Park Plaza Suites Hotel

After a forty minute taxi drive to Marbella (careful you do not leave your mobile phone in the taxi - you will not get it back) we arrived at the Park Plaza Suites Hotel in Puerto Banus a hotel/apartments though the hotel generally ranks as fairly expensive between 160.00 to 250.00 per night, there was ten of us split between two very large apartments that has several rooms in each. The price was lowered considerable by a special deal that worked out for three nights at £160.00 each.

Walkway to Park Plaza

Our apartment at the Plaza Suites in Marbella was fairly clean and spacious, it included large lounge and balcony, fully equipped kitchen, three bathrooms, and a bar (not fully stocked). If you are lucky enough to face the beach as I did then the view is great, my room overlooked the bay with pristine sandy beaches with palm trees

view from Park Plaza

The Park Plaza Suites address is:

Marítimo de Benabolá,
29660 Puerto Banús,
Marbella,
Tel: +34 952 909000

Jacks Restaurant, Puerto Banus

With a friend I decided to take a walk on the Puerto Banus marina and search for something to eat - we were a bit early as restaurants had not quite opened for dinner but did managed to find an American chain restaurant Jacks located approx half way down the Front Line of the Marina.

Jacks restaurant in Marbella serves typical American mainstream food and is considered the poor man’s TGI Friday - while we were not overtly impressed with Jacks it was alright and as they say - ‘any port in a storm’ - we found it better than TGI Friday - at least better than the one located in Bournemouth - maybe a combination of being hungry and the weather being so good added to this belief.

We ordered randomly from the menu and had a plate of starters to share that consisted of onion rings, breaded cheese sticks, and ribs.

For our main course we had a bowl of chili and I had the cheeseburger and give it credit where its due was not too bad. I am told that the chilli was fairly good - and by all accounts looked the part.

Tibu Nightclub, Marbella

In the evening we had the VIP area booked at Club Tibu which boasts the largest outside terrace in Marbella. Unfortunately Tibu is a bit of a blur in my memory for me, but what I do remember was good. The music is an eclectic fusion of upbeat dance and chilled styled Ibiza circa late 90’s.

Our seating was located at the far end of the nightclub, I am not sure if it was the warmth of the evening air or the 17 year old bottle of Ballantine’s Scotch I was busy consuming in that I suddenly realized there was no roof and I was actually on the terrace, it’s interesting as your surrounded by walls that give the appearance you are in a nightclub and looking up at a black ceiling - until you notice a twinkling star and just as your blaming it on the scotch you suddenly feel a faint evening breeze - pretty neat. There is plenty to see at the club ranging from Palm trees to fountains and lots of hideaway areas for privacy - well recommended for a good evening out.

Marbella beach

The next day after a quick breakfast at Alexandro’s located right around the corner from the Plaza suites - you will get a good cappuccino and Eggs Benedict there - we headed for the beach which is just a few steps from the front door of the Plaza Suites. This is what Marbella is truly known for its pristine sandy beaches - and blue warm sea. We spent the whole day at the beach and rented a super large King size rubber mattress that you can lounge on while staff serve you drinks there.

morning view Marbella

beach scene, Puerto Banus

Marbella

At one time during the 70’s and into the mid 80’s Puerta Banus, Marbella was a playground for the rich and famous - this has all changed now and it is more frequented by well heeled vacationers from all over Europe. It lacks the romanticism and the villa architecture of Cannes, the Cote d’azur, Saint Tropez and other similar European destinations - the marina on Puerto Banus is still used to moor boats and super Yachts owned by the world’s wealthiest individuals.

Dolce & Gabbana Marbella

Strolling along the Marina Front line you will find the usual cheap souvenir shops mixed in with high end fashion boutiques such as Dolce & Gabbana, Gianfranco Free, Jimmy Choo, and Gucci.

Further back in Marbella itself there are plenty of shops and restaurants including the El Cortes Ingles which boast three large floors that near enough everything can be purchased from clothing to household goods.

In recent years Marbella has been struck by the invasion of the chain restaurant which I am told has pushed out of business some of the more smaller Spanish cafes and restaurants only to be replaced with MacDonald’s, Burger King, Tony Roma’s and other similar junk food chains.

Yacht moored in Marbella

Marbella itself also has a high percent of prostitution with many of its girls coming from Eastern Europe and Brazil to work - apparently being legal in that part of Spain.

