Whilst in London Arwyn and I were booked in to have lunch at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant. We are huge foodies so as you can imagine we couldn't wait to go here. We are lucky enough to have eaten at restaurant Gordon Ramsay before which is his 3 michelin star restaurant so we were intrigued as to how this would compare.
The restaurant itself is large and the tables are nicely spaced out which is always great as I hate feeling like i'm practically sat at another person's table.
We knew we were having a tasting menu and decided the easiest way to pick what we were having was for each of us to pick something different. That way we both got to try everything.
The wine menu came in the form of an iPad. This I thought was brilliant and a real sign of the times. It was very easy to navigate and there were plenty of wines to choose from.
Next up were our first courses. I opted for the Octopus and Arwyn had the Cured Salmon. I loved the way the Octopus was plated. It looked clean, simple and elegant.
The cured salmon was very light and refreshing. The mango puree was absolutely delicious and I'm salivating just remembering how the dish tasted.
We then had our next dishes. I had the Dumpling which was made with lobster, tiger prawns and salmon. The jus/broth it was in was so rich in flavour. I think I finished this dish in less than a minute. This is testament to how much I enjoyed it.
Arwyn had the sea bream which I wasn't quick enough to catch with my camera. It had a lovely hint of ginger to it and as with mine he too finished his pretty quickly.
Our next dishes were our meat dishes. I had the pork belly which came with a miso broth. I am a huge fan of miso so this really made the dish stand out for me. This dish is testament to everything Maze strives to be as it was truly a fusion of French and Asian flavours.
Arwyn had the duck breast which looked so pretty on the plate. I unfortunately didn't get to try this as he devoured it swiftly.
We were then treated to another amuse-bouche which was a sundae. It was the perfect palette cleanser ready for our deserts. It completely refreshed my mouth and was so light to eat.
Last but not least were our desserts. Arwyn had the profiteroles that came with a baileys gel and the most delicious ginger ice-cream. I had what can only be described as the best desert i've ever tasted and that was the lime and dark chocolate cheesecake with a hazelnut ice-cream. I am not normally a dessert person and I would always pick a starter over one but this dessert has changed my mind. It felt like there was a party going on in my mouth. it was truly amazing and the lime was so refreshing.
Overall we loved our lunch at Maze. The atmosphere was great, the staff were very friendly and knowledge and the food was outstanding. It was a true testament to how great Gordon Ramsay is. We can't wait to go again.
Have you eaten at any of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants? Have you eaten at a michelin restaurant before?
Love kerry x
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Last weekend Arwyn and I were booked in to have lunch at Gordon Ramsay's Maze restaurant in London (separate post coming on that asap), so we used this as an excuse to make a weekend of it and have a night away together. Let's face it this is quite often a rarity when you you have young children.
As per usual finding a hotel in London was proving stressful. It's not that there aren't many to choose from because there are hundreds. The chore is always finding a decent one for a reasonable price. I find London hotels very similar to Paris, you pay a lot of money for something that never seems as good as it did in the photos online.
After hours of trawling we settled on the Grange Hotel Tower Bridge. We originally found it on booking.com for £118 with breakfast but for some reason I thought to look on their own website. I never ever normally do this as you think you're getting the best deal on these search websites. Turns out my luck paid off and it was only £101 for a double room with breakfast when you booked direct with them. What a bargain. Note to self, always check direct first!!!!
We decided to drive up and park the car as the NCP carpark is literally a 3 minute walk from the hotel. This worked out cheaper than the 2 of us getting the train. The car park only cost us £6 for the 2 days we were there.
The hotel is located in the Tower Bridge area and is about a 5 minute walk from the bridge and nearest tube.
As we approached the hotel both of us felt like a prize pair of idiots after discussing how familiar it all looked. We had stayed here before and ironically it was when we dined at restaurant Gordon Ramsay quite a few years ago.
When checking in all the staff including reception staff, concierge and bell boy's were very friendly and professional Nothing seemed to much bother. We were allowed to check in early which is always handy.
Our room was quite high up on the 7th floor which meant we had a beautiful view of the Shard from one of our windows. The room itself was a really good size as was the bathroom. I particularly liked all the wardrobe space, the huge mirror and the fact that the wifi is free. In this day and age we are always on the internet on our phones so this to me was a huge bonus. I can't bare it when you have to pay for that service.
