-up encounter: some people walk these steps for years without a sighting!
We went over to Sogo and spent $75 (Australian) buying three cans of John West red salmon! Yes, you read that correctly! My mum's salmon supreme recipe has been enthusiastically prepared by Cass for decades and it is one of our favourite meals. The trouble is that the main ingredient doesn't come cheap here in Taiwan: despite the fact that we could eat out in grand style for the price of a can, you just have to get a few little "luxuries"! I bought three new, fine knit Merino jumpers in Uniqlo later on for a song, so I suppose it all works out pretty evenly in the end.
I've been slack in posting what we're reading lately and Cassy has read about five books since I last posted her reading! I'll catch up with that when I ask her. I'm savouring the comforts of the new alphabet mystery from Sue Grafton, while at the same time lamenting that "X" signals just two more to come....what will Kinsey do?! Photos: The "golden" salmon, Aussie ice cream in the supermarket, a beautiful tree and temple we spot each weekend, Thai elephants line a carpark, the black sheep, the fish, the steps! Cassy and the macaques video is above for now and later here.
