Best Ever Birthday Weekend!

The weekend before my birthday my two best friends, Sophie and Abbie, came up to Newcastle. On the Saturday we went out for lunch at Quay Ingredient, a place which I had heard about but never been to. It's a tiny cafe with only a few tables so we had to wait a while but it was worth it! 

During the weekend you can only order from their breakfast menu but there was still plenty to choose from. I treated myself to a hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows and then chocolate and cinnamon pancakes which were delicious!  I definitely want to go back during the week to sample some things from their lunch menu.

During the day we went around the shops and then in the evening I had booked a table at The Botanist for us and my two flatmates. The presentation of all our meals was really interesting, I got the fish and chips which were so good and came in a little wooden tray thing. Our first round of drinks was served to us after our food arrived which was a bit annoying. I got the same two cocktails as the last time I went, the Strawberry Bellini and The Botanist, mmmm! 

For pudding we all got the strawberry and marshmallow hanging kebabs which, although they were extremely delicious, were also extremely over-priced. From The Botanist we then moved onto Lola Jeans and Jalou for some more cocktails and then Bijoux.

On Sunday I took Abbie and Sophie across to The Baltic where we saw some very strange 'art' and then went to the top to see the views across Newcastle. We then had lunch in the Baltic Kitchen. I had a chickeny Asiany salady thingy! Another very delicious meal! 

I had such a wonderful weekend with all of my best friends and it was a great way to celebrate my 20th birthday!

 Quay Ingredient

 The Botanist

The Botanist

Lola Jeans, The Botanist and Bijoux

View from The Baltic

On the Millennium Bridge

The Baltic Kitchen

 A bit windswept but ahh well!

Weekend in Huddersfield

Last weekend I went with my friend Abbie to Huddersfield where we met up with Sophie who is at Huddersfield University. It was so lovely to see them both again and despite the horrible weather we had a great time!

We started off with lunch at Lloyd's Bar. We were undercharged so I only had to pay £4 for a big toastie, chips and a drink; a good start to the weekend! We then walked around the shops, the only things I bought were some fairy lights from Primark and some pick and mix sweets on the market.

I was raining really heavily so we headed to Espresso Corner. I had heard from Sophie that they do the best hot chocolate. She was not lying, they are so good! I definitely recommend this place. Since we didn't fancy walking around in the rain we stayed in the cafe for quite a while browsing their good selection of magazines.

We then went to The Picturehouse, an American Bar and Grill. I loved the design of the interiors. There were old cinema seats, black and white movie photos and a glass of popcorn while we were waiting for our food. I had the Chicken Run burger which was so good. Then for dessert we all shared Cookie Monster which is described as 'a cookie dough base topped with Oreos, homemade brownie mix, served with ice cream.' Basically absolute heaven!! 

After tea Abbie got the train home and me and Sophie picked up a couple of bottles of wine for an evening in. The next day Sophie and I had a lazy morning and then went to the cinema to go see Cinderella (review coming soon!)

I then got the train back home to York. It was so good to see my best friends again and to have some time off from doing work.

Hot chocolate in Espresso Corner

Browsing the fashion mags

 In The Picturehouse

 Chicken run burger

Cookie Monster (the photo doesn't do it justice)

Selfie time!!

What did you get up to at the weekend?

Food and Cocktails in York

I had a week off from Uni last week so I went back home to York. While there I met up with my two best friends Abbie and Sophie and we went out for a meal and cocktails to celebrate Sophie's 20th birthday. 

We started of at Bills, a restaurant along Coney Street in the center of York. It was my first time to go but I had been wanting to go for a while. I love the decor inside; chandeliers, candles, open ceiling, chalkboards and it's split into different areas which makes it feel more intimate. The staff were all so polite (and good looking!) The food was delicious. I had marinated chicken skewers served with cous cous and pitta bread, the other two both had a halloumi and hummus burger which they both said was great. For pudding we all had warm mini cinnamon doughnuts with fresh strawberries and chocolate sauce which, oh my god, I can so recommend!

The atmosphere was so nice in Bills that we stayed there for two hours. After that we moved on to The Biltmore, another place which I have been really wanting to go to for a while. The Biltmore is a restaurant upstairs and a bar downstairs. They have a great choice of cocktails, they are expensive though. Since going I have read that they offer a student discount which I wish we had known previously. I had the Singapore Sling which was amazingly good.

After The Biltmore we went around the corner to BoraBora, a very different type of bar but just as good! I had a great night, it was lovely to see my friends again and all three places I would definitely go back to.

Marinated chicken skewers

Halloumi and hummus burger

Warm mini cinnamon doughnuts

Cocktails at The Biltmore

Have you been wanting to try any new restaurants or bars?

Travel Tuesday: Holland Park

When I was in London with my mum, we dropped into Holland Park in Chelsea. All of the gardens are really beautiful but for me the main attraction was the Kyoto Garden because before I started University I spent a year living in Japan. The garden was designed in 1992 to celebrate the Japan festival in London. It was so nice walking around the Kyoto garden, like a slice of Japan in London.

 

Next to the Kyoto Garden is a Fukushim Garden which was made in 2012 to commemorate the gratitude of the Japanese people to British people for their support after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. If you ever go to Holland Park make sure you find the Kyoto Garden and Fukushima Garden, they're really beautiful and its cheaper than a flight to Japan! 

Have you ever been to Holland Park?

Linking up with Travel Tuesday

Northumberland: Derwent Resevoir and Blanchland

I'm back again! It's been over a month since I last blogged, been a bit busy with uni, but now it's the christmas holidays so hopefully I'll get back to blogging more regularly. Anyway, without further ado here are some photos from my family trip to Northumberland in October.

On the first day we went for a walk around part of Derwent Resevoir which was really nice. Then on the second day we went to Blanchland, a small picturesque village seeped in history. Many of the buildings are built with stones from the remains of Blanchland Abbey which got it's name due the French canons who lived at the Abbey and wore white habits.

There are many great scenic walks around Blanchland, we kept on walking in and out of County Durham and Northumberland because the village is so close the border of both counties. At the end of our walk we popped in to The Lord Crewe Arms, a pub and hotel dating back to the 12th century. If you find yourself in this area of County Durham/ Northumberland then you must go and get a drink from their amazing medieval Crypt Bar.

We may have been talking to the sheep to try and get them to look at the camera...

Between two counties

 

Do you like going for country walks when you go on holiday?

Linking up with the Bring Your Own Post linkup