Day 2: Exploring Bluestone

We woke the next morning with the sun rising over the lake and the sound of the ducks making their ungraceful crash landings. Taking our bleary eyes upstairs, we relaxed with a cup of tea before making a traditional big ol' holiday breakfast. His 'n' hers obviously, no surprises for guessing which is which!

A few more lazy cuppas ensued, watching the lake glisten as we read and doodled the morning away. Finally we decided to make the most of what was turning into a beautiful day, and pulled our wellies on for some exploring.

Stumbling upon some historical sites and then...

 Getting lost in them! You can spot a wild Sara if you look close enough.

Following the nature trail deeper down into the valley, we spotted the smoke rising in the distance. On closer inspection, it turned out to be what would quickly become our favourite spot at Bluestone.

Camp Smokey is an outdoor restaurant and bar, nestling in the woods. With a menu of smokey barbecued meats and an open air fire pit at the back for roasting marshmallows, it's an easy place to while away the time.

Although, while relaxing listening to the birds and the river, don't be too alarmed if you hear a few shrieks and screams. The zip wire flies right over your heads, and the sky trail climbs up in the air all around you. Makes for good entertainment, if you're not brave enough yourself!

However, it's all worth it to huddle around the fire with a marshmallow topped hot chocolate!

We headed back to the lodge for a little snooze before making our way over to the Well Spa for a bit of pampering. As a surprise for Mr P's birthday, I booked us in for an afternoon treat at the Spa, including treatments, nibbles and bubbles. Of all kinds!

We had such a fantastic afternoon! The staff treated us wonderfully and I had an amazing massage which completely popped all the knots in my hunched up tense shoulders! As well as the outdoor jacuzzi (worth doing the drop and run with the dressing gown for), there are numerous thermal rooms, including steam rooms, saunas and ice rooms!

The Well Spa is open for day visits too, so I'd thoroughly recommend this for a girly day out even if you're not staying on site.

All dazed, chilled and smelling lovely, we dressed up and headed over to the Knights Tafarn for dinner.

There's only one way this day could have possibly gotten any better. Enter my best friends: wine, cheese and carbs.

Mr P went for the curry special, lamb rogan josh complete with a poppadom on the side the size of my head.

Listening to the night's entertainment, we huddled up next to the log fire and toasted a perfect day in our Pembrokeshire paradise.

Welcome to Bluestone

I was lucky enough to be invited by Bluestone to stay for a few days to chill out and enjoy some of that magical spring Pembrokeshire air. Even luckier, our break coincided with Mr P's birthday! A morning of presents, tea and chocolate for breakfast followed by a road trip - is there anything better?

We piled my little car high with wellies, chunky jumpers and enough pick 'n' mix to keep a 5 year old going for a week and set off to the West. Two and a half hours later, we arrived at at the super efficient drive through check in at Bluestone!

Having stayed before, we knew what to expect, and parked our car in the long stay car park to have a wander before the gates opened at 4.30pm. Cars are only allowed on site after 4.30pm to unload, and then have to be returned back to the car park until checking out. Buggies are available for those with little ones, but for us two it was the perfect excuse to get a bit more exercise in.

Standard first stop...find the pub!

We wandered around, stretched our legs after the journey and reacquainted ourselves with the little village, before walking back to the car to bring her in to unload.

We pulled up outside our lodge and ran inside like the excitable big kids that we are, opening all the doors, poking around in all the corners and jumping on the beds.

The lodge we stayed in was called a Ramsey Lodge, and its best feature is its quirky 'upside down' style of living. The bedrooms were downstairs, opening out onto the tranquil lake, and the living area and kitchen were on the first floor.

The lodges have all the comforts and mod cons that you could possibly need, and also include a helpful little starter pack in case you've forgotten any bits and bobs.

Just as we were walking back from dropping the car off, two glittering rainbows appeared over the lake, brightening up the grey afternoon sky. Promising that there won't be any more rain for the rest of our stay? We tried to hunt down the pot of gold, but to no avail.

A little tired and worn out after the journey and unpacking, we decided to spend our first night snuggled up on our sofa, and eating pretty much all of the nice food we'd bought!

And of course, a bottle of Chateauneuf-Du-Pape for the Birthday boy!

With full bellies and a glass of red in hand, we cwtched up on the sofa and watched the lights twinkle on the lake, dreaming of tomorrow's adventures...