The following morning Arwyn went to use the spa and pool facilities (I just lazed in bed and took advantage of the lie in). He said they were some of the best he's been in. I must admit after hearing this I was gutted I didn't go down.
We then ventured down to a fantastic breakfast. There was so much choice in the buffet from cooked to continental. There's something there for everyone. You could even order omelettes and things like eggs Benedict.
Have you ever stayed in a Grange Hotel? Where do you normally stay when you travel to London?
Love Kerry and Arwyn xx
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I thought i'd share this with you even though I made it for my hubby for christmas. It's an ideal present for this upcoming valentines day and was made with everything from http://www.hobbycraft.co.uk. It's the letters A & K which I then painted and covered in black and white photos of us.
The letters are mache letters which are available in 2 different sizes. Mine are the larger of the 2 as I thought it would be easier for putting the pictures on. You can buy the large ones for £2 and the small for £1 each. Here's a link to them so you can see, Large Letter and Small Letter. For this weekend you could do the same as I did with initials or make the word 'love'.
I knew I wanted them a black and white theme to match the other pictures on our wall so I decided to paint them black all over. I bought the ready mix paint from Hobbycraft for £2 and it worked fine, Paint. You could paint them any colour or get mache paper and glue that on.
Then once they are dry you can then cut and glue your pictures on. This part I found the most tricky seeing as I didn't plan what pictures I could put where. Luckily I printed off about 50 so I had a good choice. I just used a normal glue stick to get them on which worked perfectly. If you use a wet glue it will become lumpy.
The letters are mache letters which are available in 2 different sizes. Mine are the larger of the 2 as I thought it would be easier for putting the pictures on. You can buy the large ones for £2 and the small for £1 each. Here's a link to them so you can see, Large Letter and Small Letter. For this weekend you could do the same as I did with initials or make the word 'love'.
I knew I wanted them a black and white theme to match the other pictures on our wall so I decided to paint them black all over. I bought the ready mix paint from Hobbycraft for £2 and it worked fine, Paint. You could paint them any colour or get mache paper and glue that on.
Then once they are dry you can then cut and glue your pictures on. This part I found the most tricky seeing as I didn't plan what pictures I could put where. Luckily I printed off about 50 so I had a good choice. I just used a normal glue stick to get them on which worked perfectly. If you use a wet glue it will become lumpy.
Have you done anything like this? What have you got planned for Valentine's day?
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Valentines day is creeping up on us fast with less than 2 weeks to go. Arwyn and I never used to bother with it until we had Eva. We've realised that it's a nice way to spend some quality time together remembering all the good times we had as the two of us and how we have now become a family.
I was delighted to be asked to take up Photobox's valentines day challenge which was to show the story of our relationship on a cushion. I couldn't wait to jump at this opportunity as it gave me an excuse to browse all of our photographs which was a great experience in itself. There were a lot to look through seeing as we've been together 9 years. I've chosen some pictures that hold fond, fun and laughable memories. If you scroll down to the individual pictures, i've explained the story behind them. They aren't in chronological order.
This picture was taken on the first proper night out that we had together after our daughter was born. I'd breast fed for 9 months so we hadn't really gone out for long periods of time or drank a lot. This was after a couple of bottles of red wine! It was a very well deserved night out.
This was taken at a friend's wedding. It was a fab wedding and we were dancing to a band that were later to play out our wedding. I remember the exact song which was a version of mia's paper planes which is a rap, hip hop song. Arwyn hates this type of music where as I love it. This was me winding him up rapping and playing out the actions in the song 'bang bang bang'. Anyone that knows us will know that Arwyn gets highly embarrassed by me dancing to rap and my choice in music.
This was taken at the first party we threw in our first home that we bought together. Those days of partying hard are long gone. Although i'm pretty sure all we did was play on the wii fit and do the limbo.
This picture was taken when we climbed Mt Kilimanjaro with the charity scope. We had the most amazing time and bonded so well with our group. We actually got engaged here and ended up having the most fun engagement night as everyone was on a high from climbing the mountain and then seeing us get engaged. We'd love to go back in the future.
