Spring has sprung?!

Big day, March 1st, Spring is here! But is it really? I was expecting to bounce out of bed with a spring in my step, look out my window to see a beautiful sunrise with blue skies looking to make an appearance for the day and I was hoping to put my hat, gloves and scarf in the cupboard for another year. 

But unfortunately that's all stuff of make believe. In reality, Spring certainly has not sprung on a particularly rainy, overcast Tuesday following a weekend of Spring-like weather.

Even on arrival at Waterloo this morning for my 30 minute walk to the office I was still feeling hopeful but then I received this week's edition of Timeout magazine. 

What happened to exceeding expectations? This is the exact reason Londoners or in fact the British population are described as miserable, the weather and seasons just don't deliver when you want them to!

It doesn't mean we aren't optimists though, you will expect to see at least one person to be donned for success today sporting no coat or maybe even cracking on a pair of shorts (which I saw but didn't manage to get a picture of) or if you're extremely lucky a pair of flip flops but pigs may also fly. 

Ending on a positive note as not to pay homage to perceptions of a Brit, an Italian cafe, Mantovani has recently opened by my office and there is a pretty great selection of mouth-watering gelato and I have seen people braving the streets of Tottenham Court Road sampling their delights. Spring will come eventually even if it's when summer has started.

So pick yourself up an ice cream and be an optimist today! 

Xoxo

A weekend of dinner parties

We spent the whole weekend pretty much with mum and dad eating great food! My kind of weekend.

Saturday evening mum and dad had a dinner party, which we invited ourselves along to. After mum told me it was Mexican theme I was begging for an invite. Margaritas and nachos, need I say more. We kick started the night with margaritas and weekday tales before sitting down for a Mexican style prawn cocktail, with spicy passata (kind of similar to a gazpacho) with a cucumber and tomato salsa and some salad leaves followed by a main course of a great bottle or two of red wine with nachos and chilli!! Amazing! But the Mexican feast didn't stop there, mum made a delicious key lime pie! I was in heaven! When can I book a holiday to Mexico? 

Unfortunately I was so busy indulging I didn't manage to get any pictures, but I hope you are able to imagine how good it was!

Sunday we returned the favour by inviting them to our abode. We didn't have a theme but we started off the evening with edamame beans (I'm obsessed) covered in a sweet chilli and salt sauce followed by a chorizo and chilli risotto with mushroom, peppers, plenty of garlic and tomato topped with rocket with a courgette, avocado, green lentil and sunflower seed salad. Yum yum yum!

The risotto recipe was an adaptation from a recipe we got from Gousto and the salad was a recipe from the 'Deliciously Ella' cookbook. 

All in all, I've had a fantastic few days full of delicious food and minimal exercise, but I guess that's what Mondays's are for! 

Xoxo

Dhalings at Dishoom

Dishoom is amazinggggg!

Walking past it everyday since starting my job in November has been torturous. Everyday; Monday, Wednesday or Friday whether it's time for breakfast, lunch or dinner it is full. Most of the time sporting a hideous queue outside (no reservations unless you're a party of plus 5).

But finally we have braved it. Nathan travelled into London from Newbury (his work day on Friday ends at 4pm - lucky for some), arriving at Waterloo at 6pm (just a speedy 2 hours later). I finished up at work around 5pm and headed to work's local for a leaving drinks before heading towards the much anticipated, Dishoom.

I arrived around 6.20pm and joined the end of the queue. It wasn't long until a member of staff approached me asking for a name and party size and painfully explaining then the hour and 10 minute wait but thankfully someone else came over offering me fresh mint tea. Due to February British temperatures I delightfully indulged and it wasn't long until Nathan turned up (6.35pm) and another guy turned up but this time with the hugely recommended 'chai tea'. Unfortunately it wasn't for me and it reminded me of my childhood and getting free Yakult samples with our weekly milk delivery. Yakult is not my cup of tea and chai is definitely not my flavour. 

We were seated within 40 minutes of my arrival, exceeding our expectations which is always a pleasure.

We ordered a couple of 'small plates' to whet the appetite; Keema Pau (spiced mince lamb in a toasted Pau bun) and Prawn Koliwada (prawns with tamarind and date chutney). Along with a Bollybellini (Indian-inspired Bellini) for me and a Blow Horn Spiced Up Cider for Nath.

Food was top knotch. 

After under doing our top buttons on our trousers, allowing space for breathing we ordered our main course. I love sharing and allowing myself to experience the best of both worlds, Nath doesn't but he doesn't get the choice. We shared a couple of sides; Bombay coleslaw (with pomegranate), basmati rice and garlic naan. Excellent combination everything just worked together.

Safe to say we were stuffed at this point, but then the good ol' dessert menus came out and we just couldn't resist giving their signature Kolfi (basically an ice cream, I opted for mango and Nath pistachio. Amazinggg!

