Feasting at Fistral

I think it's safe to say we filled our boots on our weekend away. My excuse is that we needed the extra padding against the bracing at Atlantic winds.... or that the food was just too good to resist.

We started our Saturday morning off in true lazy holiday style...full Cornish breakfast in bed with an unbeatable view.

However, the views and food downstairs in the restaurant are just as good. There's the usual cereals and fruits, a self serve buffet of full English items and cold meats, and you can also order from the hot menu. FYI, the eggs benny are awesome.

In between breakfasts, we found a food truck called Wild Foods, and devoured an incredibly crunchy wild garlic and nettle falafel. Very filling and just enough garlic to keep the vampires away.

Of course, who visits Cornwall without one of these? Heartbroken that my favourite pasty shop was shut, (I'm hoping that it was just for the winter) but this one filled in quite nicely.

Our deal included a 3 course meal on one night at The Headland, so Saturday night we stayed safe inside from the elements with a bottle of red to keep us warm.

Golden crunchy Cornish crab fritters with a creamy curried mayonnaise, with just enough spice.

Szechuan pork and spring onions. This dish was 100% prettier in real life than in this grainy light! A light and zingy starter with spicy marinaded pork.

Braised shin of beef, with a slice of fried polenta and garlic broccoli. The beef literally fell apart as soon as I stuck the fork in, and never underestimate the power of perfectly cooked broccoli! I could jump through the screen and eat this again right now.

The venison was pinker than the picture, and just as soft. The parmesan crisps added a nice crunch, and look striking, but are a lot harder to eat as a meal than they look.

I was a little disappointed with dessert. Cornish Gouda, quince jelly and biscuits. The jelly was both sweet and a little sharp, but that cheese barely stretched to two of the generic crackers.

Especially when over the other side of the table was this huge slab of sticky toffee pudding with popcorn ice cream. Deliciously sinful. It's probably a good job I only had a little slice of cheese, as Mr P was struggling and what kind of wife would I be if I didn't help out eh?

The restaurant is open to the public too, so if you're down this way at all, pop in for a cosy meal and nose around this beautiful building.

Beefeaters and Burger Eaters

Our last day consisted of us running all over the city, to get in as much sight seeing as possible. We jumped on the tube (having become pros by now, tutting at tourists) across to Tower Hill.

The Tower of London is somewhere I've always wanted to visit. I've got a serious fascination with the Tudors, especially the reign of Henry VIII, so was really looking forward to experiencing some of this history first hand. 

Just a tip if you're visiting this or any other London attractions and you're heading into the capital by train, check out Days Out Guide for two for one offers. The gate price per adult for the Tower of London was £24.50, so we made a great saving with this offer. They have to be printed in advance though, so plan ahead and you can get a good deal, especially if you have children! 

We headed in through the gates, but noticed that a Yeoman Warder guided tour was about to start, so we tagged along. This was undoubtedly the best decision we made all day, as Billy Beefeater (@billybeefeater on twitter) was the funniest and most informative guide we could have had. He constantly had us in stitches when we weren't overawed by the history. He's not Anne Boleyn's biggest fan, that's for sure. I won't give too much away, but I can't implore you enough to make time for one of these tours if you visit.

We then wandered around on our own, joining the queue to see the Crown Jewels, housed in the Jewel House below.

They're a must see if you go, but I definitely found the White Tower a bit more interesting personally. Suits of armour and all sorts of weaponry - always the tomboy!

I was completely absorbed in the White Tower. The monuments and artifacts are so interesting, and there are many interactive exhibits that add to the fun. However, there's just this overwhelming feeling of history within the walls, that you can't help but imagine what it would have been like in the 1400's, wandering down the spiraling staircases.

Even the sky turned a foreboding colour of grey!

We didn't have nearly enough time to look around, and I'm looking forward to when we can next go back and give the attraction our full attention. I'd definitely make sure I had a full day ahead of me next time, but we had a train to catch and dinner to grab first.

Isn't Tower Bridge a thing of absolute beauty? I love it.

There was one more thing on my list that I couldn't leave London without, and I dragged my poor husband over the Thames and all the way across to Southbank to get it.

After a few wrong turns, we finally found our destination, Bleecker St. Hiding under a bridge was a little unassuming box of burger heaven.

After drooling all over my phone looking at these guys on instagram, we already knew what we wanted from the menu. That'll be two Bleecker Blacks (£10 each) and a side of Angry Fries (£4) to share, please.

As soon as our dinner arrived, I was more than forgiven for once again dragging poor Mr. P all across the city in the name of food.

Oh yeah. That's right.  Two medium rare beef burgers, topped with cheese, sandwiching a hunk of black pudding. Oh my days. Want a closer look? You know you want to.

