Finally, my husband is no longer my toyboy and has joined me in the misery of being 30. To comiserate I treated him (well us actually) to a weekend of luxury in London.
We set off for in the car on Saturday and lots of fun singing really badly to Erasure and Lionel Richie en route to London. Our journey went particularly smoothly which is always a surprise when travelling to London. We rocked up to our swanky hotel in our battered old Rover and were greeted by doormen who kindly took our car and bags and checked us in.
The hotel is called the Metroplitan which happens to be rated as one of the top 100 hotels in the world. This great acclaim lived up to it's name as we entered our Park Studio room which was stunning. The huge panoramic window overlooked Hyde Park, the furnishings were sumptuous yet minmal and the room was equipped with all the latest technology.
We set off for in the car on Saturday and lots of fun singing really badly to Erasure and Lionel Richie en route to London. Our journey went particularly smoothly which is always a surprise when travelling to London. We rocked up to our swanky hotel in our battered old Rover and were greeted by doormen who kindly took our car and bags and checked us in.
The hotel is called the Metroplitan which happens to be rated as one of the top 100 hotels in the world. This great acclaim lived up to it's name as we entered our Park Studio room which was stunning. The huge panoramic window overlooked Hyde Park, the furnishings were sumptuous yet minmal and the room was equipped with all the latest technology.
Feeling hungry we head out for a light lunch and chanced upon the 5th Floor restaurant at Harvey Nichols. A restaurant above a department store conjours up the image of a shoddy, self-service canteen (think BHS) but this place couldn't be further from it. The restaurant was classily decorated and the service was absolutely outstanding. We had two courses at £25 per head (very reasonable me thinks) and the food was great. Particularly impressive was the cardamon brulee with chocolate ice cream.
Two courses and and a bottle of wine left us suitably fuelled for some shopping. A little spending spree in Harvey Nichols was called for and we acquired two very nice bottles of wine (the 1998 Mersault really looks good) and some delicious food treats including clove chocolate and wicked hokey pokey.
Back to the hotel to enjoy some relaxation before dinner. A nice chilled bottle of champagne awaited us and a long, luxurious bath. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking lots whilst rocking out to music and Mark dancing naked in front of the large hotel window :-)
It was time for our eagerly anticipated dinner treat. A short stroll down to Gordon Ramsey's Boxwood Cafe and a gastronomic experience to behold. We both ordered the vegetarian tasting menu with accompanying wines. Whilst waiting for our first course we sipped on an aperitif cocktail consisting of champagne, chambourd and vodka. Nice though it was, it turned out to be the nail in our coffins as you will find out later...
First course: a beautiful creamy artichoke soup
Second course: (my favourite course) Creamed potato, poached egg and cep sauce
Third course: feta, beetroot and pine nut salad
Fourth course: chargrilled asparagus ( a little dull)
Fifth course: artichoke and fennel risotto (gorgeous)
Sixth course: British cheeses
Seventh course: pre-dessert (a brulee type of thing)
Eighth course: Chocolate fondue with biscotti and fruit kebabs.
Two courses and and a bottle of wine left us suitably fuelled for some shopping. A little spending spree in Harvey Nichols was called for and we acquired two very nice bottles of wine (the 1998 Mersault really looks good) and some delicious food treats including clove chocolate and wicked hokey pokey.
Back to the hotel to enjoy some relaxation before dinner. A nice chilled bottle of champagne awaited us and a long, luxurious bath. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking lots whilst rocking out to music and Mark dancing naked in front of the large hotel window :-)
It was time for our eagerly anticipated dinner treat. A short stroll down to Gordon Ramsey's Boxwood Cafe and a gastronomic experience to behold. We both ordered the vegetarian tasting menu with accompanying wines. Whilst waiting for our first course we sipped on an aperitif cocktail consisting of champagne, chambourd and vodka. Nice though it was, it turned out to be the nail in our coffins as you will find out later...
First course: a beautiful creamy artichoke soup
Second course: (my favourite course) Creamed potato, poached egg and cep sauce
Third course: feta, beetroot and pine nut salad
Fourth course: chargrilled asparagus ( a little dull)
Fifth course: artichoke and fennel risotto (gorgeous)
Sixth course: British cheeses
Seventh course: pre-dessert (a brulee type of thing)
Eighth course: Chocolate fondue with biscotti and fruit kebabs.
Each course was accompanied by a wine carefully selected and presented by the sommelier. Mark managed to get to course three before getting horrifically drunk and ended throwing up (in the toilet thankfully) twice at the restaurant. I thought this was hilarious but got my comeuppance as towards the end of the meal I too started to get really drunk. I blame the cocktail
Mark only managed to consume the first four courses. I fared a little better but still could barely eat the gorgeous dessert. We hurriedly got the bill and staggered back to the hotel where I threw up several times - nice. I blame the cocktail.
It is a shame that we both then passed out in our clothes as we had intended to head down to the exclusive Met Bar to do some celebrity spotting. I blame the cocktail.
We both wake up on Sunday with massive hangovers. I blame the cocktail. However the random snow blizzard looked pretty specatular from our 7th floor window, an unusual sight in spring.
On reflection we are rather pleased that we indulged in such a decadent weekend but squandered much of it in a really frivolous fashion, it's so very rock and roll don't you think?
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