Valentines Weekend at The Celtic Manor

Before we go any further, I feel like I should add a disclaimer. I think Valentines Day is great. We do say I love you everyday, I do get random flowers for no reason and I don't believe you need to splash the cash to be romantic. BUT I do like to have a specific day dedicated to being smushy. I like occasions. I'm the girl who plans birthdays months in advance.

Last weekend, I got completely spoilt by Mr P and was whisked down the M4 to one of my favourite places, The Celtic Manor.

We arrived about 3pm, and luckily we were able to check in early, so we ran to our room, threw on our swimsuits and headed to the pool. Naturally. After a quick dip and a lounge in the sauna and steam rooms, we reluctantly went back to our room to change for dinner. Helped by a few bubbles, of course.

Last time we stayed, we were facing the front of the hotel and the golf course. This time however, we were looking out of the back of the hotel, onto the motorway. Although not as obviously relaxing, there's still something calming about watching the lights flying past at night with the Manor all lit up, and the Welsh colours billowing in the wind.

Our dinner reservation was at Rafters, which is in the Twenty Ten Clubhouse. We've dined here before, and had a fantastic meal, so we knew we were going to be looked after.

There are two things that sometimes put me off dining out on Valentines night. More often than not, you get a tiny set menu, generally with the nicest item being a sharing item. There's nothing romantic about sharing. Get off my dinner.

And then there's the set dining times. Your reservation was for 7pm, and you're dawdling over a coffee at 9pm, and then you have to leave for the next couple to jump in your seats. Not particularly conducive to a relaxing evening either.

Rafters had none of this. The tables were all preset for the night, and there seemed to only be one sitting. There was no rushing about, no cheesy decor, and the only sharing item was a dessert, which I'll let them off because I didn't fancy it anyway.

Mr P and I both went for exactly the same thing, from start to finish. For starters, we had smoked Severn and Wye Salmon with asparagus, poached egg and hollandaise sauce. A very pretty dish, and the smoked salmon was beautiful, hiding under a sprinkling of samphire.

Next course was a roast fillet of Welsh beef, sat on a bed of buttered spinach and a wild mushroom ragout. A chunky slice of crispy pancetta sat atop a thyme potato fondant, it's smokiness pervading the dish.

The beef was easily the standout item of the whole night. I've never tasted beef so buttery soft, and the sweetness of the Madeira jus brought it all together. Completely melt in your mouth beautiful.

 

The night was rounded off with a dark chocolate tart, with caramelised oranges and honey and whisky ice cream. I'm not the biggest dessert fan in the world, but I do love my ice cream. And whisky of course.

Neither of us could finish it all, as the chocolate tart was very rich and decandant, but I made sure that I polished off all the velvety ice cream.

Despite the over indulgence, we were both up with the birds the next morning, and hurried down to breakfast before all the other lovebirds got up. Not only did this mean we had a chilled out breakfast and the freshest eggs, but most importantly we managed to get down to a virtually empty spa nice and early.

We stayed in the hot tub looking out at the misty morning, until our fingers turned pruney enough to leave. I dragged myself away from the spa with the promise of a walk and a game of crazy golf. My competitive side can't ignore that offer.

Safe to say, the result now stands at 2-1 to me. To be continued, no doubt.

Much rejuvinated after a weekend spent wandering about the grounds and chilling in the spa, we headed home. Thanks once again to the wonderful staff at the Celtic, with what must be one of the busiest nights of the year we still received such wonderful service, from every moment between checking in and checking out.

The Smoke Haus, Cardiff

The Smoke Haus, Cardiff has opened it's second restaurant on Mary Ann Street, which is located near the Motorpoint Arena. It now occupies the space which in recent years has been both Hooters and Sports Cafe Cardiff, and still retains much of the original layout.

Mr P and I were going to a concert at the Motorpoint with my brother, and we wanted something quick, close and filling. The Smoke Haus ticked all the boxes, so in we went. I'd originally booked a table, as I had assumed the restaurant would be busy on a concert day, but there were only about 5 tables taken when we walked in, and numerous staff waiting around.

After staring wide eyed at the huge plates being brought out to diners, I decided to go for the sandwich list. I chose the pulled pork hoagie at £8.95, with an extra £1.00 for the sweet potato chips upgrade.

