Honeymoon In Bath: 20th May

This week is dedicated to writing all about our honeymoon in Bath, all of the cool places we saw and the fun places we ate. We're on our last day so time to say good bye and do a little shopping.

I'd learned my lesson, this time we went for breakfast before heading down to the spa. We went for a swim, hit the sauna and went back up to our room to pack. Checking out we left our bags at reception so we could get in some last minute shopping before hopping on the train.

Also ice cream. 

Yep, we went to the Real Italian Ice Cream company again. This time I had a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of candy floss. Stephen had two scoops of amaretto. Delicousness.

After the ice cream was thoroughly licked up we went to the wool shop. Wool is a friendly shop stuffed full of all types of yarn. I couldn't find any yarns from about Bath so I took home two balls of Blue Faced Leicester spun in Diggle which is either is Greater Manchester or West Yorkshire depending on your views of these things. Either way I used to live very close to it.

Good Northern Wool

Next stop was bijoux beads which sells the most stunning range of beads. I used to shop with them online regularly when I was more into jewellery making. If you're looking for something beautiful and distinctive it's a good place to shop. The eye candy in their Bath store is worth a visit alone. I was inspired by a couple of their display pieces and bought the beads to make variations on them. 

Treasure

Of course we had to stop in Sally Lunns again. Downstairs you can buy buns to take home with you. We bought four. One was exceptionally useful for bribing Stephens Dad to give us a lift home from the train station. 

Eat Here!

But before we got on that train we two more stops. Our last meal was at the Green Rocket. Holy hell. If you can only eat at one place in Bath it's this one. The menu is all vegetarian with most of the options being vegan, plenty being gluten free and one was raw. They even have a charming children's menu. Each table had a small crop of micro vegetables or lettuce on it. Adorable.

Veg Tables

Stephen went for a Cornish Brie, English Asparagus and Spring Onion Tart. I went for the Egyptian Mezze. This really was the best meal of the week for me. Stunning, delicious, came with falafel. What more could you want. Those carrots nearly made me cry though. We had a spiralizer on the Wedding List, I wasn't upset about no body buying one for us until these delicious perfect carrots appeared on my plate. 

Stephen likes a good tart

Harvest Natural Foods was our last stop to pick up some nummies to have at home. We picked up some almonds to make milk and nut butters and some Tempeh for... tonight. All our shopping done we swung back to the hotel for our bags and hopped on a train. Exhaustedly happy after a very lovely honeymoon. 

Carrots my dreams are made of

Honeymoon In Bath: 19th May

This week is dedicated to writing all about our honeymoon in Bath, all of the cool places we saw and the fun places we ate. Saturday was full of food so Sunday needed to be a little more active...

We started the day by taking a swim in the hotel's spa. There is a reason I don't exercise before breakfast and that reason had me feeling wobbly after about half an hour. We went upstairs to the dining room and I helped myself to a large amount of the continental breakfast table until I started to feel human again.

Stopping to smell the trees

We hadn't really any plans for Sunday except to walk around the various, numerous, gorgeous parks of Bath. We started in the botanical gardens and wondered into town stopping at Real Italian Ice cream for our mid morning snack. 

Who can resist?

This time I went for a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of mint while Stephen took the conservative option of two scoops of mint. If you do go to Bath (and you eat dairy) I wholeheartedly recommend stopping for a scoop. 

Temptation floats on a river and comes with commentary

As we finished up our ice cream we saw this boat pulling in. We didn't think much of it at first and made our way to the next green space. But on the way we passed where the boat was about to set of and... why not. It was a good decision. 

One of these days we'll invest in a big ass lens 

The short trip up the river was relaxing (a big plus because at this point I was shattered) beautiful and came with a great view of a kingfisher. I've never seen a kingfisher in real life before so I was happy. Apparently there are a couple of nests around that spot.

