We manage to pack so much into the 2 week-long festive break, but at the same time it was really relaxing. Most of it was spent catching up with friends, seeing the sights and indulging in some fantastic food and drink.
First stop was Bristol to stay with some good friends and their crazy, lovable cat called Simba. First night we went to their local to try some proper cloudy Somerset Cider. It was far too strong for me but Hubby, bless his big cotton socks, enjoyed a few pints of it and it sent him totally wappy. I think I may have temporarily disowned him on the way home after I spotted him wearing a traffic cone on his head. Previous years when we have gone for New Years we've all struggled to stay awake (we're becoming lightweights!), so this year made a conscious effort to stay awake...and that we certainly did. On NYE we dined on delicious Beef Wellingtonfollowed by a delicious cheese board and sampled various Ports while watching the Sky Lanterns people had set off throughout the village to bring in the New Year.
Finally on the 2nd we headed out to Brean Down to the south of Weston-Super-Mare (as shown in picture above). After a short climb to the top, in which my legs were quite adamant they weren't going to do, the view was spectacular, if a bit windy and cold. We must have spent an hour or so at the top admiring the views. The climb certainly dusted off some cobwebs.
This evening, after a long journey north trying to avoid the chaos of the M6 we eventually returned to our very cold cottage, the thermometer in the kitchen read 7oc...brrrrr. I think we'll be having a constant fire burning for the next 24 hours to warm the cottage back through. Thank goodness for hot water bottles!
I'm not usually a resolutions fan, but for this year I would like to:
* Acquire better knife skills, ask me to finely chop something...you can forget it.
* Eat at a famous restaurant (Hubby has sorted this )
* Also keep an eye out for River Shed HQ...Hubby's self-entitled project.
So with 305 items on Google Reader and Delicious, Fresh & Jamie Magazine to catch up on I bid you a great 2009 and I hope it is a fantastic foodie year.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Here's to 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Glad you had a good new year. Somerset Cider has a lot to answer for!!!
ReplyDeleteBeef wellington recipe looks good. I tried it for the first time a couple of months ago - it is the ideal celebration dish, and as you say, remarkably easy - a great combo.....
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
I'm glad I'm not the only one with terrible knife skills!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Jules!
To help with improving your knife skills, there's a great new book out by Chad Ward, called An Edge in the Kitchen. It taught me a great deal about choosing and using a kitchen knife and keeping it sharp.
ReplyDeleteGlad to have discovered your blog!
Beth - I think I may ban Hubby from Somerset Cider!
ReplyDeleteJames - I agree Beef Wellington is such a fantastic celebration dish.
Nic - thank goodness I'm not alone!
Larbo - I'll have to check that book out. Thank you for popping by.
Happy 2009 everyone!