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.

Winter Krakow Trip (Day Three)

For our third and final day we wanted to spend some time in Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter. It was only a short walk from the Aparthotel to the main square. The main square is spacious with many restaurants down one side. We decided to stop for breakfast and a warn drink to heat us up in the wintery weather. Seated opposite the Remuh Synagogue (known best for it's wailing wall made up of Jewish tombstones destroyed by the Nazis) and next to a memorial for those who lost their lives during the second World War, it was nice to just sit and read my guide book soaking up a bit of history about the area.

At the end of the square is the Old Synagogue, that now houses a museum on Jewish holidays and traditions. If you already have a knowledge of Judaism you may not find that you learn too much but for a small price it is worth having a peek inside.

After we finished our time in the museum we spent a lot of time wandering and exploring the many Synagogues and Churches in the area. If you ever visit you will see loads of electrics cars that do tours of the area. For me I can't think of anything worse than whizzing round such a nice area with little to no time to look into the gorgeous buildings.

Unfortunately due to the sheer size of some of the Churches it was difficult to actually photograph them as I just couldn't fit them into the frame. Truly these things need to be seen in real life to be appreciated.

And that was it, we were out of time. I really feel like we could have done with at least another day. There was so much we still really wanted to see. For sure we will definitely be going back at some point.

If there's any questions anyone has about Kraków just ask in the comments.

Winter Krakow Trip (Day One)

So this year instead of exchanging meaningless Christmas presents we opted to treat ourselves to a little mini break away. We wanted to go someone that neither of us had been to before (which ruled out quite a lot of Europe for us). In the end we decided to go to Krakow, Poland. We booked a nice little Aparthotel right next to Wawel castle. Perfect location and great facilities. Getting from the accommodation from the airport was easy enough. Hopped on a bus that took us a ten minute walk or so to our hotel. Only one problem....it was pouring with rain and I thought I'd left my umbrella back home (turns out it was in my suitcase). Once we did get to the hotel and dry off, we went out for dinner at a lovely restaurant at the end of the road, Malecon http://www.malecon.pl/?lang=eng. It was a really lovely meal and even though it was a Saturday night it was still nice and quiet.

The following morning and afternoon we spent up at Wawel Castle and Cathedral. I would recommend going up really early as tickets are limited and it can get busy with tour groups as well. We had a very informative tour of The Royal Apartments which was really interesting. We also went round The Treasury and The Cathedral. The Wawel area is rich in history (of which I won't bore you) but I would suggest reading through a guide book before visiting to get a better understanding. It really was a lovely day. However, the eating facilities up there did leave a little to be desired.

Afterwards we walked up to Rynek Główny (Main Square). It's a huge open area with bars and restaurants round the side. The central area is dominated by The Cloth Hall (imagine an amazing Christmas market set inside) and what's left of the old town hall (now just a tower). At the far end of the square is St Mary's Cathedral. On the hour every hour, a firefighter goes to the top of the tower of the Cathedral and plays a trumpet solo out each window. Be sure to give him a wave of you do visit. The square has been there since the 13th century and it really has a magical feel as you sip a beer, next to a heater, snuggled under a blanket with a loved one. 

For dinner we had something rather special planned, Wiezernyek.  http://en.wierzynek.pl/

I had spotted this wee gem on TripAdvisor and knew I had to go.

The view from our table of Rynek was stunning. While we waited on our starters they brought us a delicious goat's cheese and smoked paprika slice. It was a lovely touch. For starters we both had Goose Pate, which without a shadow of doubt was the best pate I'd ever had.

My main was Ossobucco.  It was ridiculously tender and as you can see everything was beautifully presented. I can't remember what the other half did but he assures me that it was something equally delicious. Following on from that I had a melted chocolate pudding that people had been recommending on TripAdvisor. I was stuffed fit to burst but could resist some chocolaty goodness. If you eat anywhere in Krakow, this is where I would recommend!