Shop here, eat here

After we hopped off the boat it was time to search for lunch. We popped into Bloomsbury on New Bond Street, sellers of all manner of cute and quirky things. Upstairs they have an equally cute and quirky cafe that's decorated to look awesome and has a vegetarian menu. 

Cake For Lunch

Stephen ordered himself a slice of cake and I had a delicious salsa wrap. After filling ourselves up we went back downstairs to look at the merchandise. Out of all the things I wanted to buy I could only afford a set of vintage knitting needles, Gauge 6 and apple green.  

Mine had vegetables in it. I win!

A few doors down there is a tea shop. Stephen has started getting into teas recently (I can't stomach them. I really wish I could because drinking tea comes with all sorts of cool accessories that I want. Unfortunately my sense of taste hates me) so we went in to see if we could pick him up something special. After having a look around he came up with some loose leaf tea with vanilla. 

Tea for... not me

A couple more parks and we went back to the hotel. I had a nap. I was tired, okay. And while I slept peacefully Stephen had a bath full of Lush products. 

Afterwards we had a meal at Aqua. Aqua. There where several positives to eating at Aqua, in fact I think it was Stephen's favourite meal of the trip, but there was one big negative. Let's do good things first. 

Starter

Holy hell this place is stunning. The building is lovely, lavishly decorated. It has casual, relaxed feeling and incredibly friendly staff. The food is fabulous. I had the goats cheese starter and a pizza with just the right amount of sweet notes to it. Stephen had fish cakes to start and smoked haddock risotto. To finish we shared a gorgeously grown-up and brilliantly bitter chocolate torte. I would suggest you go visit except... 

Main

A number of the vegetarian dishes on the menu contain parmasan. So not vegetarian then. And if they get that wrong what about the other cheeses? In these situations I tend to just rule out anything that is obviously not vegetarian, pick something and hope for the best. Honestly that's all I can do, what with the anxiety and everything. I can't always order for myself when we eat our, never mind asking the staff about ingredients. Now that I'm safely home I've sent a message off to the company and we'll see what they say about it. I hope things change because I would really like to eat there again. 

torte

When we got back to the hotel Stephen asked if I wanted to walk in the garden. Then he started googleing the rules of croquet. So our walk turned into a mini match. I have no talent at croquet. And I noticed we were being watch by some people who had no doubt spent a fortune to eat in the Hotel's Restaurant. I admit though, it was fun.

So classy.

Honeymoon in Bath: 18th May

This week is dedicated to writing all about our honeymoon in Bath, all of the cool places we saw and the fun places we ate. After a relaxing Spa session the night before we woke up in out stunning room in The Bath Priory Hotel...

Up we get and down to the dining room for breakfast. Disappointingly there was no vegetarian option on the menu (well boiled egg but not the same) but they cheerfully made me eggs Benedict without the ham so all is well. All was more than well it was incredible. Like hold the chef at gunpoint and demand to know his hollandaise secrets incredible. Only we didn't have time... places to be and all.

Our first stop was totally my idea. As a former veg grower and total food nerd I like checking out farmers markets even when I can't go home with all the yummy looking chard, artisan bread and cheeses. Bath Farmers Market does offer plenty for the visitor though. 

Looks good, tastes better

We picked up some mango chilli sauce (I did, Stephen isn't a chilli chap). We stopped for a chat with a wonderful soap seller who showed us a picture of her garden full of the plants she uses and told us how she only uses collected rainwater. We left with a bar. I fell in love with these skirts. Stephen sampled an After Eight tart that may have come back with us.

the spread

Then we assembled our mid-morning snack. A macaroon each (mine was mango), a veggie scotch egg for Stephen and some sushi for me. Unfortunately the vegetarian scotch egg was horrible. The egg was wrapped in gooey undercooked stuffing. Everything else was thoroughly enjoyed in a park before we turned round and headed to The Herschel Museum of Astronomy.

