Your starter for ten…
Jun 4th 2006
4 June 2006
It’s taken a good few days for me to take the plunge and start writing this blog, even though the page has been sitting here ready and waiting. Strange really. It’s not like I’ve never written anything before. And I’m sure nobody will read this for a good long while (as nobody knows it’s here!). So in essence I’m talking to myself. Guess that’ll do while I get the hang of it.
I’m in that twilight zone of Sunday evening. Nothing on telly, no energy to read (well, I’m slightly hung over due to belated birthday celebrations last night) and my lovely boyf has gone back home so I have only myself to amuse me.
Tomorrow is my first day back at work after a fabulous week off to celebrate my birthday. Boyf (think I’ll refer to him as H from now on) and I spent a few days in the Lakes. Usually it rains around my birthday, but the old man upstairs must have decided I was due a treat, as it was gloriously sunny and warm the whole time we were there. H introduced me to the concept of walking in the hills, a concept which my legs are still appreciating! But it was so beautiful I’m pleased he did. We may moan about the weather, the rain, the grey clouds etc but this is why we need it – how else do we get all these rolling green hills, lush grass, stunning blossom trees and wild flowers like bluebells and yellow tulips, and the wildlife – sheep, cows, stunningly detailed little birds.
And the food. Oh lordy the food! Our hotel had the best breakfast I’ve ever tasted. H thought it was hilarious that I couldn’t stop praising the scrambled egg of all things! But it was delicious – creamy, moist, free range, warm, tasty eggs, with local sausages bursting out of their skins, and mushrooms, and hash browns, and beans, and toast, and jam, and tea, and fruit, and muesli, and I could go on!
I think one of the highlights was my birthday dinner at the posh hotel restaurant. (We decided it was a better bet than going into Ambleside and we were right). Very tasty lamb in a puy lentil and root vegetable ‘broth’, with spring onion mash, and veggies and chips between us. H had a mushroom and asparagus fricasee in a pastry case thingy. Although there wasn’t much asparagus to be seen. (That was the theme of the day – missing veg. The mushroom on his very yummy wholemeal pizza at lunchtime was also missing. It’s a conspiracy!). I had dessert – a summer fruit terrine (which looked like traffic light layers of jelly with bits of fruit in), with pieces of shortbread with swirls of raspberry fool squirted on, topped with raspberries. And of course the best bit was that H went off and asked them to put candles on top as it was my birthday! How sweet was that! I could feel myself blushing when I saw the waiter out of the corner of my eye with two little lit candles poking out of the dessert – I haven’t had candles on my birthday for who knows how long! I felt quite special, and have come to the conclusion that you’re never too old for candles on your birthday :-)
So now I’m waiting for another week in the office to start, and I know within the first hour it’ll feel like I’ve never been away. We don’t appreciate enough the places we have on our doorstep. Even though we didn’t go very far geographically, it felt like a ‘proper’ holiday (including sun burn!). I’d definitely go there again. ‘Specially if we can find somewhere that does scrambled eggs like that!
Jun 7th 2006
we agree; breakfasts there are grrreat. That’s why you then have to go on long wal;kies!