Happy Easter Weekend

Thursday

Let the bank holiday weekend commence! I was later out of work than planned so I wasn't able to go meet my parents as planned for mass. Instead I went to a great little pub near my work called Sloans. Down a lane and away from the hussle and bussle of Buchanan Street with a great outdoor seated area. It has heaters so there's no need to worry about it being cold (which it is in Glasgow most of the time). Myself and a friend shared a bottle of Prosecco before heading our separate ways. I apologise for not having photos but I only decided to do this blog on the Friday! If you are in the main shopping area of Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and St Enoch's Centre looking for somewhere to rest your feet and get a good drink, then Sloans is a great place to do it. To top things off they have ceilidhs in the top floor on a Friday night for only a tenner. I can highly recommend it. For more information on Sloans visit www.sloansglasgow.com


Good Friday

This morning I got ready and we went to visit my two friends to take their dog for a walk. They are lucky enough to live in a converted farm that has a forestry area right next to them. Perfect for dog walks on a beautifully sunny bank holiday. Always nice to get out of the city (only a 20 minute drive) and as we'll be moving to the area soon, it's nice to find out about these places we didn't know about.

After that I went back into Glasgow to go toe the Good Friday service at St Aloysius. If you are a visitor to Glasgow (or indeed from Glasgow and have never been in) do take the time to visit this beautiful Jesuit Church in the heart of the city centre. It is a little gem that has a brightly coloured, magnificent dome and a recently purchased new organ. The floral arrangements in the Church are always beautiful and it also house the national shrine for the Scottish martyr, John Ogilvie.

I returned home to the traditional hot cross bun and cuppa tea. Decided to do my nails in a pastel purple  from Barry M's 'Speedy Quick Dry' in Lap of Honour (502). Then I decided to do this blog for over the easter weekend. So again a lack of pictures that I can only apologise for but I shall try to be better tomorrow.

Easter Saturday

I need to say sorry....again! I left my phone at my parents house so was unable to post an update on Saturday itself or take as many pics as I was hoping.  I didn't manage to wrestle the phone off my significant other to capture lunch at least.

We went to Cafe Andaluz in the West End of Glasgow. This is one of our favourite places to eat. In fact, it's where we went on our first date. They do a great deal of 3 tapas and a dessert for something like £15. Not to be argued with. The service is always first class and incredibly friendly. For my drink I had my usual 'Cal y canto bianco' (large obviously!). I think it might be the cheapest wine on their menu but I must say I love it. I ended up actually having 2 glasses.

My three tapas dishes were Patatas Bravas, Chorizo al vino and Pollo Rebezado con Miel. All dishes were delicious as per usual. The chicken was probably the winner of this visit. The Chorizo maybe wasn't quite as awesome as usual but it was still incredibly tasty. 

 Patatas Bravas 

 

Chorizo al vino 

 Pollo Rebezado con Miel 

They have a good selection of desserts to choose from. I tend to go for the Raspberry Pavlova but I knew I would be having that for dinner tomorrow so instead I opted from their Créme Catalana  (essentially a Créme Brulee). I've had it before and in my option it's far too large. I have a massive sweet tooth but even for me it's too much. Don't get me wrong, it is soooo good.

 Créme Catalana.

I might be biased because it has so much sentimental value for me, but I really do love this restaurant. The staff are great, there is loads of choice and it has a really nice cosy atmosphere. Close to Ashton Lane with loads of options for places to get a tipple afterwards. Definitely check it out! http://www.cafeandaluz.com/restaurants/glasgow-west-end

After the Easter Vigil mass, I went round to my friends' house for a couple of glasses of fizz and some of her delicious homemade pretzels. Once I'm settled in the house I'm going to have a try making them and I'll let you know how I get on.

Easter Sunday

Today was fairly quiet today. Just a day at home as a family. Not only is it Easter but it is also my dad's birthday. I've had the perfect present for him for ages and have been dying to show him it. My parents are both big fans of travelling through Europe. Once of their favourite programmes on BBC is 'Great Continental Rail Journeys'.  The programme features Michael Portillo travelling Europe using a Bradshaw's travel guide from 1913. It's a great insight into what Europe was like pre-wat. My dad loved the present so I was really happy. 

Later on in the day my sister, brother-in-law and nephews came round dinner. Before eating we had a great time doing an Easter Egg Hunt in the garden. The boys loved it and then we tucked in to a lovely lamb roast.

I hope all my readers had a lovely Easter with friends and family. Hopefully the Easter Bunny was good to you all.

Las Iguanas, Glasgow

Me and my friends went out yesterday to see the last instalment of The Hunger Games. After we left we were in search of food and cocktails. One of our usual haunts, The Raven, was full so whilst we enjoyed a bottle of prosecco we debated over where to go. In the end we settle on Las Iguanas situated close to Glasgow Central Station (on West Nile Street). 

Upon arrival we were warned there would be a long wait for food as the kitchen was "struggling". To be honest we were amazed given how quiet the place was that the kitchen staff were struggling so much to keep up with orders. We were also told that a number of the dishes were sold out as the waitress promptly scored out large sections of the menu. By this point it was getting on and we just wanted food and drink so agreed to stay.

Cocktails were decent and standard city centre prices. A few of the girls wanted cocktails not on the menu and the bar staff were accommodating enough to make them for us. Jug of water supplied as standard which I always like when eating out. 

As we knew there was going to be a long wait we ordered some bread & olives and tortilla chips to see us through till our mains came. However, our chips were brought at the same time as one of our mains. The tortilla chips were standard shop bought and incredibly disappointing. You want good tortilla chips: try Hyde in the West End. They do delicious ones. Anyway, by this point I'm wondering how long it takes to put some bread together and mix balsamic vinegar with oil!

Eventually it did come and I can safely say the bread was probably the best part of the whole meal. I think that probably speaks volumes about how good the restaurant actually is. The food was alright. Nothing to write home about. The gambas and chicken wings (yes we did order them hot) were so spicy though that I ended up losing about a million taste buds and found myself rubbing ice cubes over my tongue for a slight bit of relief.

To top it all off, the fire alarm went off and so we were booted out into the street. Can't be helped. But between that, the lack of things available to order and the slow service I would have expected an amount to be taken off the bill or at least some complimentary drinks. But sadly not. The bill came to £106 which for 5 tapas dishes, a taco sharing plate, 2 sides, 4 cocktails and a bottle of Cave was really quite reasonable. However I really would have preferred to pay more for a better quality of food and service.

Sorry there's no photos to include but my phone had died!