A very special De Vere week end

After taking a short break from the world of blogging, I am back! This past week end has been absolutely wonderful. We started with a trip into Derby on Sunday morning and of course first stop was Lush! I was in need of a Fizzbanger, just having one in the house makes the bathroom smell wonderful. After a wonder around the shops we headed to the Babbington Arms for brunch. Next stop was Kedleston Hall, i recently joined the National Trust - a present for Paul's birthday - and i was eager to make use of our membership. Kedleston Hall is amazing, you drive down a winding country road to be welcomed by sheep blocking the way and apparently curious enough to wander right over peer in the window! The Hall is really beautiful, opulent and absolutely stunning inside. Each room brings another gasp of delight as you take in the splendor. We had a lovely afternoon exploring the property, and are already planning a return visit. 

On leaving Kedleston Hall, we made our way to De Vere's Orchard Hotel in Nottingham. I booked the room as a birthday treat for Paul, he knew about the week end away but not that the hotel had upgraded our room to an executive room and also that they had included complimentary breakfasts. How cool is that!! Our room was gorgeous and was the best in the hotel! It was certainly the only room with windows on two sides of the room and stunning views! It was a large room, and you know its posh when you find dressing gowns and slippers in the cupboard....LOL! But best of all, when we got there we found a plate in the room with chocolate brownies on and the words 'happy 60th Birthday' iced on in chocolate. I was really impressed, and Paul was delighted. It was a  lovely touch, and i can't tell you how impressed we were with the hotel. We went for a walk around the grounds, and then returned to the hotel for dinner. The hotel was too nice to leave, so we decided to eat in the bar. The meal was delicious (tho a tad pricey) and i very much enjoyed the peach bellini I had. I had my heart set on a cocktail! After dinner we returned to our room for a little while, i was feeling very tired. But after a rest we were ready to head back to the car and experience more cocktails. This time I had a raspberry daiquiri, oh my.....good! We sat down in the bar people watching and enjoying a night out! I guess neither of us wanted the day to be over.

On Monday morning we started the day with a wonderful breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Everything tastes better when its free! We sat and chatted while we ate, a cooked breakfast, yogurt and fruit, and danish pastries and croissants. YUM!! After breakfast we went for a walk to the Millennium garden and sat there for a while just enjoying the morning. The Orchard is such a lovely place, we didn't want to leave. But alas we had  to eventually! From the hotel we drove to Hardwick  Hall. It was so crowded, but we still enjoyed the day. We explored the house, its a beautiful and interesting property. You are filled with wonder at everything Bess of Hardwick accomplished. Quite an amazing woman! While we were in the area, we also decided to visit Hardwick Old Hall, its an English Heritage property, but luckily we're members! Its mostly a ruin now, but you can still climb the 127 steps to the top. A free work out and amazing views. 

The whole week end was fabulous, and i really feel like we made the most of it. And i can't thank De Vere enough for making the week end so special for us.

Wonderful Wales

This  time our heavenly week end started on Friday evening. After getting home, we had pizza for dinner then threw all our things in the car and at 7.30pm headed to North Wales. The journey went smoothly, and by that time the traffic had eased up. The weather was surprisingly ok, and we finally arrived at Old Colwyn at around 10pm. We found the house we'd be staying at easily and i have to say, we were glad to arrive. This week end was a real treat for us, as a colleague at work had said we could use it over the week end. The house belongs to her mother who is currently living over seas. How cool is that!! The house was lovely, not huge, but beautifully decorated throughout with a conservatory that had views to die for, as you can see from the picture.By the time we had made up the bed and unpacked it was late and time to go to bed.

Saturday turned out to be a good day weather wise, very blustery but mild and DRY!!! Lucky or what?!? We had breakfast, and then headed to Llandudno. Why the heck did no one ever tell me how lovely it is there, we instantly fell in love with the place. It was nothing like we had expected. We took delight in strolling along the quaint streets, looking around the remarkably good selection of shops. We didn't really do much shopping, just some postcards and sticks of rock. But, i did pop into Superdrug for something, and while at the counter paying, the saleslady was trying to sell me a new Ghost fragrance called 'Eclipse'. She described in detail its top notes, and base tones while inviting to try the fragrance. How could i refuse? Actually it smelled Divine, and after having a cup of tea and letting the scent 'settle' i had fallen in love with it. So, i ended going back to buy some. It is rather gorgeous....*smile*.