"all I see is ceiling"

If you are in Bath this museum is well worth a visit. This is the house where William Herschel lived, played music, made telescopes and discovered Uranus. Uranus. The planet. Discovered. Garden. Go there. It was fascinating and fun to poke around the house where William and his equally awesome sister Caroline lived.

From there we went in the vague direction of lunch stopping first at this bookshop and then at this comic book shop. Both where incredibly friendly. I came out of the bookshop with a copy of How to Make Books by Esther K Smith and Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (have you read anything by Banana Yoshimoto? You should. Gorgeous does not describe it) Stephen finally got a copy of V for Vendetta from the comic book shop and I caught up on a couple of titles.

Book shop shenanigans

The Bath branch of Lush compelled us to stop. Having a hotel with a giant bath meant we had to pick up some bubble bars and bath bombs. I also indulged in a little leave in conditioner (R&B, it worked very well) to help with the chlorine hair.

The memory of those sundried tomatoes is killing me

After that meander we made it to The Real Italian Pizza Company which is next to the Real Italian Ice Cream Company of last night. We started with a fab bit of bruschetta between us. Mainwise Stephen had Cannelloni and I had pizza with rocket, tomato cheese and basil
. 

For Him

It was perfect pizza, stunningly perfect. The flavours were balanced well, the sauce was especially delicious and the crust just that perfect level of crisp. This is the pizza other pizzas aspire to. Or they should. Get on that pizzas.

For Her

After lunch we felt like heading back to the hotel and trying out the spa. Nothing is going to be as spectacular as hanging out in a naturally heated rooftop pool but it was just as relaxing. The hotel also has a sauna (as well as a steam room) which I can breath in. Yep. I'm thoroughly spoiled. 

When you are tempted to eat the garnish you know it's good food

That evening we went to The Mint Room for some stunning Indian food. Stunning. The restaurant is small and beautifully decorated giving a sense of relaxed luxury. We shared a Vegetarian Platter for two to start. The paneer tikka and onion bahjis being highlights for me. 

Too Hot!

For the mains Stephen had Chennai Sea Bass which he was disappointed by. The accompanying sauce was too spicy for his taste. I had the lovely Palak Kofta which, I admit guiltily, Stephen would have loved as much as I did. The Kofta had an incredible texture, completely crisp on the outside to give a satisfying bite and rich and creamy in the middle.  

Just Right

Desert cheered Stephen up. He had a chocolate moose and I went for the Gulab Jamun. We walked back to the hotel very full after a day of nothing but food. I head to the bath (and my bombs!) and Stephen took a stroll around the garden. 

That's Better

  

Honeymoon In Bath: 17th May

This week is dedicated to writing all about our honeymoon in Bath, all of the cool places we saw and the fun places we ate. Enjoy :)


The train pulled in about 10.  Early. With a check in time of 3. We needed something to do. The Roman Bath itself seemed like an obvious choice especially as Friday would be our only weekday. The Baths handle the crowds really well but I'd still rather not contend with the Saturday tourists if I can get away with it.

You can see the water bubble up, how cool is that

I've been fascinated with the Roman Baths since I was young, even though I didn't get to visit in person until I was 19. The Romans where always a great interest of nerdy little girl me and Minerva was my favourite goddess. Sulis Minerva (who the bath is dedicated to) intrigued me as an amalgamation of the British and the Roman, almost a metaphor for the time the Romans came, mixed and shaped our history.

This contains the only known fragment of the British Celtic language

Looking at the artefacts is always amazing, the curse tablets being a particular favourite, but what is special about Bath is the atmosphere. The spring has been recognised as a special place since before the Romans came. The building has been shaped by Roman hands (and feet) but hasn't stood still with time, being changed, used (and yes, sometimes abused) by each generation. History didn't stop here but it's on display here. It's incredible.

