#dn lara

[which-chara-is-better]

[manifestasi-rasa]

Friendship at College (2)

Melanjutkan cerita pertemanan kuliah. Kali ini aku akan bercerita tentang Azmi. Aku melampirkan foto ini, foto di wisuda Mas Boim. Sedikit banyak, Mas Boim pun beririsan dalam kisah ini.

Tiga kawanan ini bermula saat...

Mas Boim sedang Training for Trainer, yang salah satu tugasnya adalah mengadakan kegiatan di SMP secara mandiri. FYI, mas Boim tuh kakak kelasku semasa SMP dulu. Yaa dulu ga kenal sih, ketemu dan kenalan beneran pas di Psikologi, tapi aku lupa momennya saat apa. Mas Boim minta bantuanku buat agenda dia. Saat itu aku udh kenal Azmi, lalu aku bilang gimana kalau ajak teman? Azmi yang kuajak saat itu. Dan itu adalah pertama kali kami bertemu. Satu fakta pula, Azmi adalah mahasiswa psikologi angkatanku yang kutemui pertama kali semasa pembelajaran daring itu. Momen ini jauh sebelum kami ikut lomba bareng.

Cerita ini akan lumayan panjang, karena sblm cerita tentang Azmi, aku akan bercerita tentang kami. Mas Boim angkatan 18, aku dan Azmi angkatan 21. Jarak yg cukup jauh. Tapi karena takdir, tetap aja kita ketemu wkw. Kami juga punya pertemuan yg agak rutin, terutama saat Ramadhan sih. Tiga tahun berturut-turut kita bukber, even saat puasa syawal. Kecuali tahun ini, Mas Boim udh berkeluarga dn aku mulai malas ngajak ngajakin wk.

Saat semester empat, Mas Boim menyelesaikan skripsinya. Menuntaskan syarat sidang, baru ketahuan kalau ada satu MK yang blm dia ambil, MK Wajib lagi. Karena kebetulan aku juga ambil MK itu, akhirnya Mas Boim sekelas sm aku, satu kelompok lagi sm aku dn Kinan. Gemesin ya. Sidang dia tertunda satu semester gegara kurang ambil satu MK wkw. Tapi akhirnya, he did it! Mas Boim berhasil sidang, dan berhasil kami paksa ke kampus buat fotbar. Dan di wisuda periode selanjutnya, kami datang utk sekali lagi merayakan S.Psi nya.

Saat tau kalau Mas Boim gagal sidang karena telat ambil MK, aku ingat sekali kalau kami ajak dia kulineran di Solo buat pelipur lara. Selain jadi saksi Mas Boim menuju sarjana, kami juga jadi saksi gimana kisah dia melepas masa lajang. Ramadhan tahun lalu, Mas Boim cerita kalau udh nembung ke perempuan incarannya. Sebelumnya aku pernah tanya ke Mas Boim ttg persiapan nikah dan dia jawab dengan pedenya "aku udah siap" (Ini pernah tak ceritain di postingan lain). Beberapa bulan selanjutnya kami ketemu lagi dan dpt laporan progressnya, sampai di pertemuan terakhir kami di Waduk Cengklik sembari menunggu senja, adalah cerita terakhir tentang proses dia menuju halal. Karena selanjutnya adalah persiapan pernikahan. Aku inget pertemuan terakhir itu: aku datang duluan, lalu Mas Boim, disusul Azmi yg baru pulang dr aksi. Mereka lalu pulang duluan, aku masih termenung sejenak sembari menghela nafas beberapa kali haha. Sekarang Mas Boim sudah punya istri, dan cerita ttg kami bertiga usai. Meski dulu aku naif berpikir: kalau dulu bertiga, ya mari lanjut berempat. Memang, ada beberapa hal yang entah mau atau tidak mau, kalau saatnya selesai ya selesai :)

Nah, sekarang aku akan bercerita tentang Azmi. Meski, aku yakin postingan ini juga ngga akan cukup untuk bercerita. Sama seperti Kinan, pertemananku dengan Azmi adalah soal energi yang sama. Energi untuk mencoba hal-hal baru tanpa banyak berpikir. Energi untuk terus melaju selama itu adalah kebaikan. Awal mula percakapanku dengan Azmi adalah tentang MK, lalu tbtb dia tanya "kamu masih sodaraan sama Amar Arrisalah?" yang kujawab dengan kebingungan, ternyata dia abis stalking IG ku dan nemu kalo Kang Amar nge follow aku, hal yg engga aku sadari.