After lunch we visited the Home front museum, what a hidden treasure, from outside it doesn't look like much, but once you pass through those doors, you  have entered the 1940's. They have a wonderful collection of memories, and it really is well worth a visit. I love the era, and found this place fascinating. I am so glad we went along. We also walked the Alice Trail, i had been hugely disappointed earlier in the day to find The Alice in wonderland visitor centre had long since closed, but following the trail took us past 4 of the huge wooden sculptures. We saw The Queen of Hearts, the White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter and of course Alice. The day flew by, and by about 4pm we were tired and decided to head back to the house. We spent a couple of hours sitting in the conservatory watching the sea, and reading - or in my case writing a letter to the lovely Mandy!! It had started to rain quite heavily by then, but when it eased up around 6.30pm we decided it would be a good idea to go out and eat. My colleague had recommended  a local Thai restaurant, and that is where we went. She had failed to mention it was actually situated within a hotel, but we found it. The food was delicious, and we enjoyed the rarity of a Saturday night out. When we returned we spent the evening sat in the conservatory, we both enjoyed this immensely  The reception on the TV was actually so bad it was unwatchable, however this saved us from Eurovision!!

On Sunday we awoke to howling wind and rain lashing down on the windows, and it showed no sign of easing up. We decided to change and plans and head for the Tweedmill outlet centre which was at least all under one roof. This turned out to be a good move, and we had a great time looking around. We both found several things we wanted, and this alone made it well worth our while stopping. We spent a while there and then decided to head homewards, though we did stop at a lovely pub on the way for a late lunch. I have no idea where we were, we just saw the place and thought it looked nice. Finally we arrived home at about 4pm. The weather had not improved, and it had in fact rained most of the way home, quite heavily at times. But the bad weather didn't spoil the week end and we had a great time. Already talking about how and when we can return to Llandudno, we absolutely loved it there. Already missing the sea air, and amazing views.

Splendid Hardwick Hall

Saturday started early for us, as we left home and headed north up the A38. We arrived at our destination- Hardwick Hall at about 10.15am, and people were already arriving in droves for the Great British Food Festival. We joined the crowds and headed to the big marquees that had been set up. There were two, both filled with many stalls selling a variety of things – food, drink, crafts....even stationery items. We had fun looking around, but the marquees soon became so crowded that you could barely move.  Believe me at this point, it had stopped being fun! We had bought some cheeses, oat cakes and a couple of the most delicious heart shaped cakes though! We headed back out to the open area and had a wander around, there were mostly stalls selling food, and we did stop at one to have some Thai food for lunch. It was delicious!! There was live music all day, a bouncy castle and even guide foraging walks (which we didn’t join, the only foraging I do is in shoe shops!) By early afternoon we had decided we really wanted to visit Hardwick hall, and as our festival tickets allowed us 2-4-1 admission to the Hall it seemed crazy not to go. Admission prices are very steep! Having said that I am very glad we went, Hardwick Hall is amazing inside, truly beautiful!! A little bit of history below courtesy of Wikipedia -

Hardwick Hall, in Derbyshire, is an architecturally significant Elizabethan country house in England. Built between 1590 and 1597 for the formidable Bess of Hardwick, it was designed by the architect Robert Smythson, an exponent of the Renaissance style of architecture. Hardwick Hall is one of the earliest examples of the English interpretation of the style, which came into fashion having slowly spread from Florence.

We had a lovely afternoon exploring the house, and the many wonderful rooms. We had tea in their coffee shop, and of course visited the gift shop before leaving at 5pm. How quickly the hours flew by! On the way home, we stopped at the East Midland Outlet Centre to have a wonder around the shops, only for an hour though as they shut at 6pm. Well, an hour is better than nothing. Finally we arrived home around 7pm, tired but happy.

On Sunday we decided to visit Derby, we had grand plans for the day including a visit to Pickford House Museum as Paul has never been there and it is open on Sunday afternoons from 1-4pm I believe. We arrived in Derby bright and early, parked in the cheap car park and walked down into the town centre. The first stop of the day was Lush as usual; best to get in there early before the crowds build up. I was delighted to see that Michelle was at work, and as exuberant as usual! With basket clutched in hand she bounded around the shop pointing out what was new, and extolling their virtues. I didn’t need much convincing. I adore Lush products as some of you might have picked up on. Ok, so they are on the expensive side, but they are gorgeous. It’s a joy to shop at the Derby Branch as the staff are all fun, and happy to let you sample the goods. I came away smelling wonderful and with very soft hands!! I also came away with a Fizzbanger, Cynthia Sylvia Stout shampoo, Popcorn lip scrub and Let the Good Times Roll body scrub……and of course a little freebie to enjoy!! An hour later…..I wondered where the morning had gone?! We stopped at Costa for lovely latte’s and then continued our journey around Westfield. I happily found a fab pair of boots in New Look reduced to £7 – a 75% reduction!! They were children’s boots, but fit perfectly. Happy me, and better still there was still some money on the New Look gift card I had for Christmas. We wondered down to the Walkabout for lunch! We haven’t been there in years. Lunch was nice, and strangely enough everyone was walking the right way up – go figure?! Somehow the time just evaporated away and we never did get to Pickfords House, which was a really shame.