In vino ... corpulens

I discovered recently to my horror that I seem to be gaining weight, in spite of all the sport I’m doing. Could it be muscle mass? Unlikely. So what could it be? All the eating out and drinking, perchance? Well, living in a foodie city like San Francisco, I’m not going to give up eating out, which left only one thing: cutting back on the drinking. So, let’s see how that went in my first week of abstinence…

On Monday evening I had my Italian class. Normally, we have it in Candida’s office, but she invited us around to her place to meet her new pug puppy, Kathmandu. I took a bottle of wine for the hostess and so did Gami. We spoke Italian, ate nibbles, played with the pug and – oh – drank wine. Tuesday went rather better – went to my step class in the evening and didn’t drink any wine afterwards. But I did cook the chicken with wine – does that count? Wednesday came around. There was an open bottle of wine in the fridge – I’d used it for cooking the night before. I’m afraid I had a glass. It had been a hard day, OK?! On Thursday evening, the engagement celebration for Al and Sarah, a chap that Jon works with and his lovely Australian fiancée, was being held at a cool pub-cum-jazz bar in Berkeley. I went along, of course and – er – drank beer. Friday: eighties night at the Great American Music Hall, a truly fabulous venue. Listened and danced to three bands: Cure and Duran Duran tribute bands plus another group delivering up a range of classic hits. Also watched people bopping around in their eighties costumes (there was a “prom” theme), and enjoyed lovely old-fashioned music hall style table service. So of course, ordered a cocktail – and a beer.

The weekend at last! Had a few chores to do on Saturday, but was able to enjoy the afternoon on the terrace of Caffè Sapore and in the pool, as it was such a gorgeous day. We stayed in that night – and had a bit of wine. Today I went for a run in the morning, then met up with some friends (Gami from Italian class and others) to go on a hike in Napa Valley. Failed to consult the hiking book sufficiently and got lost among the redwoods. On returning to the car, was more than ready for the wine tasting at the vineyard down the road and appreciated the “bonus” dose of Zinfandel port we were given. Having more or less skipped lunch, we headed for the princely California Culinary Academy for dinner and sat on a terrace overlooking the vineyards and hills beyond. Spotted the delectable Trefethen Riesling, which I’d tasted before, on the wine menu and ordered a glass to enjoy with the sumptuous – albeit rather meagre – dinner.

So how did I do in my “dry” week? Not very well, it would seem! At least I can console myself with the fact that I’m burning lots of extra calories trekking up and down the eighteen flights of stairs to the flat, with both elevators having been out of action since Wednesday.