Lebanese food at Marrush

Marrush Restaurant, Puerto Banus

I was lucky enough to find the Marrush Lebanese restaurant - in which I dined there twice. There are a few requirements that make a good meal - the food, atmosphere, wine menu, and dinner companion. While the Marrush scored high on reasonable priced good food, the wine menu was limited, I was fortunate enough to be joined by Raphael Beckett an adventurer of sorts who kept the conversation flowing with stories how his candle factory burnt down along with the neighbours 1200 Marijuana plants, how some shady carpet merchants tried to drug him India while he beat a hasty retreat through a crowded market that broke into pandemonium, this all made for vibrant conversation and a good feast.

The Marrush also offers outdoor seating witha pleasant small-town atmosphere, we ordered a number of dishes (as one should when eating Middle Eastern food) that included sambusek, hummus, fattush, tabuleh, cheese arayes, and Mshawi (nafta, chicken, and lamb cubes).

We were pleasantly pleased with everything we ate and the grilled lamb and chicken were subtly spiced with local herbs that perfectly tender.

I would recommend this restaurant for value for money in a city that is in some cases bordering on the ridiculously overpriced. We were told that this summer had been quite hard economically as it had the lowest number of tourist and the ones who did come were spending less, the local business owners blamed it on the credit crunch, I think a combination of both the credit crunch and the high prices of Marbella has put many off from spending money on restaurants and bars that overcharge n the belief that it will attract the wealthy back to Marbella. One such place we went is Pangaea Sky Lounge in Puerto Banus, it was empty and besides one couple we were the only group of people there. The drinks were highly overpriced and the staff seemed sullen - it would not have been too bad if there was some energy to the venue, it lacked this and we soon left.

Dinner at Marrush, Marbella

As mentioned previously Marbella is not quite the party capital it once was - but sure it’s a nice vacation spot and well recommended for a holiday, nestled between mountains it is beautiful, the sea and beaches make up for the price easily, the weather is predominately warm all year round except for a short sporadic rainy season, and the nightlife is wel worth checking out if you take the time to find the right places.

Lookout for Georgia while you are on the beach she is usually located in one of the large Tiki huts she’ll give a great massage and put your sun lotion on for you. Also check out her anti aging clinic in Neuva Alcantara, San Pedro a five minute taxi ride from Marbella.

Marrush is located at:

Complejo Cine Gran Marbella
Puerto Banús
Tel.: + 34 952 814 819

We were also told that Puerto Banus is a well known destination for stag and hen parties, this was quite evident in the nightclubs, bars and beaches - it was a case of out-of-country and out-of-sight which gave full permission for a weekend of non-stop hedonism - we saw a group of woman riding a giant inflatable phallus on the waves - a group of guys walked around with women’s high heels and thongs, and on a friday there were many casualties from the UK booze culture - the area had the same effect on the Romans - maybe it’s something in the water…

Located within a short drive to where I live, and a five minute plus walk to the beach, it makes the ideal location for lunch, a drink, and a place to sit and do some work with the added free WiFi. In the summer months Urban Beach has outdoor seating which makes it very popular with the locals and others from further afield. I have never stayed at the hotel itself so I could not comment on the rooms, but the food is great and a mix of European, Mediterranean, and Tex Mex thrown in for good measure.

After a call today from a friend David who invited me for lunch we decided on the Urban Beach and headed for Boscombe where it is located.

I ordered the Caesar Salad with Chicken breast and David had their open Focaccia sandwich with Parma Ham. We ordered with it a fresh squeezed juice from their Juice bar, I had Carrot and Orange, while David a Spicy Virgin Mary. A slight debate broke out between David, myself and the lovely waitress Eszter about what a non-alcohol Blood Mary is actually named. I thought it was a Virgin Bloody Mary, I am now informed it is simply a Virgin Mary.

We had a brief chat with Mark our host and the owner of the Urban Beach who always appears to be greeting familiar customers, this makes a good restaurant owner the appreciation that customers do return.

