Disappointment, complaints and my Italian adventure....

I am sorry I have not been able to post anything for a few weeks now.

I was planning to write about a hotel I stayed at recently in The Cotswold's. Andy and I went there for a spa weekend (to escape London).

However the experience was not what I had hoped and due to bad service and lack of customer care we both left feeling disappointed.

I complained to the hotel (to remain anonymous for now) and they dealt with it immediately. They apologised AND offered us a complimentary stay!

Everywhere deserves a second chance so I will be posting all about my stay once we have returned.

I am all for complaining. If you are left feeling unhappy and disappointed with an experience you have paid for then speak up!

Another let down - I  wanted to continue my search for 'The Best Sunday Roast' so I went to a pub, with some friends, that everyone had been talking about.
It had great reviews and the roasts were meant to be huge! As you can imagine I was very excited :)

When we arrived we sat down and ordered a few pints - standard Sunday tradition, the only day I allow myself to sink pints.

After we had looked at the menus and decided what we wanted the waiter came over and told us they had run out of the beef!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was what we all wanted! I mean it's the king of the roasts!

I couldn't possibly write about this place now with no beef roasts! That would be like writing about a candy shop with no sweets!

To be fair it was 3pm so I guess we should have gone earlier but we always eat lunch on Sunday around this time and no where else had run out before.

I ended up going for the chicken, it was good and the portions was huge, but it wasn't beef : (

I will be going back soon to get my beef!! TBC

So, you see it has been tricky to post about anywhere exciting recently.

HOWEVER................... I am off to Italy this week whooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be visiting Florence, Tuscany, La Spezia and then finishing up in Ivrea.

Ahhhhh pasta, wine, ice cream, coffee, more wine - I am coming for you :)

I will be taking lots of photos and documenting all my adventures.

I cannot WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

'Harvey's Point Hotel' Donegal, IRELAND. Stunning weekend away!

I had never been to Ireland before so you can imagine how excited I was when my friend, Aisling, told me her wedding would be in Ireland!

Great!!

Whooooooooooooooo a weekend away out of London!!!

Flights were only £80 return and me and Andy decided it would be a nice idea to hire a car so we could see as much as possible during our 3 days there.

The wedding was being held in a small town called Donegal at a hotel called 'Harvey's Point'.

WOW, I checked out the website immediately and it looked stunning!

I was so excited!

DONEGAL bound!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We flew from Stansted and it was only one hour, really quick and painless.

When we touched down we collected our little car (Ford Fiesta) and hit the road!

I wish this part had been as easy as our flight!

When we picked the car up the hire company had run out of bloody sat navs so it was back to old school map reading!!

We thought to ourselves - hey this will be a good challenge for us, it can't be that hard............

Andy was driving and I was navigating.

Oh I forgot to mention our flight to London that morning was at 7am, we had to wake up at 4.30am so we had both had about 4 hours sleep!
Not the best recipe for a 2 hour long car journey, in Ireland, with no sat nav.

We got lost.

Apparently it was my fault...........I think differently.

Note to self - ALWAYS GET A SAT NAV.

So 2 hours and 40 mins later, we saw this............

Yessssssssssss we found it!!!!!

Then we saw this .................

Driving up to the hotel was beautiful, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh such a nice reward after our stressful car journey.

The Hotel

The surroundings were just stunning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Right, we arrived at 11am and the wedding started at 2pm so we had a good 2 hours for a nap. I of course needed an hour to get ready!

We couldn't wait to hit the pillows!

The bell boy took us up to the room..................an executive double.....................

It was huge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You should have seen the smiles on our faces!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bed time - we needed to re gain energy for a day of drinking ahead, this was an Irish wedding and they can sure drink!!
After our power nap we swanked up and hit the wedding!!

It was such an amazing day in picture-perfect surroundings :)

If you are thinking about going to Ireland for a long weekend away this place is seriously romantic!!!!!!

The view from the cocktail bar.

Whilst we were staying at Harvey's Point we visited Rossnowlough beach, although it was windy the sea was warm!

On our last day we decided to drive to Slieve League Cliffs - the highest sea cliffs in Europe!
Bring it on!!

It was about a 1.5 hour drive but sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is what we saw on our way to the cliffs.

So beautiful.

After a steep drive up...........we reached the cliffs!

Wow!! What a view!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was so peaceful up there we didn't want to leave.

FANTASTIC weekend away from the big smoke!!

If you fancy getting away, consider Donegal! Flights are cheap as chips and the scenery is gorgeous PLUS there are tons of great seafood joints!

http://www.harveyspoint.com/

Boho Mexica - Shoreditch delight!!

On a hot summers evening in London myself and a friend decided to have some drinks and dinner out after work.

I wanted to go somewhere fun in the Shoreditch area so I researched a few places on the internet and Boho Mexica came up.

The reviews were mixed, some of them were moaning about the slow service but the majority had said the food was great.

After being cooked a Venezuelan dinner a few weeks ago by a friend I was craving the flavours again.

The black bean sauce is to die for and I love trying different types of cuisine.

Right Boho Mexica it is!

