Family day out

With the mater and pater visiting this weekend, Rohinton, Jeet and I were keen to squeeze in a weekend full of activity.

Do parents ever sleep?
It was 2.00 am by the time I wished Mum and Dad a sleepy gnite to and headed off to bed.
"Don't wake me up till 10, okay?"
It felt like I'd barely closed my eyes when already Mum was shaking me awake.
"So, tell me all about Germany! What was it like?!" She was very chirpy for first thing in the morning. A quick glance at my watch convinced me of my fear - yes, it was only 7 am.

But through my sleep-tousled hair and half-closed eyes and somnolent hazy fog, I could feel myself smile. It was just lovely to wake up to Mum again.

Brunch
Saturday started with brunch at our local creperie.
"Could we get two crepes with chicken, spinach, tomato and onion please?" That was my Dad and Mum.
"I'll have the same please, but with some Swiss cheese as well, but only a little."
"I'll have the same please, but without the chicken and the cheese, and with some basil instead."
"Same for me too, but in an omelette instead of a crepe, and only egg-whites please."

The waiter stared at us incredulously. You're kidding, right, his eyes seemed to say as he furiously scribbled down the order. The page was full of cancellations as he tried to record our various permutations and combinations.
Then a sigh of resignation.

"Okay, and to drink?"
Chai tea latte with soya milk, small. Latte with soya milk, medium. Latte with normal milk, medium. Iced latte, medium. Normal filter coffee, small.

We are a complicated family to feed, I realised.

The vineyards
Later in the day we drove to a couple of vineyards in New Jersey for an afternoon of wine-tasting. The sun was slowly starting its descent as we reached the vineyard, and the thought of crisp white wine was appealing. After much menu-perusing and debate, we settled on a Vidal 2004 for the first taste.

"Mmmmm," said Jeet, as she swirled, sniffed and tasted her wine. "This is a delicious full-bodied wine. Dry, and yet just a hint of sweetness. With a flavour of oak with cherries and apples."

We all gaped at her.

"Okay fine, I read it in the guide," she admitted.

It was a beautiful afternoon, and we sat out on the wooden porch, sipping wine and snacking on a picnic lunch. The sun had almost set as we got up to leave.
"Hang on a sec, guys, I need to pee," I said, as I headed toward the restrooms. Except to my consternation I found that the shop had closed at 5 and everything was locked. There was no staff in attendance.
"Oh no! Guys, what am I going to do, I HAVE to go NOW!"
I can be melodramatic when I have to pee.

"I guess you could go in the vineyard." That, predictably, was Rohinton.
Snigger, snigger.

Dear readers - well I'm not going to go into the rest of the story. But I must entreat you, please don't buy wine from Pleasantville Vineyard, NJ, for the next year.