al fresco dinner

"Let's have dinner al fresco. We can sit outside at T.Y. Harbor," I suggested.

So as the sun cast a fuschia lining on a grey cloud, we sat at the intersection of the Tennozu & Takahama Canals, sipping freshly brewed microbeer and nibbling California cuisine.

We watched the sun set; the sky shaded into deep indigo and an orange crescent moon rose over the bridge. On the canals, low barges lit with paper lanterns cruised past with cargoes of revellers.

Starlings circled a nearby apartment complex, tight whorls of lightning fast flight, before settling in a tree and raising a din. We were far enough removed to enjoy the chirping, but the tenants of the apartments were turning up their TVs.

When dark became profound, we found our way to a nearby train station. The route was new to us, but a steady stream of people, like ants following their trail home, flowed over bridges, through intersections, into office buildings, up escalators and finally through a long, covered walkway that passed over construction sites and around buildings to end at the station.