Yeah, I know – I said we were going to do H after I. We had the idea for H ages ago, but never got round to doing it. But we did it last weekend, at long last, so here we are. Where’s the spontaneity in life if you can’t reorder the letters of the alphabet once in a while??
We didn’t go far to go to our hotel – just 40 minutes down the road, which prompted some bemused looks from the reception staff. But going a long way away was never part of the plan. It was just about getting out of the house. We both love our house, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard to live in sometimes. It gets depressing looking at the mess of a back garden we’ve been unable to fix because of the shoddy weather this summer. And I think you go stir crazy looking at the same four walls, no matter how nice those walls are.
So, because we can’t afford to go anywhere abroad this year, we decided to do Hotel Holidays a few times, whenever we have a bit of spare cash – a good month for the Boyfriend with the Fire Service – or when we desperately need it. And believe me, we both desperately needed it last weekend.
It was a spa hotel, hence the ‘healthy’ part of the date, so we got straight down to enjoying a ‘Back to Business Back Massage’ then spent a lot of time in the spa facilities, swimming, enjoying the relaxation rooms. Disappointingly, there wasn’t a jacuzzi, but I did enjoy some time in the sauna, and the warmth of the swimming pool room, where I could relax comfortably on a deck chair and read while the Boyfriend swam.
We spent some time in the gym (which was a little sweaty before you even got started on the treadmill, but I managed to work quite hard) then went back to our room for a chill out before heading down for the three course meal that came as part of the deal.
It was a bit of a rushed night for the staff – they had two hen parties and a 50th birthday party to cater for, and our food was a little late because of it, but I really didn’t mind. It gave us a chance to have a chat and to really spend time with each other, with no distractions. Sometimes when you’re catching an hour together in front of the television before going to bed it can be easy to not actually talk to each other for days on end. It was nice to relearn the art of conversation and to remember that we actually quite like talking to each other sometimes!
The food was delicious.
That’s twice fried Haloumi, by the way, not hash browns as the Boyfriend first thought. It was indulgent, and not really in keeping with the healthy aspect of the holiday, but delicious. And I was so stuffed afterwards, it was a good job we were kept waiting a little while before our next course!
We both picked the stuffed aubergine main course, and loved it so much that we tried cooking it again at home the other day. I didn’t achieve quite the flavours of the restaurant version, but it was a fair attempt, and I think will become a favourite in our cooking repertoire.
And the pudding was so good, we forgot to take photos until after it was eaten!!
Because we had so many delays on getting our food, they paid for our drinks for us, which was a nice gesture.
We went back to the room, got annoyed at Million Pound Drop, then, like the middle aged people we are at heart, went to bed.
Not exactly the height of excitement – but I was so relaxed, which is what we set out to achieve. Shame that it’s a week later now, and I already feel like I need another!!
(It was really good, and only 77p on Amazon, so check it out!) Not bad going given how big and heavy both Outcast Blade and Blackout were.