Hands down the number one burger I've had so far. I'm a sucker for a bit of black pudding, but have never had it in a burger before, let alone a cheesy juicy rare one. It's outstanding. Well worth the £10 price tag, this would have filled me up on it's own.

But of course, this is me. There was no way I was leaving without getting some of those Angry Fries down me. Good sized skin on fries (none of that 'skinny' business thank you) doused in a generous helping of hot sauce and blue cheese sauce.

Needless to say, we devoured the lot. Well worth persevering with our map skills to find the place, this was the best meal we had, and a perfect end to our weekend away. We rolled our bellies back to the train, and dozed happily until we arrived back over the border.

Sunset Views

As sunsets go, Marmari packs a mean one. The village is based around the huge beach, an expanse of sand that seems to stretch on for miles. This means blissfully uninterrupted views in the evening when the sun dips it's head behind the islands of Pserimos and Kalymnos.

However, the most spectacular sights on the island are to be seen from the mountainside village of Zia. A short bus journey on a lazy Friday evening and we were looking down on Marmari from a few more hundred metres above sea level.

Zia is a teensy tiny village, not much more than a single street lined with numerous tourist shops and roof top tavernas. But really, that's all it needs. This place is all about the views.

We had a little wander around to see the sights and get our bearings, but the tourist buses were arriving in their droves, and the best sunset spots were being filled up. We eyed up the rooftop terraces, but there was only ever going to be one winner...

Taverna Oromedon boasts the best views of the sunset in Kos. If you've never heard of it, I'm pretty sure you'll have seen these iconic steps.

We managed to get a fantastic table at the front of the restaurant, sticking out over the mountain. This meant great views for us, although often interrupted by a few amateur photographers sitting on our laps!

Chilled rosé and a plate of calamari to snack on, we chatted the night away and watched the shimmering panoramic views change before our eyes.

Appetite woken, we ordered mains. I've actually never eaten moussaka in Greece before, despite my numerous visits in the last few years. I decided to remedy this, and I'm so glad I did!

Mr P wasn't too happy with the lack of lamb kleftico on the menu, however the slow oven roasted lamb that he did have proved quite the match! I love the meltingly soft meat that the Greeks do so well!

Snuggled up in our front row seats with full stomachs, we watched as the main event unfolded before us.

Have you ever seen a sunset like that? The pictures just cannot do it justice, watching the sun slowly slip behind the islands in front, leaving a glittering gold aura around everything.

 

Once the spectacle was over, we dragged ourselves away from our comfy chairs, and headed off for a bit of tourist shopping before jumping on the bus back down the mountain. Late night shopping is high up on the list of my favourite Mediterranean pastimes.

Kalinixta Kos. I'll be back...

Kos Town, Pt 2

Kos Town is an incredibly beautiful place, and especially so when bathed in the glowing evening sunshine. History oozes from the pores of the streets, with ancient monuments lying where they once stood strong, be that at the side of the road, against a bus stop or overlooking the town.

We jumped off the bus and dived headfirst into the maze of busy winding streets packed full of restaurants, cafés and tourist shops. Having devoured the guidebook whilst lazing around the pool in the last few days, I dragged Mr P off in the direction of the harbour, via Eleftheria Square.

Kos Town is an eclectic mix of grand church buildings and elegant, curvaceous mosques. Narrow pathways flowed like streams to great squares covered in wide spanning olive trees providing the much needed shade.

We did however come across a few scarier statues on the way…

Dawdling around the walls of the town, in a quiet shady square, we found the Plane Tree of Hippocrates. Legend has it that this current tree is at least 500 years old, and is said to be a descendant of the tree where Hippocrates taught his students the art of medicine under the shade of the leaves. The scaffolding around the tree is for support for the great reaching, but now hollow, branches.

A bit of "If I were a millionaire..." boat shopping then ensued and plenty of goofing around…

And then I found possibly the most iconic sight of Kos, those big white and blue steps of the most photogenic Ouzeria’s I have ever come across in Greece. Completely excited about the prospect of finding the place that I’d pinned consistently on my pinterest since booking a holiday, I obviously insisted on a million and one photos.

We decided it would be too much of a shame to come all this way and not actually dine here, so we grabbed a table with fantastic views and ordered a carafe of rosé to drink them in with. 

Followed up with veal stifado for him...

And prawns cooked in an ouzo, cream and dill sauce for me! Greek roast potatoes are the best. I don't know how they do it but I can never recreate them exactly no matter how much I try!

The food was incredible and we enjoyed every single bite! Well, when I say every single bite, I did have a little bit of competition...

I may have 'dropped' a little bit...how can you ignore those eyes!

We then trundled along a few more shops and got lost a few more times to walk our dinner off.  The town changes and comes alive with such a different buzz when the sun goes down, but with full bellies and bags clunking with souvenirs we headed back for the short bus journey back to our comfy bed.