Down in Normanville, we have had a brief day or two of heat, in an otherwise cool and windy spring. Nonetheless, the dulcet tones of a thousand corellas fill the Casuarina trees every morning, and Adelaide is awash with sticky jacaranda flowers that cling to the windscreen of my car and carpet the footpaths in purple.
It’s been a fun but somewhat frantic year that seems to have raced past me like a runaway train: a trip to New Zealand, another to the UK; then a quick spin over to the Hunter Valley for a beautiful wedding among the gum trees and grape vines. Then, of course, I’ve spent many a week glued to my computer, assiduously working on my thesis in the hope that it will be finished before I turn eighty. Fingers crossed. Not to mention the installation of a new hip and the extraction of an appendix. Add in the celebration of a significant birthday for the One & Only, and, as we descend into the tail end of the year, it feels like I have run a marathon. And let me tell you, I am no runner!
Phew! Time off for good behaviour? Not yet – coz here comes Christmas!
The Christmas tree is up, and a couple of new Christmas angels have been added to the collection of decorations. The Christmas box of presents to be wrapped is almost full. Of course, there is a menu to plan, but I am still awaiting inspiration.
Meanwhile, I am really looking forward to a few toasty summer days and some much-anticipated time with the family. It’s never enough – time always seems to move twice as fast through those precious days – but I’ll take what I can get. And I will try and catch up on my blog, which has been sadly neglected since we returned from London. And as I recap on this rather manic year, I realize that I have left several noteworthy escapades unremarked. I can see that it is definitely time to put academia to one side and fill in a few gaps.
Perhaps just one for now, though. And that must be a reprise of the great family gathering at Pizzateca last month, when we threw an Early Bird Birthday Jamboree for the One & Only. I had booked months in advance, partly as I knew how popular it was, partly because we would be away until the week before our booking. Unfortunately, in my flurry to get it sorted before we flew off to London, I ticked the wrong box, and we turned up a day late! But our hosts refused to panic, and kindly found us a table anyway, then proceeded to feed us like kings.
Pizzateca isn’t a real Italian word, but is apparently a canny blend of “Pizza” and “Teca” (as in bibliotheca) coined to suggest an exceptional place for pizza and all things authentically Italian. This family run, family oriented restaurant has been a successful gourmet destination in McLaren Vale for almost a decade. Its website proclaims it Vera Pizza Oztalia – Italian Traditions & Australian Conditions. Or, to paraphrase, a truly great blend of Italian culinary know-how and fresh, locally sourced ingredients. It is run by the Mitolo family, who came to South Australia from the Italian region of Abruzzo many moons ago. (Mitolo Wines on McMurtrie Road is owned by cousins). Originally designed as a pop-up restaurant, Pizzateca quickly became a fixture in McLaren Vale, popular for its deliciously authentic Neapolitan pizzas.
And even on this rainy day in early November, the indoor/outdoor restaurant space is buzzing with activity. Our booking is swiftly reinstated; my nerves are settled with a glass or two of wine, and the food arrives promptly. With a big group, it makes life so much simpler to order a set menu (its compulsory for groups of eight or more anyway) and we are all too busy chatting to worry about what we want to eat. Luckily, it’s all fab, and everyone is happy. With the screens down to protect us from wind and rain, the decibels of a hundred diners rise exponentially. This could be distressing for some, but somehow we rise to meet the challenge, and if we can’t hear the person across the table, we simply swap seats. Our servers are friendly, despite the number of guests keeping them on the trot. And the pizzas are simple, and simply delicious. Somehow, even on this damp afternoon, there is a casual, cheery vibe that brings to mind that great Disney song from the Jungle Book, ‘The Bare Necessities’. And there is no doubt that the wine has washed away ‘our worries and our strife’, as we happily ‘fall apart’ in Pizzateca’s back yard.
Next time, hoping for a warmer – and sunnier – day on the Fleurieu Peninsula, it would be fun to sit out on the lawn beneath the gum trees, to enjoy a rather more mediterranean atmosphere as we nibble on our gourmet pizzas and sip on the homemade limoncello…
It’s good to be home!