We were done, stuffed full with incredible Indian food. But the night was still young so we decided to head for a post-dinner drink before making our journey home. 

A friend recently recommended ECC to me, this stands for Experimental Cocktail Club which is located on Gerrad Street in the heart of China Town. It took us a while to locate as it's well disguised with no sign outside and just a blank doorway and a bouncer for you to notice. We just made an estimated guess. Inside it was 3 stories high and a great atmosphere. The cocktails were pretty pricey so we just had one each. I had the Bela (strawberry marshmallow, absinthe, egg white, champagne and I can't remember what else) and Nath and the Top off the Hat (fried banana, dark chocolate syrup, plantain rum and something pink coloured)! Worth it for the unusual cocktails and a different experience but I probably wouldn't go again as there are far too many different places in London to try out! 

Expect plenty more restaurant/bad reviews! 

Dishoom | Would go again but in a large group, as the meals are great for sharing and food was interesting and delicious. 8/10

ECC | Pricey but unique cocktails and great atmosphere. 7/10 

 

Xoxo

Gressoney, Italy | Skiing Prego

Nath and I had always planned to go skiing this year, but due to my work not allowing holiday for a 6 week period over February and the beginning of March we were pretty limited with time. Also we wanted to make sure we got a super cheap deal, super cheap means booking ridiculously early in advance or last minute. We missed the boat for the advance booking, so last minute it was.

It was so last minute we ended up booking on Friday afternoon at 4pm to fly to next day at 6am. If that's not last minute I don't know what is. We booked through SkiLine.com and spoke to Elaine, who was extremely helpful and managed to work within our limited budget. We booked to go to Gressoney in Italy, which has just enough skiing and the smallest village known to man. The area is also known as the '3 valleys' of Italy. 

We were lucky that my amazing brother was able to give us a lift to Gatwick at silly o'clock so we didn't have to fork out all our life savings for a taxi! Sleep was almost non-existent as both of us had friend's birthdays so we only actually got home after midnight and we still had to pack. We live a pretty fast-paced lifestyle! So we arrived at the airport a little worse for wear and craving bed. We checked in, grabbed breakfast, boarded our flight and proceeded to zonk out. Next thing we knew we had arrived in Turin and our skiing adventure had began! 

We were lucky and only had a short transfer of an hour and a half but we also found out that the company we were going with Espirit, specialised in childcare, so we were panicking our chalet hotel would be jam-packed with screaming children. However it appeared we were in luck again and there were only 4 young 'uns booked on. Winning! Back to the journey to Gressoney, we only actually first saw snow 25 mins before arrival yet our resort had plenty of the stuff, this always surprises me!  

After checking into Val Verde and sampling their chocolate chilli torte (not for the faint hearted) - we decided to explore the delights of Gressoney.

Gressoney is tiny, literally the smallest resort I have been to by far. It takes 10 minutes max. to walk around. We spotted 2 bars, maybe 2 restaurants, 2 ski hire shops, a pharmacey (which we later discovered wasn't actually open ever - super practical when you have a splitting headache and no paracetamol) and a 'supermarket'. I say 'supermarket' like this, because it was so small it was more of a corner shop which very little inside (also no paracetamol). I sound judgmental but it was in fact lovely, a massive change to the skiing resorts I have previously encountered which has masses of overpriced shops, restaurants and bars to choose from but not in a bad way. There were barely any people that we passed on our explore, I could probably count them on one hand. We took this as a sign of what was to come, no roudy groups looking to party and cause trouble, no annoying children, no tourists and empty slopes! Anyway I'll let you know that this was the case and it was perfect. 

We had the best week skiing with wide empty slopes, perfect for Nath as it was only his second time skiing. So he had no issues with congested slopes and forcing for space to practice turns. He even managed to learn to ski backwards and do 180 turns, and he kept up with me so I was able to practice my technique too so both of us were winning. 

We also had the best weather we could have dreamed of and it's first year ever that I haven't worn thermal bottoms at all and a few times not even a jacket. And this guy clearly thought it was appropriate to test out his swimwear.

The hotel was superb and I think it's safe to say, one-of-a-kind! The staff were amazing, always on hand to help and nothing was ever too much hassle, they just couldn't do enough for us. The food was all great, each evening we were given a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 deserts to choose from and everything was cooked to perfection. We also got canapés and pre-dinner cocktails and post-dinner we got a selection of cheese and truffles. And then in the afternoon we got afternoon tea, which was incredible; sandwiches, soup, pizza, pasties, cookies, cakes you name it. We didn't hold back and all our hard work on eating healthy and masses of exercise (New Year's resolutions) for the majority of January went down the drain. But it was worth it! 

We just had an incredible time, so I guess there's not much more to say on the matter but just to leave you with some photos! 

Next destination: (at the moment) Valencia.