Saat diajakin lomba sama Azmi, sebetulnya sblm itu aku udh menjajal join lomba solo alias sendirian. Bareng mereka adalah pengalaman pertamaku ikut lomba scr tim. Hari-hari selanjutnya, aku dan Azmi sering ikut lomba bersama. 80% lomba yang aku ikuti semasa kuliah adalah bertim sm dia. Dari Esai, KTI, Cerdas Cermat, Design Intervensi, sampai lomba debat. Sebetulnya klo secara keahlian, aku lebih lihai di karya tulis, dan dia pro di debat (udh sampai Nasional lagi). Tapi thx buat ajakin aku di Lomba Debat, setidaknya aku jadi mencoba. Dan agak kapok ahhaha. Pdhl menang.

Dulu bersama Kinan, kita punya grup namanya Ruang Tumbuh, dengan harapan kita bisa tumbuh dengan baik bersama-sama. Tapi sekali lagi, ada hal yang kalau masanya selesai, ya selesai. Akrabnya tiga sekawan ini usai saat semester tiga menuju empat kalau ga salah. Aku masih berkawan dengan Kinan, pula dengan Azmi, tapi tidak bertiga. Hzzz gmna ya, paham lah ya. Intinya aku masih temenan deket sm mereka tapi udh gak grup bareng lah.

Btw, Azmi itu salah satu primadona kampus (iya, kampus. Ngga cuma fakultas). Track record dia jadi ketum UKM Univ yg bikin nama dia cukup beken. Sejak semester awal, udh ngga terhitung berapa banyak ciwi ciwi yg kesengsem sm dia. Yang deketin aku buat cari tau ttg Azmi? Tentu ada haha. Yang sebel sm aku karena deket sm Azmi? Of course banyak wkwk. Yang ngegosipin aku sm Azmi? Yaaa... Hal yg gabisa dihindari. Dulunya aku senewen, tapi lama lama yaudahlah, orang lain emg ga bisa kita kontrol.

Kalau ke Kinan, aku sering bercerita untuk menenangkan, maka Azmi adalah orang yg ceritaku berpulang padanya buat aku minta solusi dan mempertahankan rasionalitas juga supaya aku ttp logis. Jangan harap dpt kalimat" manis kayak yg Kinan kasih, kadangkala jawaban dr Azmi bikin tertohok dn sempat denial, meski kemudian mengiyakan.

Aku sm Azmi beneran akrab tuh sampai semester 5. Sampai saat itu, rasanya kami saling bergantung satu sama lain, terutama buat back up di perkuliahan. Saat Azmi lomba Debat di Banten, aku bantu dia kasih info perkuliahan plus tugas-tugasnya. Hmm sebenernya tiap waktu aku selalu kasih info sih. Berteman sama dia yg anak bungsu ini bikin jiwa Kak Rosku nongol. Terutama kalau soal tugas-tugas kuliah, praktikum dll yg perlu persiapan. Dulu Mas Boim sempat bilang kalau aku itu bikin dia ngga mandiri. Karena... ya literally aku selalu bantu dia di urusan kuliah ini.

Sama Azmi, aku ngerasain ujian susulan di dua semester karena ikut lomba. Salah satunya lomba di Bandung. Lomba yg selain bikin kami ujian susulan, juga bikin kami telat ngumpulin 2 Laporan Praktikum. Kebayang ngga, u jauh jauh smpe Bandung, selain pressure buat menang lomba, juga nyicil verbatim dn ngelaprak di penginapan. What a memory. Sepulang dr Bandung, kami mendekam di kampus. Aku di sekre, dia Masjid. Habis Isya kami selesai lalu print dan ngumpulin laprak bareng. Setelah itu dia menyampaikan keresahannya, kalau baiknya kita tidak sering" pergi berdua, meskipun di tempat ramai. Hal yang aku pahami kemudian: aku berterimakasih karena dia turut menjagaku sebagai muslimah, dan kami sadari kalau memang selama ini pertemanan kami agak bablas. Selanjutnya, kami benar-benar menjaga jarak. Toh, gosip juga ngga muncul tbtb kalau ngga ada pemicunya.