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Just incase you can't guess, this was at our wedding. It holds a very special place in our hearts as I was actually pregnant and we'd only found out 3 days before hand. It was very difficult keeping it from everyone.
This was taken on our honeymoon at universal studios in LA. I find it hilarious that 2 grown up people were so desperate to have their photo with spongebob. What a pair of idiots.
This was taken on a trip to Paris very late on in my pregnancy for Arwyn's 30th birthday. I suppose it was a bit of a babymoon too. We adore Paris and try to go whenever we can. This was on a horrifically high big wheel which I was rather petrified of.
Finally this picture was taken on a boat trip on a holiday in Turkey. I love it as someone managed to catch us having a tender moment.
The cushion is such a fab gift. I think photo gifts are the perfect way to remember special moments in time. I've loved this challenge as it has made me laugh hard, giggle often and also cry a little.
You can create your own cushion on the photo box website by following this link, Cushion. There are also a huge range of other photo gifts you can choose from. I'm really happy with how the cushion has turned out The quality is really good and it's actually very comfy. It'll take pride of place on our bed to make us have something to smile about every-time we look at it.
Have you created any photo gifts? What have you got your loved one's for Valentine's Day?
Love Kerry xx
If there's one place in the world that Arwyn and I love, it's Disney!! We can't get enough of it so an obvious weekend break away for us was to take Eva to Disneyland Paris to see their christmas festivities. To see how we travelled there, read my post called Travelling to Paris.
We booked to stay at the Dream Castle hotel which we have stayed in on a previous trip before Eva was born. We managed to get a fantastic deal by booking it as a top secret hotel on http://www.lastminute.com. From the description of the secret hotel we were 95% sure it was the dream castle and just went for it and thankfully are guessing and daringness paid off.
Previous hotels we have stayed in at Disneyland Paris are the Radisson and Disney's Kyriad. I have to say the worst one of the lot was the Kyriad, it was overcrowded, horrendous breakfasts and pretty rubbish rooms.
The Dream Castle hotel is fantastic. It's a brilliant family friendly hotel which still feels magical when you are not at the park. The rooms are a really good size and come with tea and coffee facilities, which lets face it are a massive must when you are waking up early and facing a very, long, tiring day. The breakfast buffet was tasty with a varied choice of foods to suit everyone. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The only downside I would have to say and this is by no means a criticism of the hotel itself, are the free shuttle busses back and forth to the park. When you are travelling with a baby or toddler and a pushchair these can be your worst nightmare. At very busy times I felt particularly unsafe with all the hideous parents pushing and shoving to get on the buses. They literally turn into animals. Anyway we braved the bus into the park but at night when we were tired we just paid for a taxi back which didn't cost much at all and was well worth it to avoid the hassle of the mad parents at the shuttle.
A top tip that I can give all parents before going to Disneyland is to book your restaurants in advance. This saves a lot of queuing and disappointment when you are there. You can do this by going on the website and ringing the bookings number. We booked to eat at Cafe Mickey which is one of the most popular restaurants in Disney village due to the fact that you can dine with the characters. Various ones pop around to every table while you are there. This seemed like a fantastic idea although as you can see Eva was completely unimpressed with Pluto. Thankfully Mickey came out shortly after to enlighten the mood. The restaurant itself is severely overpriced for what you actually eat and I found the children's menu in particular very poor. However, disney for children is all about meeting the characters and for this reason, this place is a must. I've been told you can have breakfast there so perhaps we'll try that next time.
We also booked to eat at the Blue Lagoon restaurant. This is a favourite of ours and we eat there every-time we go. It is actually inside the pirates of the Caribbean ride so it all feels very authentic. Eva thoroughly enjoyed seeing people going passed on the ride and really enjoyed the food.
My top tip for visiting disneyland at christmas is to pack lots and lots of layers. It's fairly chilly as you can imagine and if you are waiting for rides and just standing still, it feels like you are stood in the arctic. I'd advise lots of thin layers, especially for children which can be taken on and off to adjust to the varying temperatures of being indoors and then outdoors.
My top tip for visiting disneyland with toddlers is to make sure you carry plenty of things to entertain them in the queues seeing as they become bored so easily.
Have you been to disneyland Paris? Have you got any top tips to share?
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