A short visit to the centre of Ireland

Athlone is the centre of Ireland isn't it? Or is my geography off?! 

Anyhow a few weeks back we had a mini "staycation" in Athlone / Glasson.

First stop was Wineport Lodge, Glasson.

They upgraded our room to a lake view room with a balcony which was a lovely surprise on arrival. Huge bed, huge shower and bath. Then the views over the lake are just glorious. Even in grey weather. 

We had a drink in the Bollinger lounge before dinner. I had a French martini. It was super and far too easy to drink! 

They brought us the menus and was able to order before even going to our table in the restaurant. They then came back to show us through to our table when our starter almost ready. 

We were shown through to our window table. Fabulous views of the lake at sunset. Just breathtaking. The photo doesn't do it justice! 

To the food. We shared the seafood platter. My favourite had to be the prawns Marie rose (retro I know but still a firm favourite) 

For my main I ordered striploin steak with sweet potato fries and Bearnaise sauce. The fries were served in a cute little pail. The steak was well seasoned and cooked how I like it.

For dessert I chose the chocolate tasting plate. I loved the cookie and cream ice-cream. 

The following morning we chose to have breakfast in our room. I went for the Irish breakfast with pink grapefruit juice and coffee. Great coffee and loved the black pudding. 

Last time we were here was almost 10 years ago. It was far more expensive then from what I remember. Sorry I left it so long. Definitely won't leave it as long next time!! Didn't try hiring a BMW bike or their hot tubs. That's for next time :)

We did some "exploring" but the weather was so rainy it was done by car!

That evening we went to Athlone. We had a couple of drinks in Sean's Bar before dinner. You just have to go here and see the sawdust on the floor for yourself :)

For dinner we booked Kin Khao Thai... It had to be the Best Thai food I've had in a long long time!! 

Starter I had won ton wrappers that came with a fab plum dipping sauce. 

I also got to try some of Sean's mango and prawn salad.

My main was Thai green chicken curry. Lovely kick to it. There was peas in it. I thought they were a v nice addition. I loved it when the chap that looked after us offered more rice to mop up the last of my sauce. 

The crockery is v pretty. 

Had a glass of white wine with our starter then red wine with the main. (Funnily enough we had the same a couple of days later in an Italian restaurant in Dublin :) )

I tried two scoops of their homemade coconut ice-cream for dessert. It was DELICIOUS!!

Lovely setting and I'd definitely go back. If you're in Athlone make this a must go to place :)

Next morning we went for breakfast at Loaves and Fishes.

I had the muffin with bacon and sausage with a coffee. It was really SOOOO yum and there was no scrimping on the breakfast goodies :)

The lady that looked after that was super. Couldn't have been any nicer. 

Such a nice little midweek staycation!

Vintage Tea Rooms

Decided on a short road trip to Kilkenny.

Chose The Vintage Tea Room for breakfast as it seemed to get good reviews on review sites.

The interior confused me. They probably ought to look up what vintage is. Parts of it fit the theme but they should ditch the leather chairs they have cos they do NOT match any vintage theme. 

Food was good (not great!)

Here's the breakfast menu:

I had the Soho which was meant to be crispy bacon with cream cheese. It looked good but talk about an overstatement. Crispy bacon should be just that. What I was served was just salty but it was served on lovely lightly toasted ciabatta that was v good. 

The coffee was ok but was served in a teeny cup and I wished it had come in the same sort of cup they bring for tea...

Service was basically offhand at best - bordering on rude at times because I got the impression that the younger staff did NOT want to be there on a Saturday morning.

When we finished I went to pay. It's kind of unclear where you should stand to pay. So haphazard. 

Would I go back? Unfortunately not.

Whirlwind day in London

We had a very short trip to London a couple of weeks ago. 

After leaving the hotel our first stop was Piccadilly Circus.

From there we went to see Platform 9 and 3/4 at Kings Cross. I didn't bother getting my photo took at the trolley - only cos I didn't want to queue. 

After there we went on the London Eye. We weren't entirely sure we were going to do this on a visit to London because we didn't want to do it if the weather was bad. We were very very lucky and got a glorious blue skies sunny day. As we weren't sure we were actually going to do it we left buying our ticket until we got there. The queue was MENTAL!!!We paid for fast track by booking on our phones instead of going into the queue. Not entirely sure this is worth £34.95 per person but thenviews over London really are amazing!

I wouldn't say this is a must do in London. I think you might be better off booking a bus tour and seeing the landmarks from normal height. 

Started to get hungry so made our way to Selfridges and grabbed some food at the Brass Rail Salt Beef Bar. 

Somewhat of an institution at Selfridges from what I can gather. Came here on a Friday just as lunchtime was starting so we missed any large queues. Lots of comfy seats to choose from. Rather than a sandwich I went for their mac n cheese and added pastrami with a lemonade. It was SOOOOOOO good!!! I ordered the small rather than a large but that was more than enough. The fresh cracked pepper on the pastrami was v nice. 

Also got to try a bit of the salt beef - which was also really good. 

Had a wander around Oxford Street - this display at John Lewis made me giggle...

Spotted some of the BFG dream jars... 

Then went to Choccywoccydoodah and after a wander around the shop I finally got to try the Bar du Chocolat upstairs.

I wanted to try the chocolate everything cake (five layers of chocolate cake with truffles) but they didn't have. I ordered the chocolate cake instead and a lemonade. I then chose to order a plumpie as well (a way better version of a teacake as it has salted caramel inside) 

The cake unfortunately was a letdown. It was dry and I can't believe I have to say this but it was bordering on stale. Such a shame. 

The plumpie however was AMAZING and I still enjoyed wandering around the shop downstairs somewhat in awe at their displays.

I got some chocolate to bring home. It actually survived the heat in London that day :)

After here we went to see the Shard. Loved this view! 

Stopped in at The Bunch of Grapes and had a drink in the lovely sunshine - a great place to try out while on the tourist trail. 

After here had to see Tower Bridge - can't visit London without seeing it really can you? 

Headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and change before going out to dinner.

We chose The Bird in Hand for dinner. We were really lucky to get a table as it got crowded a short time later. I had wine rather than beer and went for Picpoul de Pinet which was v good, Plenty of options on this menu for small plates. They bring them out whenever they're ready and encourage sharing. Got to try lots of different plates and each one was delicious. We tried the smoked haddock croquettes, the flatbread with hummus, courgette flower stuffed with goats curd and honey, trout with chorizo and tuna carpaccio on charcoal toast. We had a watermelon and mint granita for dessert. 

My top three were the tuna carpaccio, the flatbread and the stuffed courgette flower. 

The staff are really nice. Its a dog friendly place so it was really nice to see dogs popping in and out. What a really great gastropub should be!!

Last stop of the night was Brewdog Shepherds Bush. 

We managed to get a seat. I was delighted to find they were serving Lindemans Framboise not just Brewdog beers (no offence but I prefer fruity beers)

Really nice atmosphere with a lot of quirks. Seems to be a lot of the newer hipster pubs in Dublin have pretty much modelled themselves on here. Really really good spot! Also I really liked their glasses and the bathrooms are super quirky :)

A pretty top Friday in London :)