Semester 6, kami sama-sama pegang amanah. Aku di UKM keilmuan, dia Gubernur BEM Fakultas. Aku tidak tau apa yang sebenarnya terjadi, tapi kami perlahan menjauh. Bisa jadi karena kami terlalu sibuk dengan organisasi masing-masing, aku merasa jika kami perlahan asing. Mungkin, Azmi juga mencoba menjadi lebih mandiri dlm urusan kuliahnya, meski sesekali aku tanyakan kabarnya. Mungkin, memang dia sedang menjaga jarak sm aku wkw, karena sejak semester 1-5 kami berusaha supaya sekelas, biar saling memudahkan, tapi semester 6 dia bilang mau scheduling KRS sendiri. Sesekali kami masih ikut lomba bareng, satu-satunya urusan dimana kami masih bisa beririsan selain kalau organisasi kami lagi collab.

Memori sama Azmi tuh, selain tentang perlombaan adalah Ramadhan. Empat tahun ini sejak awal kuliah tanpa janjian kami selalu itikaf di tempat yg sama: Masjid Kampus, Sudalmiyah tercinta, meski tahun ini aku cuma semalem bcs haid. Dan, tiap tahun ada malam dimana kita ketemu bentar di serambi Masjid abis tarawih buat saling kembaliin buku yg masing-masing kami pinjam. Btw aku lupa bilang, kalau aku, Azmi dan Mas Boim bisa berteman, kami punya dua hal yg jadi kesukaan: buku dn menulis. Tiap ketemu pasti ada adegan tukeran buku. Aku sama Mas Boim sblm dia nikah malah saling hibah buku wk. Aku kasih bukuku ke dia soalnya ttg sexology dlm Islam (meanwhile rasanya aku blm waktunya baca itu), Mas Boim kasih aku buku Dompet Ayah Sepatu Ibu, buku yg dua kali aku pinjam karena bagus sblm akhirnya dia bilang "ambil, buat kamu aja".

Sebelum aku akhiri cerita ini, di semester akhir aku baru sadar kalau.. sebetulnya selama ini bukan Azmi yg bergantung ke aku soal kuliah, tapi kami saling bergantung. Karena aku adalah juru info dia urusan kuliah, aku merasa harus tau dn tuntas sblm dia bertanya dn sblm aku bantu dia. Azmi adalah orang yg bikin aku semakin ambisius. Rasanya dia tuh teman sekaligus rival wkw. Kinan notice kalau aku sekelas sm Azmi, aku lebih aktif tanya, sesekali aku dn Azmi saling nanggepi di forum diskusi kuliah. Iya, makasih, ya. Sama-sama juga.

Tapi sekali lagi, ada hal-hal yg jika saatnya usai, ya akan usai. Selepas aku-Kinan-Azmi tidak berteman akrab saat semester awal, aku menyadari kalau aku dn Azmi masih bisa berteman karena kami merasa masih saling membutuhkan. Belajar memang sepanjang masa kehidupan, tapi kadangkala pertemanan ada sepanjang masa belajar. Barangkali kalimat itu tepat utk menggambarkan pertemanan ku dgn Azmi. Barangkali, selepas sarjana ini, kami tidak punya urusan yg beririsan dan usai sudah. Toh, makin ke sini aku mirroring dgn bagaimana orang memperlakukanku. Kalau kamu masih terlihat mau berteman baik denganku, aku akan ikut menjaga pertemanan ini. Tapi kalau kamu merasa sudah cukup. Mari kita sudahi.