I would thoroughly recommend the Urban Beach to any one in Bournemouth or is intending to visit, wear a silly hat and I’ll identify you and you can buy me a drink

Urban Beach Hotel & Bistro
23 Argyll Road
Bournemouth.
BH5 1EB

On the way to Shaftesbury I saw signs for the Larmer Tree Gardens and decided to investigate. The gardens takes its name from a landmark tree (apparently a Wych-elm) that had stood on the site in the 10th century. “The origin of the word ‘Larmer’ is so ancient that it can only be guessed at” Originally spelt Lavermere, ‘Mere’ would certainly mean a boundary, while ‘Laver’ might have come from the Anglo-Saxon ‘Laur’ perhaps meaning Laurel. King John (1189-1216) hunted in the area many times and tradition states he met with huntsmen under the branches of the Larmer Tree.

Unfortunately there is no more Larmer tree but some splendid gardens now take its place. The brochure told us that in 1880, General Lane Fox inherited the Rushmore Estate, a condition of the will that he change his name to Pitt Rivers. With his keen interest in archeology he was apparently the perfect choice to inherit the vast area. General Pitt Rivers set about building the gardens that are still there and preserved to this day.

No trip to Lulworth Cove is complete without a visit to see Chris Stone (yes that is his name and yes he paints stones) and his marvelous and intricate painting of shells and stones.

Dinner at the Scott Arms

A very old letter box dating back to King George V of England, it’s generally hard to find these and I have only seen one other GR post box or wall box as they are sometimes called.

And a old fashioned telephone box. One of the nice things about visiting rural Drrset you find a lot of old treasures, nothing much changes in these areas.

A couple of days later back in Bournemouth - The Red Arrows did their anual air display which is always a big crowd pleaser.

The following day I was in London for a meeting. London is one of the cities that is treacherous to drive around and best if you park the car and then take the Metro. I parked in Richmond and took the trip into London via tube train. On the way home I stopped for some thing to eat at one of my favourite restaurants.

Places to Eat
Saffron is a Persian restaurant located in the heart of Richmond, London. If you want to try authentic Persian food this is the place to go. One of the drawbacks of eating at Saffron is the huge choice of food, everything on the menu is delectable and one is immediately spoilt for choice.

Saffron Persian Cuisine
I decided to start with vine leaves (Dolmeh) stuffed with rice and aromatic herbs. The food arrived and did not have that refrigerated taste that comes with a lot of stuffed vine leaves, everything tasted fresh.

For my main course I ordered Momtaz with Polow Rice. Momtaz is a skewer of grilled chicken with lemon juice and a skewer of koobideh which is mince lamb kebabb with herbs. The rice was Pari rice that ahd been cooked with Zereshk (red barberries). With the meal they served Persian bread and yogurt.

This dish is really tasty and if you’re in Richmond I highly recommend you stop in at Saffron.

Saffron Persian Cuisine
5 The Square
Richmond
Surrey TW9 1DT

Frankie and Benny’s
Back in Bournemouth I locked myself away for a couple of days and got down to some serious work. A friend came over to visit and suggested we go to Frankie and Benny’s to get a pizza. When we arrived there was a drunk passed out in front of the restaurant.

I didn’t really want to go there anyhow as to be quite honest the food is not that good anyway, they have dressed the restaurant up a little and tried to make it one of those exciting chains, somehow it doesn’t quite pull-off. We decided instead to get a take-away at Nandos instead which is next door. The chicken at Nandos is very delicious albeit the menu gets a little boring after a while. Only so much chicken you can actually take.

Well it’s 2006; men are looking after themselves a lot better in this day and age. Once the domain of women, facials are now becoming widely accepted amongst men as a quick boost and spring clean to the face. I stopped in at Re-Hab where the delightful Vicky Morrall gave me a good facial that included a full face scrub, and a head massage that sent me into far away somewhere I care not to mention

Anyone interested in adding a little glow to their features would benefit from this place.

Since writing this I have heard it has closed down.

I heard about this combination several months ago and could hardly wait until it hit the shores of the UK. Now that it has I made it a high priority to get the Nike+ and iPod Nano combination.

First thing was to purchase the new ‘re-engineered & re-mastered’ iPod Nano this time opting for 2GB (equalling 500 songs). Unfortunately, I could not find one in black and decided for silver instead. The black ones are only in a higher 8GB which was not what I wanted.

Second on the list was to get the combination of shoes which are Nike+ Air Zoom Moire and receiver. This proved harder than what it should be and was very frustrating. I went to my local JJB Sports Store to find them, their assistants told me Nike+ was not available, I then tried JD Sports with the same reply. On the JD Sports site it stated it was available. I tried other places, John Lewis store in Southampton and was told they were not getting them there, I called Niketown in London and the store manager told me they were sold out and do not know if they will be back any time soon.