I agonised for a while over having this or the nachos...I made the wrong choice. The sweet potato chips were the best bit, a really generous portion, and still quite chunky, which I prefer much more than the skinny fries! However, the pulled pork was a bit of a let down. The sauce became very overbearing and sickly, and I ended up eating less than half. The hoagie roll it was served in was on the stale side, and the whole thing became pretty unappealing.

My brother went for the slow cooked deli brisket (£8.95), of which I didn't get a photo. Personally, I think he had the best meal! I stole a bite of the brisket which was melt-in-your-mouth tender, and the toasted bloomer bread holding it together looked a lot nicer than my hoagie roll.

Mr P however had seen too many burgers on social media to let this opportunity pass him by... and opted for the donut burger, £10.95.

A burger topped with cheese, bacon and sauce, sandwiched between two donuts. Yes - two donuts. I'm not qualified to comment on this, as it doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I tried a bite and really didn't enjoy it. However, I do happen to have a direct quote from the diner in question, stating that he "really liked it, and enjoyed the combination of sweet and salty flavours" but he did admit later that he felt like his stomach was about to explode and that he was craving some lettuce!

All in all, it was a bit hit 'n' miss. My meal wasn't the best, and I'm not a fan of the school dinner tray style of serving either. But maybe I'm just being snooty. For a quick, reasonably priced meal, with giant portion sizes The Smoke Haus does just fine. I'm not sure I'd go back personally, but I'm sure it's 'Man Vs Food' appeal will keep bringing customers through the doors.

Burger & Lobster, Cardiff

Well I'm back! Finally feeling a little more myself after the January tax return onslaught, which is always a smack in the face after the Christmas break! And I've got one more pre-Christmas foodie trip that while I was away I realised that I hadn't shared with you yet.

I'd been pretty excited since I'd heard that the remaining upstairs space of the old Habitat on the Hayes in Cardiff City Centre was to become the home of Burger and Lobster. One of my favourite pastimes is drooling over other food blogs, so I'd heard a lot about the London restaurant, and the whole idea appealed to me so much.

I am a pretty indecisive person, and unfortunately so is Mr P. This generally means a lot of menu staring at restaurants and impatient waiting staff. Here that problem is solved, there's not even a menu. Your waiter will grab your drinks and fill you in.

There's a whole lobster, there's a burger, and there's a lobster roll. And they're all £20.

The only other variation is that you can choose whether your lobster come grilled or steamed. All items come with chips, a side salad and a butter sauce.

Mr P and I both went for the lobster, steamed as recommended by our very helpful waiter.

It arrived extremely quickly, so much so that I was both impressed and a little dubious. There was no need for the hesitation, as it was fantastic! The lobster came halved, and was both meaty and light at the same time. The butter sauce was beautiful and they both went together really well. I imagine that it'd be even better with the lobster grilled, being that bit hotter. Saying that, the chips dunked in it after the lobster had all gone were pretty good too!

The hardest bits were already pre-cracked, so it wasn't to difficult to dig around and get the best bits in the claw. It's so easy, and the staff are so helpful and unpretentious that you don't have to worry about making a fool of yourself. That's what the bibs are for anyway...

Genius idea, as no matter where I am or what I'm eating, some of it invariably ends up on my person somewhere. I thought of of grabbing a couple to just take with me anywhere.

Now, here's the thing. £20 for a whole lobster, is brilliant. Especially as it was so delicious. BUT I don't think I could ever spend £20 on a burger or a lobster roll. It'd have to be something pretty special to even make me ponder it. I suppose it keeps the menu simple, and helps their profits, but it's a little too expensive for me.

Burger and Lobster is achingly cool.  There's a very glamourous bar area in the middle to wait for your tables with a cocktail or two, and a DJ playing live music as you walk in. However, eating in the evening while it was dark outside was pretty interesting. The lighting is sparse in the eating areas, and we seemed to be sat on a table for two in the middle of the room with a spotlight right above us. I felt like I was eating in that certain clothes shop where you queue outside for five hours...

Am I getting old? Maybe. But I wasn't a fan. I'd probably change my mind completely if we were in one of the cwtchy booths at the side, but I felt quite exposed where we were. The lighting also made for awful photos, which were on the sketchy side anyway as I was using the iPhone!

Would I go back? Definitely. I love lobster and think it's great that there's such an accessible place to eat it at such a fantastic price. Not sure if I'll ever fork out for that burger though. Let me know if you do, and if it's worth it!