Bonus foto terakhir. Sama Azmi hampir ngga pernah foto berdua. Kecuali waktu dipaksa pak WD 3 buat foto bareng sambil aku bilang "pakk, tapi jangan di share kemana mana yaaa". Tapi di pertemuan terakhir kami kemarin saat merayakan sidang Kinan, ada yg ngefotoin kami. Cukup manis buat perjalanan pertemanan kami yg kayanya makin tidak manis ini wk.

In the end, aku juga mau ngucapin terimakasih banyak-banyak buat Azmi. Makasih utk percaya sm aku di tiap kompetisi yg kita ikuti. Terimakasih utk ga bosan kasih aku solusi tiap aku clueless dn tidak bisa berpikir jernih. Terimakasih sudah jadi temanku yg kadang asik kadang nyebelin for this whole time, jangan kapok! Semoga Allah lapangkan segala urusan dan hajat. Skripsinya buru kelarin 👊 sampai jumpa di persimpangan selanjutnya, jika Allah izinkan.

[pixelpsd]

lara icons. like/rb before saving or using.

[cloudcons]

* lιke/reblog ιf sαve◞

[pagecentral]

© Blue Wave | do not edit.

[dailyniall]

Niall Horan Character Alignment Chart (insp.)

[thetwstwildcard]

OwO What are your ocs Halloween costumes?

Okay this took me a while, I'm only gonna do like my girls and some of my boys (cause I have like 30 characters 🤣)

For each I have 2 ideas, whichever people like more I'll probably draw (in addition to my other piece)

Catherine: Ichigo from Tokyo Mew Mew or a Fairy

Veil: Boa Hancock or a Pirate

Lovette: Ahri from League of Legends or Jessica Rabbit

Kiara: Fang from Final Fantasy XIII or Lara Croft from Tomb Raider

Nasira: Dancer class from Fire Emblem or Masrur from Magi

Emery: White deer or Violet Evergarden

Galatea: Doll/Broken android or Mrs.Hades (villian recruiters)

Catrina: Emily from Corpse Bride or La Muerte from The Book of Life

Elysia: V from Devil May Cry or a Witch

Chase: Ikuto from Shugo Chara or Cat Noir from Miraculous Ladybug

Nathaniel: Ghost Groom or Jack Vessalius from Pandora Hearts

Xander: Shirou from BNA or a Werewolf

Aryan: Ban from the Seven Deadly Sins or a King

Ritvik: Remus Lupin from Harry Potter or the Big Bad Wolf

Edmund: Ash Landers from Black butler or a vampire

Faline: Hannah Annafellows from Black Butler or bloody nurse

Lucien: Krad from DN Angel or an Angel

I'd love to see people's opinions as to what costumes I should pick 🧡🧡🧡

[the-dreamnote]

dreamnote_imekorea 복숭아 찌르지마세요! 🍑  #드림노트 #Dreamnote  #DN  #Lara  #라라  #복숭아

[zoranphoto]

Ta-da! Na današnji dan rođen je otac interneta

Na današnji dan 1955. rođen je Tim Berners-Lee, računalni znanstvenik i otac World Wide Weba     Tim Berners-Lee naslijedio je ljubav prema računalima od svojih roditelja, računalnih znanstvenika koji su radili na razvoju prvog komercijalno dostupnog računala Ferranti Mark I. Diplomirao je na Sveučilištu u Oxfordu, a u karijeri je mijenjao više poslova; treba istaknuti da je u dva navrata radio u Europskom vijeću za nuklearna istraživanja u Ženevi, poznatijem po akronimu CERN. Kada se 1984. drugi put zaposlio u CERN-u, zadatak mu je bio osmisliti računalnu mrežu i protokol za udaljenu kontrolu uređaja i razmjenu informacija između istraživača kako bi olakšao znanstvene suradnje. Berners-Lee je krenuo od ideje jedinstvenog sustava za pohranu informacija kojem imaju pristup svi znanstvenici. Svoj sustav temeljio je na kombinaciji triju postojećih tehnologija: hipertekst, TCP (protokol za upravljanje prijenosom, engl. transmission control protocol) i DNS (sustav za imenovanje domena, engl. domain name system). Hipertekst je skup dokumenata međusobno povezanih hipervezama (poveznicama) koje omogućavaju prelazak s jednog dokumenta na drugi. TCP služi za prijenos podataka od jednog mjesta na mreži do drugog, a jedinstven naziv tim mjestima dodjeljuje DNS. Sustav je nazvao World Wide Web (WWW). Prva mrežna stranica koja sadrži informacije o projektu WWW objavljena je 6. kolovoza 1991., a dostupna je i danas na istoj adresi: http://info.cern.ch/. U svojoj obavijesti nakon tog povijesnog dana napisao je da se radi o eksperimentalnom projektu za koji nema jamstva, ali koji bi 'mogao pokrenuti revoluciju u pristupu informacijama'. Od tada je prema Forbesovoj procjeni ukupno objavljeno 1,13 milijardi web stranica, a Berners-Lee je za svoj doprinos nagrađen Turingovom nagradom te je proglašen jednim od 100 najutjecajnijih ljudi 20. stoljeća prema časopisu Time.  