Next stop the online Apple iPod accessory store to see if I could get the iPod Sports Kit. This time I managed to get the receiver, chip and purchase a pair of sporty durable headphones for jogging that by all appearances will stay in my ears without falling off.

Another try for the Nike+ Air Zoom Moire’s and still no luck, now I went from impatient to fed-up, do they not want anyone to have the Nike+ Air Zoom. There is one option left open to me and that is to go to Nike ID and design my own pair which is quite neat but the wait could between 4 and 6 weeks. I want them now and have designed my own pair on their site which I have pictured below:

I did not order them yet as I wanted to call Nike and make one last ditch attempt to get myself a pair of Nike+ Air Zoom Moire’s NOW! I don’t really care about the personalization, except that you can choose the individual size of each foot which is quite neat considering that most people have one foot slightly bigger than the other.

How it Works:
Once you have the full Nike+ gear (if you ever can find it), then you upload your favourite running music onto your iPod Nano (in my case deep house and electro for the fast run and rock for the slow down pace). You sign up as a member on the Nike+ ‘Tune Your Run’ website and set your goals and challenges, you can even compete against others online. You then go for your run where a computerized voice will guide you and encourage the run, tell you have far you have jogged and what is left of a run, down to time and distance, this information you enter into your online account to track your progress.

This is a great idea and I was ‘chomping at the bit’ to try it (Yes, I am a sucker for technology).

Nike Website
The interactive website is well worth checking out along with the online demos/ads for the Nike+ product. Nike has long experience in building interactive sites and over the years has greatly improved mainly due to consumer feedback. This should be a lesson to webmasters that provide services to the business sector; the importance of customer feedback is tantamount to the overall success of a website. The Nike website is not just engaging but offers a full interactive experience based around the specific subject matter it provides.

Found Them
I gave Niketown in London one more try and they had a pair of silver in my size. I drove to London (100 miles) to purchase them as they don’t do mail-order. Luck would have it when I got there I told their customer service about my plight and they turned their stockroom upside down and found me what must be the last pair of Nike Air Zoom+ Moire in black and in my size, they were as surprised as I was. An expensive trip but worth it.

The Nike+ Run
I tried this out for the first time today, donned my running shorts and top, placed the receiver in the shoe and set it up for a basic 1 mile run.

I drove out to the New Forest and found a nice place to start my run:

The shoes and chip work perfectly, I ran for a mile and tested the shoes and it all worked really well. When I got back I uploaded the data to the Nike site which is able to track my progress. I have opted for burning calories and increasing my pace.

Summer Barbeque

A local hotel that is situated in walking distance to us, put on their annual summer barbeque. We went last year which was quite fun Summer Barbeque. Unfortunately this year, the photos did not come out very
well and I have only a couple of the building which are below. Nevertheless the food was excellent and the company was pleasant, which is an important element of a good barbeque.

The Langtry Manor Hotel was originally built by King Edward VII for his mistress the actress Lillie Langtry. His original suite is still there with four poster bed and the full works. Also his wife’s separate quarters and his mistress room. The current owners have maintained it well and is now a luxury hotel with modern conveniences.

They have their BBQ each year for regular customers, friends and members of their dining club.

New Forest Walk
After the barbeque we decided on driving to the New Forest an area named Clay Hill. We just wnated to get away and walk for a while. The New Forest is a beautiful area and stretches throough Hampshire and parts of Dorset and is dotted with a lot of small towns, villages and hamlets.

The New Forest is a nice walk and very are literally hundreds of areas to explore. I keep meaning to go there over a period of time and record it more thoroughly.

One of the advantages of living in Bournemouth on the South Coast of England is that everything is in close proximity. For example we are in a 5 minute walk to what are considered the UK’s most beautiful beaches, 15 minutes away from the New Forest and a couple of hours away from London. We got the best of all worlds except for the weather.

The Boathouse Christchurch
On the way home we stopped at the Boathouse Restaurant in Christchurch. I have been going there for a few years now and I have to admit they serve up one of the best breakfast in the Bournemouth area. Unfortunately their evening menu has now become a little stale. It never seems to change and is very uninspiring. The fish dishes are always very good, but the non-fish dishes are boring to say the least. We have now gone off the place (except for breakfast of course). I was really hoping that they would make some radical changes to their menu. It is such a nice place to be, you can sit outside as it overlooks Christchurch Marina.

