Even if I do say so myself, Max has had a pretty kickass birthday.
He awoke to a pile of cards and presents from his folks, brother, my folks and me, then we headed into Montauk town (such as it is) for a fat breakfast.
Montauk Manor is just beyond Montauk town and, in the daylight, we discovered that we'd driven past a big lake last night and Montauk's HILARIOUS cinema, called 'The Movie', that looks a little like a shed and only plays one film. Though, to its credit, at least that film ('Iron Man') is on current release - the cinema in Wareham tends to get films months after they've come out.
Unfortunately it was really crummy weather - really cloudy - so Montauk was not looking at its best. But it seems to be made up of a plaza based around a roundabout, then a main drag with a really seaside-y big shop of miscellany like dinghies and t-shirts and snowglobes and some little convenience stores and bakery, etc.
We had breakfast at John's Pancake House and were going to explore afterwards, but it was pouring down with rain, so we just ran across the road to the big seasidey shop to try to find Max a t-shirt, as for some reason he'd only packed shirts.
It was still raining when we got back to the hotel, so we just had a noodley afternoon indoors. I booked Maxy in for a massage at the spa and then - with Max all floppy and smelling of massage oil - we watched the DVD of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' in our room (I gave it to him because some of it takes place in Montauk). I'd forgotten what a wonderful movie it is, though fell asleep halfway through, so its jumbled chronology and dreamlike structure were doubled as I tried to work out what was going on when I woke up!
SPOILER ALERT! I always find the ending of the film really bleak, but Max thinks it's the most romantic thing ever. I just feel like the optimism that Joel and Clementine feel at the end, in spite of the tapes they've listened to, is only going to be dashed when they inevitably come to feel the same frustrations with each other as they did before.
Anyway, it was really lovely to watch on a rainy afternoon, and we got very excited about finding the beach from the movie. We then started watching it with Michel Gondry and Charlie Kauffman's commentary, which was really interesting. Michel Gondry's really fun and both of them really love Kate Winslet.
Before getting changed for dinner, we had a nice splash about in the pool and chilled out in the jacuzzi with a man who lives at the Manor during the summer.
Dressed in our finery, we headed out for dinner. I did lots of research last week and made reservations for us at the best restaurant in the area. The rain had become absolutely torrential by the time we set out and my white dress, makeup and strappy sandals were utterly soaked by the time we got to the car and didn't dry out before we got to the restaurant, where I managed to park next to a gigantic puddle (after dropping birthday boy off at the door).
The restaurant was wonderful, though. After a bellini and martini at the bar, we headed to our table and had one of the best meals of our lives. The atmosphere was lovely - all bustling and twinkly - and our waitress was great (and the meal was reeeeally cheap!). The portions at the restaurant are purposefully enormous, to encourage sharing among big parties. So it's really more of a family restaurant, where four of you get two dishes and all share everything.
So we just had one starter and a main course between us, both of which were amaaaaazing. We had a calamari salad to start with, which had an unexpectedly divine miso dressing on it, then a big steak with some of the tastiest fries I've ever had. Mmm, it was just fantastic and we had a really really fun time.
The highlight was the dessert, though. For a start, it was nice to have room for a dessert, after only eating half a portion (kind of), but secondly, it was genuinely the most astonishing lemon sorbet I've EVER eaten. And I eat a lot of lemon sorbet. Max went for his favourite, tiramisu, but had to concede from the mouthful I gave him that the sorbet was extraordinary. It almost fizzed on the tongue and tasted really lemony and wasn't at all frozen and icy like some sorbets and not too tart, either. Mmmmm, I shall dream of that sorbet.
To top off a great day, we watched a 'West Wing' at the hotel, then went to bed, fingers firmly crossed that the weather improves, so that we can explore.
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