Tko opisuje i ilustrira poznate događaje iz svijeta znanosti?

U knjizi 'Split za početnike' peškarija je okarakterizirana, osim kao tržnica robom s okusom soli, kao važan punkt društvenog života. U Institutu za promociju znanosti ona ima ulogu punkta znanstvenog života na kojem ljubitelji znanosti mogu pronaći odabrane događaje iz tog svijeta. Na tportalu donosimo događaje koje bira i opisuje Dominik Žanić, istraživač i doktorand s FER-a te dugogodišnji volonter KSET-a, u kojem je bio voditelj Planinarske sekcije i član PR tima, a danas je počasni član. Žanić, koji znanstveno djeluje u području aktivnih radiofrekvencijskih sklopova, dvaput tjedno odabrane vijesti jednostavnim jezikom približava zainteresiranoj publici, a svaki tekst prati detaljno razrađena grafika. Za osmišljavanje i crtanje grafika zaslužna je Lara Vrabac, studentica FER-a koja istražuje magnetska polja zavojnica i prilagođavanje antena pomoću aktivnih elemenata. Vrabac se bavi kalistenikom i proučava tehnike crtanja, što joj pomaže u kreiranju raznih umjetničkih ilustracija, od kojih su znanstveno najatraktivnije one koje stoje uz tekstove peškarije. Točku na 'i' svakog teksta stavlja Ivana Žeger, asistentica i doktorandica s FER-a, na kojem se bavi obradom signala i primjenom umjetne inteligencije u komunikacijskim sustavima. Žeger, koju očaravaju strani jezici, metal glazba i metafizika postojanja, hladnim tekstovima punim znanstvenih činjenica dodaje sebi svojstvenu toplinu. Tportal.hr Photo by Markus Spiske Read the full article

[jarotcanon]

Kutimbun puing2 cinta luka lara...kutanan reruntuhan bangunan cinta masa silam...seiring masa gulirnya waktu yakinkan mimpi melangkah pasti meraih asa sembuhkan luka...kubangun mahligai cinta pengganti disisa sisa kasih yg kumiliki ...berharap cinta akan bersemi dn kokoh kembali...menantang badai mengubah takdir segenggam mimpi bahagia abadi..-!

[latinboxsports]

@officialcornflakeboxing 🗣!&?! Shots Fired 🔥 Cuban Star & WBA Super Welterweight Champion Erislandy Lara Takes on Thomas LaManna For WBA Middleweight Championship Headlining FOX PBC Fight Night & on FOX Deportes Saturday, May 1 from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California Top Mexican Featherweight Contenders Eduardo Ramírez & Isaac Avelar Clash For Interim WBA Featherweight Title Live on FOX in Co-Main Event Kicking Off The Broadcast at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT Primetime Action on FOX Precedes FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Event Headlined By Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Chris Arreola Heavyweight Showdown. @tgbpromotionss @pbconfox @premierboxing Photo credits: @lsboxing https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5ScFTF-dN/?igshid=19kqrdlkzv2pe

[pagecentral]

[FANTAKEN] 181117 - Fansign © 라라별 | do not edit.