I had Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner and it was really bland, you could taste none of the herbs (if there was any) and the dish was served with regular cheese on it, no Parmigianino and we were not asked if we wanted cheese, they assumed. My partner had Cheesy Garlic Bread which was not too bad at all. It’s hard to mess up garlic bread and I would have been surprised if they did. Now for the good part:

All is not lost though, the Boathouse Restaurant do one a fantastic dessert namely the Hot Fudge Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce. It is very hard to beat it.

I would definitely recommend the Boathouse in Christchurch, Dorset for coffee and dessert. As for the main course there are far better places.

Easwell Farm Camping Site

After finding our way to the camping ground named Easwell Farm we soon set up camp. After many years of camping I am firmly at the conclusion – it is who you go with, that makes the difference of whether it will be an enjoyable experience. This year I went with my friends Lynn, Tara, David and their family. It was fun, they have a big family whom individual members had invited friends, this leads to a military style operation in organizing logistics and travel. We were glad to help out where we could under these circumstances.

Feeding time has to be done in shifts with the smallest of kids being fed first then the next age group up and finally adults.

As mentioned above, it really makes the difference in enjoyment for who you camp with and not so much where you are camping, though that does play a part in it, of course. I don’t have many pleasant things to say about Easwell Farm Camping site. In my opinion it is an over-priced (£25.00 per night per pitch) glorified trailer park. There is nothing there that is endearing about this place and quite frankly I would not have stayed there if it was not for friends of friends booking.

The facilities at Easwell Camping site leave a lot to be desired this includes monitoring of toilets for cleanliness. Several times we found the camp site to have really nasty toilets which were clearly not cleaned on a regular enough basis considering the amount of campers. The one restaurant where you could get coffee and something to eat opened at erratic times. There was no consistency to the restaurant. We asked what time they opened and were told by the owner at 9am in the morning. Not once did we find him open before 10 am and sometimes 10.30am. This is annoying when you are looking for early morning breakfast or coffee. We had to walk to Twitchum the ‘same company owned camping site’ further up the road. Twitchum seems a little better, but again it is nothing more that a glorified trailer park that carries the same mentality. At least it has a consistent store and restaurant where you could get your basics such as bread coffee and some cooked food. The staff at Twitchum are also friendlier and quite helpful.

Woolacombe Beach

The beach at Woolacombe Bay is beautiful there is no doubt about it. It is one of the widest beaches I have seen in the UK and is loved by holiday makers and surfers alike. Being so wide has its advantages – meaning you are not crowded next to hundreds of other sunbathers. The water is beautiful and our friends’ kids enjoyed body-boarding on the waves that were coming in.

Sunset at Woolacombe

It is always hard to describe in words a beautiful sunset and I am not going to try now. The images below will speak for themselves.

We spent a few evenings at Woolacombe watching the sun go down. It truly is beautiful and displayed some lovely red and orange colours.

Where to Eat

Most of our eating was done at the campsite over the grill. You can’t beat a real campsite meal, now and again; we opted for breakfast or dinner elsewhere.

Normies Ice Cream Parlour

One of the more colourful places we stopped by was Normies Ice Cream Parlour and Coffee Shop. It had the ‘almost feel’ of a original American Ice Cream Parlour with a bright modern edge to it.

Normies serves some lovely ice cream with Belgium waffles and is located within walking distance to the main beach front in Woolacombe.

We had a varying mix of desserts that included waffles, Knickerbocker Glory and a Banana Split. This is one dessert café I would recommend to anyone with a sweet tooth.

Crescent Foods – Mortehoe

We stopped at Crescent Foods, a small convenience store that serves cream tea and breakfast. Our first trip there was for a traditional Devonshire cream tea that was quite delicious. It was nothing outstanding but it did the job. We decided on going back the next morning for a full English breakfast.

Crescent Foods is situated opposite a pub the Chichester Arms and is open 9am to 5pm.

Mortehoe is an old village where not much has changed. Unfortunately I had only so many images left I could take with my camera, and captured just a few instead. First one of a road sign that cautions for the capacity of passenger carrying vehicles or locomotives. I found it quite interesting.

The other is an old post office box that is still in use and dates back to the days of King George. Instead of ER (Elizabeth Reigns) as the inscription it had GR which means: ‘George Reigns’ [GR].

