Ma and I had a little weekend away a couple of weeks ago.
We went to Harrogate....the Kimberley Hotel.
If you ever have the need to stay in Harrogate......or want a lovely weekend away from it all I can heartily recommend this hotel.
It is close to the Conference centre and only a few minutes walk to the shops.
The weather was kind to us...cold but sunny.
On the way up to Harrogate we visited Leeds.
I have never been to Leeds and I had the idea in my head that it would be all dark stone and forbidding.
So the reality was a big surprise.
I loved the place...it has a good mix of old majestic buildings and wide thoroughfares......it felt spacious and open.....and I loved wandering around the shops.
The Victorian Arcades were very reminiscent of the QVB(Queen Victoria Building) in the heart of Sydney....though they were less grand.
I loved the beautiful mosaic floors and the iron lacework decorations...there is the recent addition of some modernish stained glass panels too....and although the glass is modern it marries well with the architecture of the arcades.
Ma and I ambled round the shops and went for a look in the Market...which sadly, wasn't running at full capacity...but I imagined it was what the markets should be like....a good mix of produce...something for everyone.
I was looking for somewhere for us to have lunch......I thought of a pub lunch, but Ma had other ideas. She had spotted a West Country Cornish Pasty outlet.....and wanted one of those....sat out at a table in the street......basking in the weak winter sunshine.
So, pasty it was.
In my campaign to keep my weight down I have avoided such delicacies....so this was something that I was going to enjoy.
And I did too.....it tasted absolutely delicious.......full of chunks of melt in the mouth steak, the pastry was buttery and moreish......though I have to admit that I pulled off the thick edge of crust and fed it to the pigeons(discreetly....I didn't want a litter fine...or worse, a fine for feeding the pigeons). there was just the right mix of potato and swede...and it was peppery, but not too peppery....and juicy too.
I savoured every bite...it tasted better for being eaten in the cold crisp air and washed down with a hot latte.
Ma wanted me to 'dollop her off' somewhere so that I could get round the shops a bit quicker, but I wasn't having that.......it was her break too, and I wanted to make sure that she enjoyed it too.
We had four hours before we were due back at the coach so I felt we would get a decent look around.
Truthfully I could have spent the weekend in Leeds...there was much to see and much that we didn't get around to seeing.
Maybe one day!
We were back at the pick up point for the coach in good time(Ma frets that we won't be able to find our way around these new places...but I have never got us lost.....YET)
I was glad of a sit down....and we were off on the run through the winter countryside to our destination of Harrogate.
Folk extol the virues of the scenery of foreign places(I know, because I am one of these), but I think that we fail to recognise the beauty we have in our own countryside.
The hills and fields were burnished with the dying rays of the sun and it was breathtaking....and this was from the vantage point of the road...what must it have been like up on those craggy hills?
We arrived at our destination just after 4pm.......I was given a keycard to get into our room......I am a hopeless failure with these things and needed help to get in.
Our room was down a narrow corridor and I felt like we had been allocated the broom cupboard.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. although our room was at the back of the hotel...overlooking the building site that is to be another 45 bedrooms for the hotel....the room had been recently refurbished and was comfortable and welcoming.
I waited for Ma to appear.......which she did, puffing and panting like a stranded codfish.
Ma loved the room....picked the bed nearest the loo and then picked up the 'wizzer' for the TV.
She said that she felt very much at home...and in the next breath, wondered what we were having for our evening meal.
Nothing much changed there then!
To be continued...if you want!
We went to Harrogate....the Kimberley Hotel.
If you ever have the need to stay in Harrogate......or want a lovely weekend away from it all I can heartily recommend this hotel.
It is close to the Conference centre and only a few minutes walk to the shops.
The weather was kind to us...cold but sunny.
On the way up to Harrogate we visited Leeds.
I have never been to Leeds and I had the idea in my head that it would be all dark stone and forbidding.
So the reality was a big surprise.
I loved the place...it has a good mix of old majestic buildings and wide thoroughfares......it felt spacious and open.....and I loved wandering around the shops.
The Victorian Arcades were very reminiscent of the QVB(Queen Victoria Building) in the heart of Sydney....though they were less grand.
I loved the beautiful mosaic floors and the iron lacework decorations...there is the recent addition of some modernish stained glass panels too....and although the glass is modern it marries well with the architecture of the arcades.
Ma and I ambled round the shops and went for a look in the Market...which sadly, wasn't running at full capacity...but I imagined it was what the markets should be like....a good mix of produce...something for everyone.
I was looking for somewhere for us to have lunch......I thought of a pub lunch, but Ma had other ideas. She had spotted a West Country Cornish Pasty outlet.....and wanted one of those....sat out at a table in the street......basking in the weak winter sunshine.
So, pasty it was.
In my campaign to keep my weight down I have avoided such delicacies....so this was something that I was going to enjoy.
And I did too.....it tasted absolutely delicious.......full of chunks of melt in the mouth steak, the pastry was buttery and moreish......though I have to admit that I pulled off the thick edge of crust and fed it to the pigeons(discreetly....I didn't want a litter fine...or worse, a fine for feeding the pigeons). there was just the right mix of potato and swede...and it was peppery, but not too peppery....and juicy too.
I savoured every bite...it tasted better for being eaten in the cold crisp air and washed down with a hot latte.
Ma wanted me to 'dollop her off' somewhere so that I could get round the shops a bit quicker, but I wasn't having that.......it was her break too, and I wanted to make sure that she enjoyed it too.
We had four hours before we were due back at the coach so I felt we would get a decent look around.
Truthfully I could have spent the weekend in Leeds...there was much to see and much that we didn't get around to seeing.
Maybe one day!
We were back at the pick up point for the coach in good time(Ma frets that we won't be able to find our way around these new places...but I have never got us lost.....YET)
I was glad of a sit down....and we were off on the run through the winter countryside to our destination of Harrogate.
Folk extol the virues of the scenery of foreign places(I know, because I am one of these), but I think that we fail to recognise the beauty we have in our own countryside.
The hills and fields were burnished with the dying rays of the sun and it was breathtaking....and this was from the vantage point of the road...what must it have been like up on those craggy hills?
We arrived at our destination just after 4pm.......I was given a keycard to get into our room......I am a hopeless failure with these things and needed help to get in.
Our room was down a narrow corridor and I felt like we had been allocated the broom cupboard.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. although our room was at the back of the hotel...overlooking the building site that is to be another 45 bedrooms for the hotel....the room had been recently refurbished and was comfortable and welcoming.
I waited for Ma to appear.......which she did, puffing and panting like a stranded codfish.
Ma loved the room....picked the bed nearest the loo and then picked up the 'wizzer' for the TV.
She said that she felt very much at home...and in the next breath, wondered what we were having for our evening meal.
Nothing much changed there then!
To be continued...if you want!