[dailyniall]

Niall being called cute

[symphonyhati]

*Review Film* ☆ Kim Ji-Young ☆ Filmnya relate banget si sama kehidupan rumah tangga buibu jaman now. Based on this film kita tau klo ibu rumah tangga terlebih yg sudah memiliki anak rentan sekali "Depresi". Sedikit spoiler si, disini karakter kim ji young punya 1 putri yg diurus full time olehnya. Walaupun dibantu suaminya (yg menurut gue jg pengertian) dia tetep jg kena depresi. Faktornya macem-macem, dari omongan orang tentang sosoknya, keluarga, masa lalu, dll. Klo kata emak gue si "Ini dia anaknya 1 aja stress gimana yg 2, 3 , dn lebih yak?" Hahaha, oke skip. Ya jadi salut sekali sama sosok para suami yg bener bener mau bantu urusan rumah tangga, even urus anak tanpa ngedumel atau bahas tentang ini tugas siapa itu tugas siapa. Karena dari jaman Nabi juga, Baginda Nabi Muhammad SAW sudah mencontohkan membantu istrinya dan tetap jadi pelipur lara istrinya jika marah. Terlebih ya, kadang kusedih klo inget klo sosok Ibu itu selalu sarapan terakhir, kadang lupa yg namanya sarapan. Makan sambil gendong anak, masak mie di angan2 bayangin makan mie panas panas kenyataannya selalu makan saat mie udah lodoh 🤣 Dan ini seringkali tidak ter-apreciate dengan baik. Padahal si ini menurut gue, kerjaan dirumah lebih cape'. Makanya di film itu jg kita tau klo para ibu butuh "Me Time". Dan kita jadi tau juga kada para ibu pekerja tidak melulu mengejar uang untuk kebutuhan, tapi bisa juga untuk pembuktian eksistensi dirinya yg mungkin dia rindukan, dulu punya studi bagus, karir oke,dll. Conclution --> ini film cocok mak buat temen #dirumahaja dan baper baperan sama perasaan. #DramaAndMovieReview https://www.instagram.com/p/B-6VwrlAmEM/?igshid=zrf0j8a2dobr

[the-dreamnote]

dreamnote_imekorea 우리는 짱친💘# Lara# Eunjo# DreamNote# DN

[the-coconut-asado]

Goodbye Veganuary, Hello Prague

Veganuary came and went and I can’t say I mourned its passing. And for those trying to make Febru-dairy a Thing, leave it out and stop crying over spilt milk.

For someone who auto-smells barbecue whenever a cow walks past and has to start the day with two eggs, I do actually love eating plant-based dishes provided they taste delicious. And since watching Game Changers on Netflix, Adam and I have been trying to eat less meat and dairy during the week so we can improve our fitness. I’m not so fussed about the phallus-lengthening properties of celeriac, but each to their own. If you are bewildered by this reference, just watch the programme.

But I must admit, a surfeit of vegetables and a scarcity of sunlight in January did make me think alot about my trip to Prague last summer, with its abundance of sunshine and array of macho meat dishes.  I went with my daughter Lara and best friend Sue, bucking the trend of the wave of stag weekends that spill over into the city when Amsterdam fills up. That said, we saw but a handful of stag-celebrants on segways sporting a mix of bravado and embarrassment, and that was about it.

First thing to say about this extraordinarily pretty city - and this may be a nod to its Men Behaving Badly heritage -  is that it ain’t PC. A Picture-Post ‘buxom wench’, embonpoint spilling out of her dirndl top, cheers to you from a poster with two flagons in each fist as you walk through the arrivals lounge;  two hours later and the first bar we went into was adorned with discarded bras, mounted on the wall in a possible imagined tribute to Carry on Camping.

More agreeably, the next thing to note is that everything in Prague comes ‘with a twist’. You may be happily surprised by the tourist-to-cocktail-bar ratio in the city. You will be even more happily surprised by the quality of cocktails on offer, just don’t expect business as usual. My Negroni came with a ‘twist’ of passion fruit at Bon Vivants, a cosy little bar with an attentive waiter who made you realise where Borat got the inspiration for his accent; the Winter is Coming cocktail in the legendary Hemingway Bar came in a flagon straight off the Games of Thrones ‘set’.