We wanted to eat at the Pack of Cards in the village of Coombe Martin. Unfortunately there had been a road accident nearby and the police had put up a diversion which took us 30 minutes out of our way. By time we reached the Pack of Cards it was 9.34 pm and they take last orders for food at 9.30. This we found to be quite stupid. I arrived there with my partner and my friends’ daughter and her two friends. We were all quite hungry. Being four minutes late is not the end of the world. Apparently it is for the owner of the Pack of Cards. They would not serve us at all. It is unfortunate as the food is quite good there as I found out two years ago.

Most restaurants close at 9.30 in the nearby town of Ilfracombe. I was quite surprised by this as the area is dotted with campsites and tourist. We eventually found a Pizzeria that had recently opened by a couple who moved down from Northampton. It was a small modern looking restaurant named Settantanoue that served some delicious pizza.

If you’re hungry after 9.30pm in Ilfracombe then I would strongly suggest Settantanoue. It is situated on the main high street.

Coach and Horses Inn, Winterbourne Abbas

For a long time now I have been meaning to write something about the Coach and Horses. I will cover this thoroughly when I return there in a couple of weeks. In the meantime I will give it a brief mention.

On the way home from camping we stopped at the Coach and Horses in Winterbourne Abbas, Dorchester. A long time favourite fro their roast dinner carvery and the large portions they serve up on demand. The meat is always good and usually either pork or beef. The vegetables I feel could use a bit of work in the taste department but overall a good place to eat if you are looking for a traditional roast dinner.

We like the Coach and Horses and have often eaten there. This time we opted for the carvery which served up some delicious roast beef. I have eater there in the past when the roast beef has been juicier and tender. This time it appeared a tad on the dry side but still delicious nevertheless.

We finished the main course and the girls decided on dessert of profiteroles and chocolate ice cream. Judging from the sounds of eating and no words being spoken I guessed it to be more than satisfactory. They all seemed quite happy with the dessert.

The restaurant and bar can be found at:

Coach and Horses Inn
Winterbourne Abbas,
Dorchester, Dorset,
England, DT2 9LU
0870 7522235

We got to Christchurch and found a place to park and headed for a pub dinner at Ye Olde George Inn that is located centrally. For our dinner we ordered a Lasagna and a Pizza named Michael Corleone (How original is that!) and sat outside in the courtyard.

The George Inn, Christchurch is one of those pubs that for a quick meal in a pub-type atmosphere is quite handy that it has an outside courtyard area where you can eat and there is usually a free table. This evening there seemed to be a few diners present that appeared to be more tourist than local.

A friendly waitress came with our food and settled us in. We did not have to wait long approximately about 15 minutes+ my partner’s lasagne looked quite tasty – except for the salad.

My partner seemed to like the lasagne and had no complaints. Then my pizza arrived, which appeared not to be what I had in mind. Though the ingredients seemed reasonably fresh they were all clumped together in the middle of the pizza, this included the Parma ham, chillies, spicy pepperoni, tomato and a large dollop of mozzarella.

The pizza was covered in oil. I’m not sure what it was it could have been a real low-grade olive oil or simply cooking oil. But this thing was absolutely dripping in oil. On the bright side it was not too bad. This could be due to me being very hungry. The chillies were dumped whole as the sundried tomatoes on the pizza. There seemed to be no love put into this thing at all. On the side was a salad that was a bit brown looking and wilted my partner had the same. At least with mine they had thrown a few fresh green peppers and red onions to liven it up a bit. I asked the manager who passing by at the time if we could change the salad. He claimed that it has probably been sat under a hot lamp that is why it had that look about it. He did however change it.

He bought us out another salad that was quite crisp and fresh. What worried me mostly was the speed he got it to us. This tells me there is a bowl of fresh salad there and ready. So where did the original salad come from?

The George Inn at Christchurch is not a bad place for a quick meal like a sandwich or something. I am reluctant to recommend it for anything else. To be quite honest as I write this now my stomach feels a bit rough from the amount of oil on the pizza. Maybe the other dishes are fine as I heard no complaints from the other diners and as said above my partner enjoyed her lasagna. I just would not recommend the pizza.

