Hot chocolate was from a skim milk powder mix, pretty much the
only substandard part of the experience. Except for a Chinese
lady having hysterics on her cell phone fifty feet down the way
but owing to the big picture windows audible far and wide. Rich
doesn't guarantee happy, it seems.

To blunt the effect, I went back over to the bar and asked for
tastes of the two stickies on offer.

Lillypilly Noble Blend (Riverina NSW) 16 was pretty obvious
but with pleasant cherry and prune flavors - not much Botrytis
and a bit too sweet. Supple rather than luxurious, medium mixed
fruit (as Juicy Fruit gum) finish, not offensive but not my
favorite. A popular style of sweet wine these days, one good
for younger drinkers quaffing on warm days. Very overrated
to my taste - but that's what we expect in our old age.

McWilliams Morning Light Botrytis Semillon (Riverina NSW) 15
was deep gold as opposed to the medium yellow of the Lillipilly.
Aroma rather pineapply. Flavors of apricot and orange came out.
Not too sweet - I thought minimum sweetness for this type of
wine, but very viscous with thick glyceriney legs. Lots of
Botrytis made it a little bitter and heavy on the tongue.
Later on the pineapple beginning gave way to bitter orange and
a strange pungency reminding me of wet tropical forest smells.
Long marmaladey finish.

Lilli had a nap and awoke to cramps in her legs, for which
Dr. Michael prescribed potato chips (electroyltes) and the
Lane Vineyard 19th Meeting Cabernet 15 (Adelaide Hills), an
unbelievably rich, fruity Parker-style wine with plums,
blackcurrants, and spice, a chocolaty nose and finish, just
off-dry. Long finish but one that was overridden by that of
the McWilliams drunk an hour before. I finished it while
she hobbled to the shower refusing assistance.

While waiting for her, I had a bottle of Kirin Megumi, which
ends up being slightly skunkier and a Heinekenlike brew, the
only beer in the world, the company says, brewed using the
first press process, which shouldn't make any difference,
and it doesn't seem to.

She came back from the shower much refreshed and with the
discomfort substantially abated.

Periodically I checked on the flight, which started the rolling
delay routine, ending up around 2 hours late. So we went back
to the restaurant, where Lilli, not very hungry, had a fruit
plate - all the normal suspects plus a large slice of dragonfruit
(better than any I've ever had, but that's not saying much) and
another glass of the Lane Cabernet.

I got five-spice duck with vegetables - quite good sliced breast
done medium in a light sauce over Asianish vegetables - sprouts,
wood ears, tatsoi, and so on. Then another glass of the McWilliams.

QF 163 SYD WLG 1845 2355 738 8AB

Also owing to Lilli's influence we got better seats than
I would have gotten on my own.

The available wine was Firefly Shiraz-Cabernet 17, a caricature
of a cheap wine, solventy and sweet and unbalanced. Lilli drank
hers; I was content with water.

Dinner was offered, the choices being vegetable curry, chicken with
vegetable, and Mexican beef salad (I imagine taco salad). Having
been a pig at the trough earlier, I couldn't even think of more
food, even for research purposes.

We made up a bit of time but still ended up an hour late. It was
said that we beat the curfew by one minute.

Chaos at the taxi stand, because nobody was expecting a couple
hundred people at closing time. I got tired of waiting and
corraled the SuperShuttle guy, who had two more spots, and off
we went, leaving all those people in the taxi queue in the dust.
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