Tag Archives: films

Mt. Coot-tha, Jacob de Zoet and The Age of Love

After our routine breakfast of yogurt and muesli, Chris and I made the journey to Mt. Coot-tha. The winding bus ride from the city left us slightly queasy but didn’t damped our excitement for the sights and the hiking. We walked for a few hours through the trails but also along the outlaying roads, taking in the parks and the farms. We followed the aboriginal art trail, and the JC Slaughter falls trail, though the falls wanted for the rain season. We delighted at the foliage, flowers, and trees.

We browsed the library at the Brisbane Botanical Gardens and took note of many titles to read in preparation for our garden in Mackay, including:

  • The Urban Hen by Paul Peacock
  • Grow your food for free by Dave Hamilton
  • Time to eat the dog? by Thames & Hudson
  • Paths patios & decking  by Paul Wagland
  • Botanical body care by Karin C. Uphoff
  • Plot by Meredith Kirton
  • Roof gardens by Osmundson

This evening I finished reading ‘The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet’ by David Mitchell.  With my long-standing fascination for Japanese culture and my Dutch heritage, all it took seeing the cover art and reading the title for me to pick up the book at Pulp Fiction back in Vancouver. Set in 1800s Dejima, the man-made trading island off of Nagasaki, the novel depicts the trials and relations of a young clerk in the Dutch East India Company. With it’s colourful cast of characters, intriguing setting, and engaging plot, ‘Jacob de Zoet’ could easily make an HBO mini-series.

After a dinner of lentil stew with Italian sausage and another bottle of Banrock Station, Chris and I saw ‘The Ages of Love’, one of the penultimate films featured in the 2011 Italian Film Festival at Palace Centro in Fortitude Valley. Palace Centro is fully licensed, meaning patrons can bring their beer or wine into the theatre, along with their ‘healthy popcorn’, which was cooked in olive oil but doused in delicious salt. Palace Centro even had assigned seating for their incredibly comfortable theatre, making movie-going very civilized indeed.

Featuring an Italian speaking Robert de Niro, ‘The Ages of Love’ didn’t disappoint. Centering on the love affairs of three Italian men, whose ages ranged from mid-20s to late-50s, ‘The Ages of Love’ entertained us and warmed our hearts. I picked up a few words, namely bonne notte, veritas and andiamo.

Walking back to our hotel in CBD post-film through Fortitude Valley was quite an adventure. At 11:30pm, the club scene was in full force. It seemed like everyone under the age of 25 had swarmed to the bustling streets. The hem-lines were super short, the heels were super high. Hot pink mega-hummer limos were caught in traffic. The music throbbed out of thin windows and old brick facades. We were simultaneously thankful and regretful that we weren’t dressed to fit the part.