Baltics - 22 June 2012 (3)

Final Dinner

Dinner at Restoran Maikrahv

May and I nearly forgot the time and were the last to come down at 19.00 to set off for our final dinner.  This was at Restoran Maikrahv at the far corner of Town Hall square.  We went in and were led downstairs and towards the back, where two long tables were waiting for us.

Dinner at Restoran Maikrahv

I sat at the far end, opposite May and next to Sarah.  Susie sat next to May.  Ian started proceedings by giving Aija her tip, which was much deserved I felt.  She gave a little speech.

Aija's Speech at Restoran Maikrahv

There was one vegetarian starter, which looked nice and one main.  No one was ordering a starter, so I just had the main – aubergine stuffed with mozzarella with three red quenelles of something quite tasty.  I had orange juice to drink.

Waitress at Restoran Maikrahv

Dinner was somewhat muted.  Even Charlie and Ian didn’t seem to be on form.  Susie invited everyone to New York and May invited everyone to Orkney.

Crème Brulée at Restoran Maikrahv

There was crème brulée on the desert menu, so I had that, as did several other people.  Feeling a bit daring, I finished off with a small port.  The meal came to €28.05, which was quite expensive.  My meal was one of the cheaper ones because I hadn’t had beer or meat.

When the meal ended, Ian, Charlie, Susie, Sarah, May and I went to the Clayhills Gastropub.  Susie had found it at the start of the tour, when she had gone off and done her own thing.  They have live music from 22.00, so it was about to start.  We sat down and most of us ordered a strawberry and lime cider, made in Sweden, as recommended by Sarah.

Saxophanist, Clayhills Gastropub

The published group wasn’t available for some reason so we had the last minute substitutes.  This was a group of three young people with a strange combination of instruments.  One girl played a keyboard and also sang.  Because of the limited space on the “stage”, she had to sit with her legs at an uncomfortable-looking angle.  The other girl was the lead singer and played the glockenspiel.  The final member of the group was a young guy who played the sax.

They were all very good and Ian was especially impressed.  He is an advisor to the Newcastle-under-Lyme Jazz Festival Committee, so he went up and asked them if they would like to take part.  They swapped email addresses.

Trio, Clayhills Gastropub

Unfortunately, the Germany v Greece European cup quarter-final was being shown on the television, so the group were occasionally interrupted by clapping and cheering from people who were watching the match instead of listening to the music.  It was a real shame.

After our second order, we had to go back to the hotel as Charlie was leaving for the airport at 0400.  It took a while to get the bill, but we were sorted out eventually.

When we walked back to the hotel, it was dark for a change.  Once there, it was time for some goodbye hugs and then we dispersed to our rooms.  By the time I got in bed, it was 01.00.