Wahaca, Cardiff

That weird space between Christmas and New Year always gets me a bit stir crazy. The idea of all the time off sounds great, but in reality after a day or two of pyjamas I need a reason to get out of the house and eat something other than chocolate and turkey.

The whole ethos of Wahaca really appeals to me. Tapas/street food style eating is my favourite, usually as I'm so indecisive and always want to try a little bit of everything. I also love the fact that the menu is Mexican inspired, which they use to full advantage by creating seasonal dishes and local ingredients wherever possible. The Cardiff restaurant is the first outside London, which is a pretty big coup for the city, and shows how much the food scene has grown over the last few years.

Cardiff was pretty busy with bargain hunters, so we grabbed a buzzer and nursed a beer or two upstairs for about a half hour wait. The bar seems a pretty cool place to hang out on it's own for a few margaritas, with swinging birdcage chairs and 'fussball' tables, but it's not that big and fills up pretty quickly when there's a rush on.

Wahaca in general, however, feels huge. Spread over three floors, with big open spaces and bright colours, it's got a similar feel to Jamie's Italian around the corner. We were positioned next to the big windows, perfect for people watching but a little chilly. Everything is big, bold and bright, and the perfect antidote when suffering from too much tinsel.

First things first, don't even think of going to Wahaca if you're not going to order the pork scratchings (£4.45 for a huge portion). They are without doubt the best thing I tasted on the menu (and spoiler alert, it's all pretty good). They were the perfect balance between the two styles you get down the pub, the airy ones that taste like polystyrene, and the hairy knuckle-y ones that are always a little bit suspect.

Served with a zingy and vibrant guacamole, I could have eaten just this all day. However, that wouldn't have made for a very good blog so...

Sides and nibbles apart, the main menu is split between street food and platos fuertes (bigger plates). The platos fuertes are enough for a main meal on their own, or possibly even big enough to share. The street food menu is a number of smaller plates, in the style of Spanish tapas to be shared about, roughly 2-3 plates recommended per person.

All the food comes as and when it's cooked, to keep it fresh, so not always in the order that you expected. I liked this idea, however it'd probably work best if everyone is sharing the street food dishes, so that no-one is waiting too long.

The pork pibil burritos (£9.25) were pretty huge, filled with rice and tortilla chips on the side. I have it on good authority that they were "awesome".

I did have a bite of the frijoles (£2.50), and I still can't make my mind up about them. Creamy twice cooked beans, served in a little pot with a bit of cheese on top. They're the kind of thing you need to try, and take about four bites before you decide whether you love or hate. I still don't know.

I only ordered two street food plates, but with the pork scratchings to start this was more than enough for me.

The pork pibil tacos (£4.10) were so cute. That might not be what they were aiming for, but cute they were. See?

Filled with slow cooked pork, they were packed full of flavour and really filling. I thought they would be a little spicier than they were, however. I don't even mind, as they're so pretty.

The other dish I ordered was the chorizo and potato quesadillas (£4.20). A little less filling in these than I'd like, but they were still lovely, and the creamy potato inside gave these a really good texture against the crunchy tortilla outside.

I may have been misleading when I said I only fancied two street food plates. I'd already spotted churros (£3.95) on the menu. I decided to split them with Mr P, who chose the toffee sauce instead of the chocolate one. Next time, I'm kicking him off my dessert and going for the chocolate, as the toffee was a bit too sweet for me.

But...those crunchy gooey doughnut sticks were heaven enough on their own. Sprinkled with a cinnamon sugar when still warm they are a complete must. I can't implore you enough to leave just a little bit of room in your stomach for these bad boys at the end of your meal.

If that's not your thing, the chocolate tres leches cake (chocolate cake soaked in three milks) looked pretty good, although the peanut butter ice cream on top got my attention (£4.95).

I completely fell in love with Wahaca. All the food was wonderful, and it made such a difference to have something like this in Cardiff. What's more, it's so fantastically and competitively priced. With street food ranging about the £4 mark for each plate, and the platos fuertes about £7 - £10, you can fill a family up for a reasonable price. Hopefully at these prices will entice people away from the many average chains around the city centre, and see that great fresh food doesn't need to be expensive.

I'm definitely looking forward to going back and getting through everything on the menu, with added tequila! Let me know what your recommendations are!