Perhaps the biggest twist of all is that Prague boasts a vineyard in the middle of the city. St Wenceslas Vineyard (Svatováclavská vinice)  sits at the foot of Prague Castle, with its restaurant perched on a hillside at a slightly challenging gradient, a vine arboretum sheltering us from the scorching early September sun. 

Wines - delicious. Service - offhand verging on the affronted. But as Flambeed Chorizo was featured on the menu, we took the dodgy service in our stride. Properly torched and served with french fries (of course) it was a meaty treat, and went well with the Estate’s highly alcoholic white varietal.

Lara had managed to seek out some intriguing things for us to do and places for us to eat. Pork Knee featured on the menu at Mlejnice,  a classy little bistro on the verge of town - succulent as only a fall-of-the-bone, slow cooked cut can be. And if you craved something sweet, a tiny courtyard tucked off the main tourist trail to St Vitus’ Cathedral offered herbal teas and a toothsome slab of carrot cake, meltingly moist and jam-packed with nuts, raisins and spices in a ‘don’t even mention a light sponge’ kind of a way. 

Did I say that the biggest twist of the trip was the St Wenceslas Vineyard? Well,  I lied. Lara’s top find was, wait for it…. the Beer Spa. Literally a day spa where you sit in a barrel of beer while swigging pilsner straight from the tap, to the strains of a Czech cover of “Better Love Next Time Baby.” Take a look at their website and you are whip-lashed back into a 1970’s soft porn flick, the men all droopy moustaches and bright grins, the women looking like they are having the most fun you can have in a bath of Budvar while waiting for the ‘plumber’.

Here’s how it works: you book a room for two, three or four for an hour. You sit, alone or in pairs,  in a barrel filled with warm beer and beer minerals. Two beer taps are only an arm’s reach away, together with two chilled pint glasses. And there you sit for 30 minutes, drinking and giggling. When the timer goes off (classy touch),  you disembark, wrap yourself in a towel and recline on a bed of straw for another 30 mins (you’re barking with laughter by now), before dressing and departing. You’ve no reason to feel shamefaced, but somehow you do, and your punishment is that Dr Hook earworm for the rest of the evening. But the beer was damn good and our mood was upbeat.  

We stepped out into an early evening bathed in sunlight and, with skin pleasantly smoothed by all those minerals, we headed for a kerb-side Italian restaurant in one of the achingly lovely cobble-stoned squares that make up the Old Town. This Italian trattoria specialised in gluten-free everything, and their bread basket could almost persuade me to leave gluten alone for the rest of my days. Or at least until I next walk past the sourdough counter at Ole and Steen.

If meat and cocktails with a cakey pudding (or puddingly cake) are your thing, then try out my alternative Sex-in-the-city menu. An otherwise Hungarian Beef Gulyas with a now-legendary Prague twist: parsley dumplings and a helping of flavour-bomb smoked paprika ; mop up the juices with a spicy if gluten-full Turmeric and Shallot Soda Bread. Then let that all settle before you cut yourself a slice of  a homage to the carrot cake - this time with Butternut Squash and Ginger.

And flame yourself a chorizo while you’re at it.

Beef Gulyas and Dumplings

This is the perfect Saturday night, curl-up- in-front-of-a-good-movie dinner. It cooks in a couple of hours, tastes even better the next day and freezes superbly. Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 kilo stewing beef, cubed

2 tbsp. Plain flour

2 tbsp. Olive oil

2 tbsp. butter

2 red onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely

1 tbsp. Sweet paprika dn 1 tbsp. Smoked paprika

Handful of fresh lemon thyme leaves, stripped from their stalks

2 tbsp. Tomato paste

½ litre red wine or beer

½ litre beef stock

1 tsp caraway seeds

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the dumplings:

15g plain flour

1 tsp. Baking powder

30g salted butter

75 ml milk

Generous handful of flat-leafed parsley, roughly chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

How to make:

Toss the beef cubes in a bowl with the flour and season generously.

Heat the butter and oil in a large casserole, and when hot, shake the flour off the beef and add the cubes in small batches to the pot, turning them and letting them brown before removing transferring the meat to another bowl before adding the next batch.

