27 and counting...

And so, after nearly ten months of life in the US, we come to my first birthday away from UK soil - and the joys of turning 27. This is hardly a big issue for me - particularly as good planning on the part of my parents means that my older brother is 30 today. What is interesting for a lot of people over here, though, certainly at work - is that i'm the youngest postdoc in my lab by a good couple of years - in large part owing to the differences in American and UK university systems. Anyway, as seems to be a tradition in my lab, there was cake and (somewhat in-tune) singing -and very pleasant it was too (the cake, i mean).

To mark the occasion, myself and some workmates went out for dinner - to Al-di-La - what is considered the best Italian restaurant in Charleston. On the whole, i think it lived up to this claim - the food was very good (I had a duck breast dish that was, frankly, to die for) and the service was pretty reasonable as well (although i didn't think the waiters were as cute as i had been led to believe!). I'd definitely go back. Afterwards, we wandered a couple of doors down to Voodoo - a nice wine bar/cocktail lounge for a drink or two - and, believe me, they make a very nice Pina Colada (almost as good as mine!). What better way to mark a birthday than good food, good wine and good company?