As we were walking down commercial street trying to find it, we started to hear the lively  Mexican music........the restaurant was opened up onto the street and it looked like a little piece of Mexico had come to London.

Inside it was very busy, luckily I had booked!

The dudes behind the bar were energetically making cocktails and all the customers looked like they were enjoying themselves.

I was so pleased it was just what I wanted and as it was such a hot evening it felt like we were on holiday!

I loved it.

The interior had bags character with cool Latino posters and fun cartoon like drawings on the walls.

We had met earlier and sunk back a few cocktails so we got straight onto a bottle of Tempranillo.......

Hmmmmmmmmmm what to order for a main............

The food you are about to 

enjoy is all made fresh on the premises daily, using the freshest 

ingredients possible; many of which are flown in directly from 

México.

Tia Patty

Executive Chef: Patricia Vivas

I decided to get this with black bean sauce instead of rice and coleslaw.

Pollo a la Morita

Delicious corn fed chicken marinated over night with our 

mix of Mexican chiles, in a tangy tamarind & chile morita sauce.

Served with our Tabasco coleslaw and rice.

£13.95

We asked the waiter what the most popular dish was and he said it was -

Puerco Enchilanchado

Grilled succulent Paillard of pork marinated 

for 24hrs in a mix of chiles.

Served with sweet plantains, rice, 

black bean puree and fresh corn tortillas.

£14.95

So my friend ordered this and we decided to share :)

As the sun went down the waiters lit all the candles in the restaurant and the Mexican tunes got louder. I was thinking this would be a great place to come with a big group over the weekend and get totally carried away drinking LOADS of cocktails and pretending you're on holiday ;)

After indulging in more wine and enjoying the atmosphere, our food arrived!!

All the waiters seemed very laid back, friendly and chilled which suited the overall vibe of the restaurant.

Time to get stuck in.

The black bean sauce was DELICIOUS! It had pieces of chorizo in it and was just heavenly.

I grabbed a corn tortilla, pulled off some chicken and smothered it with the sauce YUM!

I love eating with my fingers, it brings out the kid within.

The pork was amazing, juicy and full of flavour, it worked really well with the sweet plantains and rice - these were flavours I hadn't tried before.

I was in a good place and was really enjoying myself, sharing food is a great way of trying more than one dish!

We ate EVERYTHING and were full........but there is always room for dessert!!!!!!

Again we asked what was the most popular.....

The waiter told us to order

Flan de Rosas con Jamaica y Copa Nevada con Cajeta

Homemade rose water flan & a light Mexican vanilla cream with cajeta.

£6.50

and

Pastel de Tres Leches

Homemade traditional 3 milk Mexican cake covered with meringue.

Deliciously juicy.

£5

Again we shared.

They arrived shortly after.....................

We devoured them within the space of minutes, they were seriously GOOD and I was making all sorts of yummy noises, as you do when you're thoroughly enjoying something!! Oh man I will be ordering them both again, the home made rose water flan was my favourite.

What a fab evening!!

So much fun, new and exciting food and some cooooooooooool Mexican music thrown in.

I am a fan of this place and although the service was fairly laid back and the food is quite pricey the whole feel of the restaurant makes it worth it!

It was buzzing and full of life and that is hard to find!

http://www.bohomexica.co.uk/

Thai Omelettes at Ziloufs - girlie brunch date :)

I was meeting some friends last Saturday for brunch.
As my friend Laura was bringing her ADORABLE baby Jude with her I was trying to find somewhere that was baby friendly and also where we could hang out for a few hours, have some wine and food and just relax and catch up.

Well, I found the perfect place.....

I had walked past this bar/restaurant called Zilouf's a few times. It's located on Upper Street in Angel.

I noticed they served brunch until 2pm on a Saturday (until 3pm on a Sunday) and had some comfy sofas!
It looked really cosy and homely with lots of vintage lamps and a cool, kitch feel.

Check out the funky furniture and fish tank TV

When we all arrived we were so pleased that the largest sofa was free, we quickly claimed it!
There was plenty of space for the pram too. Result.

Time for some wine!

We all ordered white wine spritzers and browsed the brunch menu.............

Thai omelette ??

Hmmmmmm.

I asked the waitress if it was good and she assured me it was delicious.

3 Thai Omelettes then please :)

They arrived shortly after....

Oh YUMMY!!!!!!

Wait, what's that inside.........?

BIG JUICY SCALLOPS - my favourite 

It was soooooooooooooooo gooooooooooooooooood and the sweet chilli sauce was heavenly.
What a fantastic combination and the scallops were perfectly cooked.

Beautiful.

At a bargain price of £8 I was seriously impressed.

It was so filling I couldn't even finish it, and that's very rare!

What a great find!
We sat and chilled there for hours. It was totally packed so we were lucky to have swiped that huge leather couch!

We could have stayed there all day :)

I was so pleased with my new find, I know that sounds a little sad but I get excited about these things!

We have already arranged to go back there next week for more of those incredible omelettes.

I can't wait.

Laura, Frankie, baby Jude and moi :)

http://www.ziloufs.com/

Shark Fishing in South Carolina!

