A birthday first

After enjoying a fabulously diverse and delicious champagne brunch with our Scottish friend Mark D. (sadly leaving Monday for a stint in Kuala Lumpur) this past Sunday, we decided to make a reservation for Friday night at the Ritz-Carlton restaurant to celebrate Michael's 65th birthday as well. There's an array of sophisticated Mexican dishes available for a week, so we settled down with a Corona (Michael) and frozen margarita (me) to enjoy chicken in pumpkin mole, grilled fish, tender steak, shrimp, all with a Mexico City twist.

The birthday first came after we'd finished dessert. Never before has Michael been hugged by a lion, even if it was a human in costume, after he blew out his birthday candles. A little girl turning nine was also being  fêted and Michael was invited to join the ranks of children posing with the pink-ribboned king of the jungle. He's a good sport and the last photo here is now in a Ritz-Carlton leather frame — a gift brought to the apartment by housekeeping, along with another cake.

Michael discovers the candles are the reigniting kind.

 The nine-year-old's cake.

Postscript: last night (Saturday) as we were watching "Infernal Affairs II," there was a knock on the door. A charming young man handed over yet another leather frame, with a professional photo of MJPW + lion.