Around the corner from the Roman Baths is Sally Lunns. One of the oldest houses in Bath and now a bakery and café and (so they say) the only place in the world to get your mitts on Sally Lunns buns. Huguenot baker Sally Lunns developed her bun back in the good old Georgian times (well they must have been good for someone, as a working class woman I don't think they would have been good for me...) and now the recipe is passed on with the deeds of the house.

Bigger buns than mine

I was a bit sceptical about eating there. Stephen really wanted to try the buns but I was worried it was just typical tourist stuff. Which it kind of is but it's also really well done, the staff are efficient and really friendly and the dining room we sat in was hilariously slanted (that's history for you!) Mostly though what makes it different is the bun. The bun. The bun certainly lives up to the hype. Light and delicious with a hint of sweetness. Also it's bloody huge.

A little (lot) more walking saw us at the hotel. Bath Priory is a small hotel with a spa and rather fancy restaurant. Our room wasn't ready when we arrived so we wandered around the garden for a while. The gardens are stunning and more will be written on them later. The head gardener has a Chelsea medal. All in all the place is posh. And there I was in my knee high boots. Nevertheless we were allowed to check in and shown to our room.

A small town could be built on that bed

We were upgraded. The room was stunning, covered in rose petals and they left us a card for our wedding. Awww.

But this was no time to linger. We had plans. Back into the city we went and straight to the spa. And unfortunately we had to leave our cameras behind. Thermae Bath Spa has two pools fed by the city's springs. One is on the roof. This is the type of place you know you are going to enjoy before you visit. The history nerd in me was happy with the idea that I was continuing in a tradition going back to Roman times and swimming pool on the roof, what part of me wouldn't love that?

Even the swimming pool that wasn't on the roof was spectacular but the swimming pool that was on the roof was bloody spectacular. The view, the bubbles, the relaxed floating, it was wonderful. We also tried the scented steam rooms which didn't mix well with my asthma. The huge ass waterfall shower goes well with everything.

Included in our entry was a dish from the grazing menu. The main vegetarian option on the menu was a particularly uninspired Wild Mushroom Risotto. It wasn't great. The mushrooms were cooked unevenly. The small ones were practically mush and the larger ones raw in the centre. It could have done with much more of the tomato sauce to cook through the stodge. I wouldn't have eaten here if it didn't come with the package but it did and it wasn't inedible so why not eat it and go back to the pool.

After our time was up we started a Bath tradition. We walked past Real Italian Ice Cream and popped in. I had a scoop of mango and a scoop of kiwi, Stephen had milk cream. It was so delicious we returned again and again.

So that was our first day in Bath. Relaxation, ice cream and history.

The Wedding Post

So last Sunday, on our 5th anniversary  Stephen and I got married. Because there is so much I could write about it, I'm just going to limit myself to a run down of awesome local businesses that provides stuff for the wedding and the crafty bits I made myself. I'm almost certainly forgetting something, I'll try to edit as I remember them.

We got married at Kent's Cavern in Torquay. It was amazing. Getting married in a cave is the best thing ever. All of the staff are capital-L Lovely and they put out vegetarian nibbles for our drinks reception.

That cardigan is my after ceremony cardigan. With a big 'Just Married' design I felted across the back.

My amazingly kick ass boots came from Vegetarian Shoes. I just can't stop wearing them. So did Stephen's come to think of it. We're both big fans.

The guest book is a sketch book I covered with fabric. I'd embroidered a red tie and red dress on the fabric before hand.

Lunch for the wedding party was a portion of chips from Drake's in Babbacombe. Delicious. Especially after such an early start.

The card box was also hand made. After people insisted I have one.

In the evening a huge, beautiful and delicious buffet was put on by Occombe Cafe. Mostly vegetarian food with some salmon for Stephen.

Each of our guests went home with a chocolate that we had specially made by Cockington Chocolate Company.  I just loved them.

Of course big thanks to our family and friends. It was a real community effort to get our relationship to the legally binding stage. At least to get it there smoothly, and with a card box. Special thanks to Tom, for taking all the photos I've used in this post.