Ye Olde George Inn
2a Castle Street
Christchurch
Dorset
BH23 1DT
01202 479383

On this particular weekend we decided to go to Brugge for a couple of days. I emailed around for hotel accommodation that was more central to the city center. The only thing available I found that weekend was the Hotel Montanus. Unfortunately, the web is clogged with some real crappy results when looking for hotels in regional areas. Try typing in Hotels in Brugge into a search enigine and the usual hotel portals and directories come up that put you through third party websites to book a hotel. Very few of them give you the website address of the hotel itself. It can be time consuming searching for a decent hotel. We found the best way to search for hotel accommodation online is to go to the hotel advertising portals, note down the name and then run a check for individuals hotel’s website. We made a booking at the Montanus who sent us our confirmation via email and a map with direction. Ah-hah, the old hotel map… never clear and all written in Flemish and very small print English. I relied on my trusty navigator to get us there. One big snag I only had the street maps for France and the UK with the base maps for Belgium so there was still a bit of guess work involved deciphering the hotel map which was not adding up with the in-car navigator.

The Hotel Montanus in Brugge has parking at 15.00 Euros per night – a bit over priced considering that we had paid for a large suite and they have a large parking lot that appeared to be empty. It is a refurbished hotel that is a half-attempt at being ‘modern and cool’ on both of these counts they failed miserably. We found it sparse and unfriendly.

We arrived and stood at the reception in sight of the manager for 12 minutes without him even acknowledging us. Eventually he came over and booked us in. We had reserved a suite with a double bed and a child’s bed. We were told where our room was and went there. It was reasonably spacious with a medium-high ceiling which I do like. It was clean and plenty of room to hang clothing and storage for bags.

Sorry folks but the above is where my compliments end for this hotel. We did not have a good time there, though we had a splendid time in Brugge, our accommodation at the Hotel Montanus was less than expected. The bed was not the double we were promised but two very uncomfortable beds pushed together. The suite faced a small road and in the early morning we got woken by the delivery trucks. We came here to relax for the weekend. Instead we ended up in a hotel that was less than hospitable. I guess I am really annoyed as the price did not warrant this 220.00 Euros per night hotel that was unfriendly with broken facilities.

I was woken up in the morning by a delivery truck I could not get back to sleep and made some coffee using the machine that took some kind of coffee capsule-bag. The machine was broken and spurted hot water everywhere including myself burning my hand slightly. I called reception and requested coffee and was told to come down ” We don’t do room service.” I went ‘obediently’ on arrival the manager came out. When I say he had a look that was reminiscent of a demented Labrador – it would be an understatement – the receptionist stood behind him staring at me with that look that said “how dare you make a fuss” the manager asked me where the machine was and ‘why I did not bring it down to the reception?’ Now I started to get irate and was getting fed up with the attitude. The manager returned to his office and came back with another coffee machine and ‘told me’ to take it upstairs and plug-it-in. I told him where to stick it and that he should go up and do this. Needless to stay I would not stay there again and would not recommend this place. Before we left the Hotel Montanus we had started to refer to it as the Montanus and leaving out the word ‘Mont’ from the rest of the name.

Bistro Den Anker

Not all was lost on our trip to Brugge. We decided on dinner at a small restaurant not far from the Montanus Hotel. Unfortunately I had forgotten to bring my N90 camera phone and had to make do with taking a picture the next day of the exterior.

The food was absolutely delicious and I have only good things to say about the Bistro Den Anker. It is a family run restaurant with a husband-wife team. Hubby cooking and wife preparing and choosing the wines. We had warmed goat’s cheese on toasted bread with a side-salad followed by very juicy escargots that had only a hint of earthiness about them. For the main course we ordered fillet of beef that could have melted in your mouth. It was delicious and served with a black pepper sauce and sautéed potatoes with zucchini. The next time we go to Brugge in the Summer I will definitely come back to this restaurant.

We spent the day taking in the sights and took a tour of Brugge by horse and cart. This is always fun my friends loved it. The driver takes you through Brugge and gives a guided tour of some of the more historic areas.

Brugge has many churches and places of worship, everywhere you go you are reminded of the people’s devoutness to Christianity and there are numerous religious icons dotted all over Brugge.

Brugge is steeped in history and remains one of those cities in Belgium that has kept it’s traditional feel right down to the lace making shops that Brugge is famous for. I would highly recommend to check out the chocolatiers, there is not one particular one I recommend as they all seemed good and Belgium chocolate is not to be denied.