When all the meat is browned. Add the onion and garlic to the casserole dish and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened and starting to brown. Add both paprikas, caraway seeds and lemon thyme, then stir before returning the beef to the pan and giving another stir.

Add the wine or beer, the stock and the tomato paste, bring to the boil then reduce the heat to low. Season again then cover and simmer for 11/2 - 2 hours, or until the beef is tender. At this stage you can cool and leave the gulyas overnight, allowing the flavours to steep, or press on with the dumplings.

If you are going to eat this as soon as it is cooked, then start making the dumplings 10 or 15 minutes before the end of your cooking time.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat, then add it into the well of flour, along with the milk and the chopped parsley. Stir everything together until a dough forms, then divide the dough into 7 or 8 portions and roll each portion into a ball.

Remove the lid from the gulyas, pop the dumplings on top of the beef in a single layer, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the dumplings are cooked through - wobbly yet firm.

Serve with some buttered, braised savoy cabbage and mop up the juices with a slab of Turmeric and shallot Soda Bread (see below)

Turmeric and Shallot Soda Bread

This loaf, based on a recipe by Sarah Cook, looks like a large yellow rock and tastes of crackling fires (almost like the one burning in our Beer Spa cabin). It has a fair bit of turmeric and that’s a good thing. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

225g plain flour

225g wholemeal flour

2 tsp. Coriander seeds

2 tsp. Ground turmeric

1 tsp. Bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp kosher salt

25g butter, diced and chilled

75g Jumbo oats

2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

375ml kefir or buttermilk

How to Make:

Heat the oven to 200C fan or 180C/ Gas 6.

Toast the coriander seeds in a small pan for a couple of minutes until they start to smell aromatic, then crush in a pestle and mortar. Leave to one side.

Mix together all the dry ingredients except the jumbo oats, then rub in the butter until you have a crumbly texture. Add the oats, chopped shallots and coriander seeds.

Pour over the kefir or buttermilk, then cut into the dry mixture with a metal spoon until just mixed, then get your hands in and knead gently until you have a relatively smooth dough (it will be a bit gnarly, but that’s the nature of soda bread).

Form into a ball and pop onto a baking sheet. Cut a wide cross quite deep into the loaf - almost all the way down. This will allow the loaf to fan out into the classic sourdough shape as it cooks.

Pop into the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes, or until the base of the load sounds hollow when tapped. Cool and serve with your Gulyas and lashings of butter.

Butternut Squash and Ginger Bundt Cake

I slavishly subscribe to all known foodie magazines and am forever ripping pages of inspiration out of them. This recipe is based on one from Waitrose Magazine. I tried it out once and couldn’t believe the texture and depth of flavour. It’s now a household regular and to my mind, much more moreish than it’s carrot cousin. 8-10 slices.

Ingredients

200g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

225g plain flour

300g butternut squash, peeled and diced

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

50g golden syrup

1 tsp. bicarbonate of soda

11/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. Ground ginger

½ tsp. Kosher salt

50g ground almonds

250g dark brown muscovado sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

150ml buttermilk

For the icing:

150g icing sugar

25 ml buttermilk

A generous squeeze lemon juice

Pieces of chopped, crystallized ginger

How to make:

Heat the oven to 170C/ Gas 3, and grease and flour a large bundt tin.

Steam the squash, or boil, for around 15-20 minutes, then mash with the grated fresh ginger and golden syrup.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, spices and salt into a large bowl, then add the ground almonds and mix. In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes until pale and fluffy. 

Add half the beaten egg, mix again, then add the second half of the egg and beat again. Fold in the flour and almond mixture, the mashed squash mixture and the buttermilk until you have a smooth-ish batter.

Pour the batter into the bundt tin, level out and then pop into the oven for 40-45 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15-20 minutes in the tin, then turn out onto a cooling rack and leave until cool.

To make the icing, whisk the icing sugar, buttermilk and lemon juice (adding more lemon juice as necessary) until smooth. Pour over the cooled cake, and keep scooping up the pools of icing to re - drizzle over the top. Decorate with chopped crystallized ginger.