So on Thursday 23rd August I headed to London on the 7:05 BA flight to meet my hubby at Heathrow! Glad to get there as there were 2 accidents on the Sydenham Bypass on my way to the city airport, so I had a detour up the Newtownards road. On the plus side...had a seat to myself on the plane :)
Anyhoo, we arrived safely at Hotel Indigo in Barkston Gardens. Mr Swann picked the hotel this time...and it was great..brilliant hotel. Loved everything about it! The decor:
Had a lovely meal (served on a plank lol) with a bottle of English wine...and it was very good too!
We got up on the Friday morning to wait for our first guests and pass the time until our lunch appointment at Ramsays! Brekkie coffee and the Times.
Big Gaz and Carol arrived first and we had a bit of a chat and then I went and got changed for lunch!
So at Ramsays we opted for the Taster menu (they call it "Prestige" lol) and so that I wouldn't forget what I had I took a wee note of it all!
- Tomato consommé
- duck fois gras smoked (fabulous) with pickles, Granny Smiths apple and parma ham
- lobster langoustine and salmon ravioli and sorrel sauce - this too was fantastic
- halibut with moroccan jus and cauliflower couscous (pic)
- lamb (for me) or pigeon (for stephen)...the pigeon was better
- mango soup in a very tall glass
- cucumber sorbet with liquid nitrogen herbs (see pic Mr Swann grinding them up)
- lemonade ice cream, sheeps milk ice cream, spun sugar and gold leaf (pic)
- petit fours with white chocolate and pink filling..chocolate sweet on a mini trowel!!
We had champagne aperitif and white and red wine through the meal! It was a truly fantastic experience. And writing it up here has brought back just how great it was.
The Maitre d' Jean-Claude (JC) invited us back into the kitchen to meet Clare Smith, but alas a couple of other people got there first and we didnt get to speak to her but did see her and the kitchen. Lesson learned go as soon as asked!
That night we went down to bar to be greeted by a lovely bottle of champagne provided by Mr and Mrs Longridge for my Birthday:
And a card from the hotel with an entry in the lottery in it! Didn't win but what a nice gesture!
Met up with the rest of the gang and headed off to Ronnie Scotts Jazz club in Soho! Loved Tania Maria, a Brazilian lady who was just mesmerising.
Saturday Morning - my Birthday! At brekkie I got presents from everyone...which was totally unexpected and far too much. The hotel staff also sang happy birthday to me and presented me with a mini cake...mortified but isn't it a lovely memory. That's never happened to me before! Here are the Pressies! A skull pen...don't mind if I do lol!
So very lucky!
Anyway off we headed to Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews for a day out! Breathtaking I tell you..and we only got to see a little bit of Buck house!
Here they are after the tour!
The Stables in the Royal Mews!
Kinda hard to see but the Queen had a horse called "Belfast"!
The Coronation Carriage...just fantastic...hand painted by some Italian dude..can't remember the name!
Big Gaz looking grumpy!
The off for some lunch at the Rubens Hotel http://www.rubenshotel.com/
Mal cleaning his area of the table.
Carol and a plank of food (not hers this time but mine)! Maybe that's why she looked so pleased!
Detail of the food on a plank...Mr Swann hated it! Must remember never to eat there again
Totally bucketed with rain! Not the most pleasant weather for sightseeing but still had a lush dinner to look forward to and so on our last night it was Tamarind! An Indian experience that apparently I will enjoy!
http://www.tamarindrestaurant.com/
Mrs Longridge looking very well - can't see how glam she was - her top was all sequinned!
My starter - scallops...lovely!
My Main - Seabass - pleasant but a bit small - Sandra's lamb dish was beautiful!
Carol and Garry! Just around this point Mr Radford was outed as feeling not part of the Wolf Pack and so the Wolf Pack was born! And he was named as "He who sits". Don't ask why!
My dessert - chocolate mousse..mmmm
And a few cocktails in the hotel when we got back! Black Cosmo...my new fave!
And then home the next day to pick the girls up from Granny Rosie! Had an absolute ball...brilliant memories and great craic with the Wolves!
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