Plymouth: Day 2

Hello! I took an accidental blogging break there, but I'm trying not to make them too long these days. ;) But without further ado, onto more from Plymouth! On our second day there (and the first full day we spent in the city) we mainly mooched around the shops and attended the reception for Michael's sister's graduation.

The reception was held in Plymouth city's Guildhall - which was beautiful, as you can see above - and they'd provided a plethora of waiters bearing juices, Buck's fizz and canapés to celebrate. Much more fancy than my graduation! It was certainly interesting to experience how a different place does things (not to mention taking full advantage of the free food/drink).

I guess this shiny purple building might not be to everyone's taste, but I personally love it! I also love the contrast of the beauty of new and old here; especially as modern buildings are so often made for function with no thought to aesthetics. It's nice to know we can still make lovely things if we try, and in special and interesting new ways.

That night we had dinner at The Glassblowing House and I decided to have a night off from taking pictures, which I sort of regretted! It was decorated beautifully and the food was absolutely delicious; all my three courses (The Glassblowing House bruschetta, Cajun spiced chicken breast burger and white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake) were spot on and very generously portioned. I definitely ended that night very happily full and would say it's a must-visit if you're ever in the area.

That's it from me for now, but more on Plymouth soon!

Plymouth: Day 1

Just over a week ago Michael and I went to Plymouth to celebrate his twin sister's graduation from medical school. She's just moved to Dundee to start work soon so it was great to see her one last time before she moved hundreds of miles away. It was a lovely sunny few days, but thankfully not as humid as it was in Guildford so it was a great time to get away.

The lovely train man (conductor? guard?) offered to find us seats when he saw we were sitting on the floor half-way through the journey and when he couldn't find any in standard (we had looked!), he said we could just sit in first, so that was fun - I did feel a bit like an imposter though!

It was so sunny and pretty when we arrived I had to immediately get out my camera and start snapping pictures, even though I was also carrying a giant bag (note to self: take a wheeled suitcase on the next trip...). My boyfriend is so patient!

We stayed in the lovely Grosvenor Hotel, which was comfortable and very well-presented (just look at the décor above!). It even had breakfast included in the price of the room. There wasn't a huge selection of cereal and the toast wasn't great, but the cooked breakfast was lovely and made fresh to order.

After we checked in and sorted out our stuff we headed down to the Hoe to meet up with Michael's family. It's such a beautiful area! I went to Plymouth once before for an underwater hockey tournament but I don't think we saw any of the nice bits. Also it was February so I don't think that helped...

The island above is named Drake's Island because Francis Drake (whose lovely likeness you can see further up) sailed from there for his trip around the world in 1577; it was also used as a barracks in the 1500s when it was needed for defence against the French and Spanish. Y'know, when we were at war with everyone...

After lying around for a little bit we headed along the seashore for some quick dinner before going to see the NT production of Skylight at one of the local cinemas (which was a really good play, go see it if you can!).

This post on our first day in Plymouth was brought to you by me whilst watching season 2 of Orange Is The New Black. Cannot. Get. Enough.

More on Plymouth soon!