TRAVEL | The Witches, the bull and the best mattress in the world
2 years. Me & Justin have been together for two flippin' (and pretty awesome) years. How is that even possible that someone makes it through two years with me and doesn't go absolute bonkers?! That guy deserves a medal, let me tell ya (and so do I, just sayin'). For our first anniversary we went for a weekend away in Cumbria (ah man, real Cumbrian sausages and walks around the lakes). This year (this week that is) we're moving to a new house so we decided to go a bit less mucho grande - so we stayed in Birmingham. Less travelling, more time to have fun! So what does a romantic weekend in Birmingham look like?
We had dinner at the Red Peppers Grill & Cantina in Mailbox!
Mailbox always makes me feel rather posh - especially at Christmas everything is super blingy and lit up, even the canals look somehow a touch more festive than usual. The Red Peppers Grill & Cantina offers an eclectic menu from all over the world from Mexican buritos to pizzas and steaks. After eating too much chocolate on the train to Brum we opted for a pizza (each, ehm). The dinner was so delicious and even though we were way too full to have a dessert, we still had some (as you do when you need to casually unbutton your trousers under the table to be able to breathe without sounding like a horse after the Grand National).
...watched boats on the canal
The good thing about eating out in Mailbox is that you can just walk down the canal and you're in Brindley Place, and from there you can walk across to Victoria Square and the shops without crossing any unlit roads or parks. There were quite a few boats on night trips and a lot of people having Saturday date nights along the canal, either eating or having a glass of Bordeaux in local restaurants and bars. Tres romantique!
...went to the Crescent Theatre
I love, love, LOVE Crescent. I honestly think places such as the Hippodrome and the Alexandra Theatre are a tad overrated. Smaller theatres are da thing. We watched The Witches by Roald Dahl which was, well, mainly for kids but it was performed by the Crescent Theatre Company which meant some quality Black Country acting, ya barmpot! And you know what? There was an ice cream van during the break!! MUAH MUAH MUAH!
...slept on the most comfortable mattress in the world
Going to the theatre in Birmingham whilst living in Walsall usually means there's gotta be a sleepover involved. We stayed at the ibis hotel in the city centre where we experienced not only a very warm welcome (special thanks go to Michaela and Alfie) but also the most comfortable mattress in the world. Not even joking, the bed was so comfy we slept until 11am, whuuuut! I mean they even give you a leaflet so you're mentally prepared that this is gonna be a damn comfortable mattress but then you sleep on it and it's like sleeping on a cloud made of marshmallows and care bear bum fluff.
...explored German Christmas
The German Christmas market attracts millions (5 MILLIONS in 2013!) of people to Birmingham every year and it's the largest German Christmas market outside of Germany and Austria. Pretty damn crazy, right? So we strolled around, ate a lot of pork scratchings and caramelized almonds, and bought an anniversary present from ourselves to ourselves. The naked flame. Erm, what?! It's basically a lamp - a stone ball with a little pot in the middle where you pour in this fire gel and light it up. It burns an actual flame which gives out heat like a normal bonfire but you can have it indoors without setting the whole apartment on fire. Genius. Bloody genius. My plan is to make smores on Christmas Eve, yeaaah.
Have you been to the German Christmas markets in Birmingham? Also, what do you normally do on anniversaries?
We had dinner at the Red Peppers Grill & Cantina in Mailbox!
Mailbox always makes me feel rather posh - especially at Christmas everything is super blingy and lit up, even the canals look somehow a touch more festive than usual. The Red Peppers Grill & Cantina offers an eclectic menu from all over the world from Mexican buritos to pizzas and steaks. After eating too much chocolate on the train to Brum we opted for a pizza (each, ehm). The dinner was so delicious and even though we were way too full to have a dessert, we still had some (as you do when you need to casually unbutton your trousers under the table to be able to breathe without sounding like a horse after the Grand National).
...watched boats on the canal
The good thing about eating out in Mailbox is that you can just walk down the canal and you're in Brindley Place, and from there you can walk across to Victoria Square and the shops without crossing any unlit roads or parks. There were quite a few boats on night trips and a lot of people having Saturday date nights along the canal, either eating or having a glass of Bordeaux in local restaurants and bars. Tres romantique!
...went to the Crescent Theatre
I love, love, LOVE Crescent. I honestly think places such as the Hippodrome and the Alexandra Theatre are a tad overrated. Smaller theatres are da thing. We watched The Witches by Roald Dahl which was, well, mainly for kids but it was performed by the Crescent Theatre Company which meant some quality Black Country acting, ya barmpot! And you know what? There was an ice cream van during the break!! MUAH MUAH MUAH!
...slept on the most comfortable mattress in the world
Going to the theatre in Birmingham whilst living in Walsall usually means there's gotta be a sleepover involved. We stayed at the ibis hotel in the city centre where we experienced not only a very warm welcome (special thanks go to Michaela and Alfie) but also the most comfortable mattress in the world. Not even joking, the bed was so comfy we slept until 11am, whuuuut! I mean they even give you a leaflet so you're mentally prepared that this is gonna be a damn comfortable mattress but then you sleep on it and it's like sleeping on a cloud made of marshmallows and care bear bum fluff.
...explored German Christmas
The German Christmas market attracts millions (5 MILLIONS in 2013!) of people to Birmingham every year and it's the largest German Christmas market outside of Germany and Austria. Pretty damn crazy, right? So we strolled around, ate a lot of pork scratchings and caramelized almonds, and bought an anniversary present from ourselves to ourselves. The naked flame. Erm, what?! It's basically a lamp - a stone ball with a little pot in the middle where you pour in this fire gel and light it up. It burns an actual flame which gives out heat like a normal bonfire but you can have it indoors without setting the whole apartment on fire. Genius. Bloody genius. My plan is to make smores on Christmas Eve, yeaaah.
Have you been to the German Christmas markets in Birmingham? Also, what do you normally do on anniversaries?