Until next time folks 

Xoxo

Edinburgh: A weekend full of surprises

So I was pretty stuck on the Christmas present front for Nathan this year, he wanted a Tardisk Pear (for all you gadget people out there you probably know what this is - I don't) but I wasn't prepared to get it. I said in 10 years time you won't remember that amazing Christmas you got a bloody Tardisk Pear, so I thought I need to make it something to remember.

We both had said we want to go to Edinburgh at some point and with Nath's mum heading up there regularly for work, I thought why not. I managed to get super cheap flights through RyanAir, £35 return each. We wouldn't even be able to get to Burton for that price on the train. And then I went to my trusty old favourite for a place to stay AirBnB. I found a great apartment just outside the city with a fantastic host Ceana, a 45minute walk in, but a 20minute bus (link to the apartment at the bottom). 

Christmas came and I still wouldn't tell him what his present was, it wouldn't be a surprise otherwise. Instead I told him we'd be doing activities in London for the weekend, but basically all he knew what that we had to meet at London Liverpool Street at 5.30pm at the latest on the Friday night. He called me on arrival and asked which platform we were meeting as and I said 6, he was like 'Stansted Airport, are you sure?' It was brilliant, he had no idea. We boarded the train and I have him shortbread as a clue. Would you have guessed that it was to Scotland? Anyway Nathan had no idea, I was even wearing a tartan skirt. Eventually I told him. I love surprises!!

We landed in Edinburgh late Friday night and following advice from our AirBnB host we caught the city bus to the city centre. 

Upon arrival, we headed to Rose Street for a drink whilst waiting to meet our host to get the key to her apartment. We stopped at the Black Cat, with a sign 'sale on' beckoning us inside, £5 for a glass of red and a cider, could hardly say no. 

After receiving the key we got a taxi back to the apartment, as we couldn't figure out which bus we needed to get. The apartment was perfect with a large double room, brand new bathroom, kitchen and lounge. 

For the Saturday I had a full day full of activities planned, unfortunately it did mean we had to set our alarms pretty early. We got the bus into town and crossed the bridge to the Royal Mile and Tron Kirk where we were meeting our free walking tour guide. This was recommended to me by a Edinburgh local and a work colleague who has taken various friends on the tour. It was a cold start to the day, which we weren't as prepared for! We arrived early and headed straight for a coffee shop, coffee for Nath and hot chocolate for me to at least keep us warm for the start of the tour.

The tour took us mainly around the old town, we learnt a lot about the history and traditions of Edinburgh. Our guide was brilliant - despite not actually been Scottish she knew her stuff and a bit more. For the Harry Potter fans out there, the tour also gave us an insight into how the story began, where JK Rowling wrote some of the books, where she got inspiration for Hogwarts (second picture after this paragraph), where she got names from etc. The picture below with Nath is where Diagon Alley is based on. 

Following the tour, we headed to the Grass Market for lunch at The Last Drop. This was also recommended to me, as a particularly old pub. Back in the day it was also the spot where people came to drink after watching a hanging, I guess a clue is in the name. 

The rain stopped during lunch, so afterwards to walked some more around the old town before heading to the famous Edinburgh Castle, due to limited time we didn't go in but we took a couple of photos.

At this point it was starting to get dark and I desperately wanted to go up Arthur's Seat, so instead of going for a drink we made our way over. 45 minutes later and we were at the bottom totally unprepared in terms of walking gear (nb. Wear trainers at the very least if climbing/walking Arthur's Seat) but we started to climb anyway. This was our first glimpse of snow this year as there was a slight dusting as we got higher. We were lucky it was such a clear day as the views were incredible and at the town we had a 360degree view of the city.

We then started our descent down, it was cold so we slipped part of the way down. Earlier in the day, there had been a 5km up to the top and Mo Farah had been there, if only we'd known. On our walk back to the apartment, we happened to pass this pub that we'd seen on Google earlier in the day, which was one of the best pubs in Edinburgh, The Sheep Heid Inn and it lived up to it's title. It was quaint, tucked away with a beautiful roaring fire. 

My organised activities didn't end there. I had done some research before and The Guardian suggested The Ship on the Shore in Leith as somewhere to eat, so I booked. It was a bit of a mission from where we were staying as we had to get several buses but it was worth it. The food was amazing and very seafood focused. We had our favourite, oysters to start, followed by a huge seafood paella with lobster, clams, scallops, salmon, mussels you name it and a lovely bottle of red! 

Post dinner, we went to the pub next door for a night cap whilst we waited for the rain to stop. It was literally torrential, but eventually getting several buses back to the apartment. 

Unfortunately that was the end of our trip to Edinburgh with an early morning flight home. However it was definitely not a goodbye, more of a see you later Edinburgh.

Next destination: currently unknown but somewhere we can ski! 

Xo

Ps. Link to the AirBnB apartment -https://airbnb.com/rooms/6176750?s=8&user_id=12841972&ref_device_id=823ebbdc2d1ccdb8fccc977fdff9f63c6ed8f551