SHARK FISHING

As I had never been fishing before Andy and I decided to do something different and book a fishing  trip!

It's a great way to see the creeks and do some dolphin watching too.

I didn't know what to expect, fishing to me sounded boring, boy was I wrong, it was soooooooooooooo much fun!!

This is Shem Creek.

So many fishing boats. 

We saw some dolphins too! It's so hard to catch them on camera as they jump up out of the water so fast.

It was boiling hot with calm seas.....perfect weather for fishing....

We had a local fisherman pro with us to show us how it's done. He was such a laugh and even had his own show on the discovery channel, so we knew we were in good hands!

With the baits in the water, he placed 4 rods in holders to wait for action.....

We waited for about 5 minuets, chilling out and listing to some tunes, when suddenly something started tugging on the line! Whooooo!

One of the lines stared to shake! Yesssssssssssss we got one!!!!

We started reeling in the shark...........................well, the guys did.

On light tackle, even a small shark can put up a tough fight.

I was pretty terrified as I have a huge fear of sharks.

These were just baby sharks but they are vicious and their eyes look evil!!

Then we caught another one! I wanted to hold one but I was too chicken, they were deceivingly strong and kept wriggling around!

We threw them back in the water after, I did feel a little sorry for them but them apparently it doesn't harm them.

The bait for the BIGGER sharks...................

It was such an awesome experience and I would recommend it to anyone who has never gone fishing before, it's a real rush when you catch something and you can feel it pulling on the line. I can see how it can be addictive and competitive!
Plus it's great for tanning too ;)

Check it out -

http://sharkincharleston.com/

South Carolina, CHARLESTON - Foodie heaven!!

Me and Andy recently got back from Charleston in South Carolina.

Wahhhoooooo what a trip!!!!

I had researched all the different restaurants before I left and read many blogs on the area and checked out where was best to go.

"Don’t-Miss" Charleston Restaurants

The food scene in this iconic city keeps getting better; you could stay for a week and still not discover all the great meals.

This quote from Southern Living magazine couldn't be more true. The restaurants all looked INCREDIBLE!!!! The menu's were of such a high standard, similar to what you would find in a top London restaurant.

The one that kept jumping out at me and also had been voted top Charleston restaurant on Trip Adviser was 'Halls Chophouse'

I booked this for our second  night (first night is a write off due to jet lag)

I was sooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!! 

Firstly here are a few photos of Charleston, it was just beautiful and everyone was so friendly. All the roads were lined with palm trees and the houses were all brightly coloured. We felt like we were walking around a film set, it was picture perfect.

I loved all the brightly coloured houses.

:)

Shem Creek

We stayed at Charleston Place by Orient Express. The location was amazing and the hotel was one of the best iv'e stayed at.....

Gorgeous rooms.

Roof top pool :)

It was our second night in Charleston and we were dressed up, slightly sun burnt and ready for a night of cocktails, wine and goooooooooooooooooood food!!

Halls Chophouse!

WOW!! 

As we came in we were greeted by a live jazz band and a buzzing bar. The host immediately welcomed us in
The atmosphere was great and I love jazz! We were really happy with our choice of restaurants, especially as it was our first proper night.

After 2 glasses of champagne we ordered another bottle ;) and we were shown upstairs to the restaurant....

The restaurant was really cool, classic chop house style, it was absolutely packed!
Our waiter came up and introduced himself.
I had already seen that they did a steak and lobster dish, AMAZING.

• Lobster & Steak … $5710 oz broiled lobster tail with carved, prime hanger steak

All of Hall’s steaks are cut from USDA Prime beef, flown in from Allen Brothers *of Chicago, and wet or dry aged for the ultimate tenderness, juiciness and flavour.

 The waiter told us the specials. One was a bison steak (buffalo) which he recommended, the guy on the table next to us had ordered it and he said it was incredible. We asked him if the kitchen could do the bison steak with the lobster and he said that would be fine.
I stuck with the hanger steak.

We ordered 12 oysters to start and a bottle of red.

HAPPY TIMES!!!!!

The mains.......

We ordered two side orders - spinach and sauteed mushrooms. The spinach came with a parmesan sauce which was DELICIOUS!!!!

The wine was Merry Edwards, Pinot noir from the Russian River Valley. It was the first time I had tried it and I fell in love (we ordered a case as soon as we got back to the UK)

So far it had been the perfect evening!!

After all that champagne and wine we were both getting stuck into our huge meals.... in hope to sober up a little :)

The food was DREAMY, as I am writing this my stomach is craving that juicy steak and AHHH the lobster - a match made in heaven.

The bison steak that Andy had ordered was OUT OF THIS WORLD! It melted in your mouth like butter.
It was hands down the best steak we had ever had.

Slowly making my way through it all.....

YYYYUUUUUUMMMMMM!!!

We were both stuffed, happily stuffed :)
I wish I could go back now and finish it, it felt like crime to leave some of that steak.

I was over the moon with everything!

Everyone at Halls Chophouse really made our evening really special.

We had such a fantastic time there! We met some friends after down stairs in the bar, they bought us another bottle of champagne :)

What an awesome night!!!!

http://hallschophouse.com/