Let's All Have A Lovely Day!

Summer Soundtrack #5

I know I've been a bit slack with the whole Summer Soundtrack thing, but we've been doing a lot of travelling and I don't take my laptop with me.  People tell me I can successfully blog on the iPad or iPhone, but I'm still not convinced, so I'm sticking with the MacBookPro for the moment.

Anyway, one CD that's been in both of our cars this summer is David Guetta's "Nothing But The Beat".  I know I said that we're seriously not into house or dance music, but this stuff is absolutely addictive.  We had it on in the house at first and you can't actually NOT dance to it - it just makes you wiggle your butt.  Even the dog was dancing around with us.

The reason I bought the CD was that I'd heard the song "Titanium" (the last cut on the CD) and it features an Adelaide singer called Sia.  It's very catchy and I was hoping the rest of the CD would be too - it definitely is.

As Molly Meldrum (obscure Australian reference) would say - "Do yourself a favour" and get hold of it.  Then get dancing!

London Eye Champagne Flight

We decided that a ride on the London Eye was in order, and that a Champagne Flight would be even more fun.  For £35.04/head (nothing like being EXACT!) you get into a pod with a waiter and a cooler full of Pommery champagne, there's some orange juice for Bucks Fizz if you'd rather.  Your ticket gets you a ride on the Eye and a flute of champagne.  The waiter is around to take your photo or answer any questions you might have, ours was a cheery chappy and very helpful.  You can buy a second glass ticket if you'd like, but I think one glass was enough for the ride.

Normal ride tickets start around £19.98 (again, get those last pennies!), and everything is cheaper if you book online and in advance.  Another bonus of booking online is that you can choose a time slot and you're not waiting in the huge lines with the people who've just turned up on the day.

There's also a fixed camera on the outside of the Eye that snaps a picture of you as you're just about done, so make sure you get into the photo zone (it's marked on the floor) as you're on the descent and do your best smiley face.  You can buy the photos at the bottom straight away.

EDF Energy London Eye

Riverside Building

County Hall

Westminster Bridge Road

London  SE1 7PB

http://www.londoneye.com

Restaurant Review : Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

A 25th Wedding Anniversary dinner calls for something just a little bit special, so Jim managed to snag us a table at Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley for Diane & Alan's celebration.

Our table was for 9pm which left time for a few drinks in The Blue Bar at The Berkeley.  They  have a fab cocktail list and we managed to sample a few.  The Blue Bar is aptly named, and I found it very luxe but also quite cold feeling without terribly much of an atmosphere - didn't stop us having fun however!  And their cocktail nibblies, which they kept replenishing, were absolutely scrumptious.  We had to force ourselves to stop eating them so that we'd have enough room for dinner.

The restaurant is approached through their normal hotel restaurant, which was a bit odd.  You walk through tables of diners to a closed set of doors, and are then ushered through.  The toilets were a bit of a hike as well, but it's fab to catch snippets of conversations in posh hotel loos - "Hermoine will just die if Tottie doesn't come to the country house for kitchen sups!  She will be simply inconsolable!".  Really.  I desperately wanted to stay longer and keep my ears flapping but it would have looked a bit pervy.

Anyway, enough of toilet chat, back to the restaurant.  Dinner was absolutely glorious, as you would expect, with a choice of a "Chefs Menu" or a la carte.  The stand out courses for me being the scallops with asparagus and the foie gras - YUM - the only problem was that they weren't big enough and I wanted more.  Because I'm greedy.  The diet?  Um, well, it definitely starts on Monday!

The service is top notch with always someone hovering politely at a distance, but close enough to summon with a glance.

I can't finish without mentioning the flipping cheese trolley.  I know that there are people who like a cheese course to finish their meal, my hubby does from time to time, and the restaurant had a large and interesting looking cheese trolley.  But they kept it uncovered basically the entire time and the whole restaurant smelt of ripe cheese.  When you entered the restaurant you were greeted by a wall of cheese smell and, honestly, it was over the top.  If you like cheese, you'll love it!

Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley

Wilton Place

Knightsbridge

London  SW1X 7RL

Phone:- +44 (0) 20 7235 1200

http://www.the-berkeley.co.uk/marcus_wareing.aspx

They have a dress code - no jeans, trainers or sportswear, and a jacket is required for gentlemen.

Annual Flight Count Update

A quick weekend away in London to celebrate our dear friends, Diane & Alan, 25th wedding anniversary saw the flight count get a bump up.

Keep tuned in for some London blogs ...

Oh, and whilst I was searching for an "18" picture for the flight count, I came across this particular image.  Handy to know that children under 18 aren't allowed to use AK47s ...

Restaurant Review : Ikarus, Salzburg, Austria

Wow, what can I say?  This is a SERIOUSLY good restaurant!  One of the best, if not the best, we've ever been to.  Not only is the food amazing, the set up of the tables means you get to see what everyone else is getting, and you know that you're going to get that, it provides a sense of theatre.

There were only 8 tables (yes, you NEED to book), set around the edge of the restaurant space, with the fabulous staff moving through the middle of the space.  There is at least one member of staff per table, probably two, and they are fantastic.  Everyone speaks English and they know their stuff, they are incredibly professional yet personable.

The tables were topped with black leather - very tactile!

Ikarus is located in Hangar 7 on the edge of Salzburg Airport, in part of the Red Bull Museum, which is itself worth a visit (free entry).  There is also a great bar on the ground floor, outside the Museum, which is up next to the edge of the airport fencing - amazing for watching the planes and having a drink or two.

Ikarus is an unusual restaurant, in that it runs with guest chefs.  Each month they have another international chef running their kitchen.  The month of June was Daniel Patterson from Coi in San Francisco.  Daniel combines high quality seasonal products from his region with the most advanced preparation and cooking techniques.  Daniel's amazing cooking has been recognised by Michelin and awarded two stars.

I could go on and on about this restaurant, it's exceptional.  Not only do they have a champagne trolley to start you away and a cheese trolley (there are actually three cheese trolleys!) to finish you off, they also have a bread and butter trolley.  Really.  A trolley to offer you different breads and FIVE different house made butters - amazing.  We couldn't decide, so they sliced generous serves of all of them onto a slate for us to try - the seaweed one was astonishing.

The menu is a degustation of 9 courses, each priced individually so if you want to drop a course out, they will drop it for you.  I dropped the Asparagus, Oyster & Wheat Grass course, but hubby kept it in and said it was fabulous.  Once you've chosen your courses from the 9 on offer (I had 8, hubby had 9) your attentive waiting staff removes your menu and then comes back with a souvenir menu created for you to take away, listing exactly what you've chosen - wow.

You can choose a wine flight or a non-alcoholic flight to go accompany your meal.  I chose the non-alcoholic flight so I could try something different, and I think I won that round!  My drinks ranged from Grapefruit & Ginger Punch, to Combucha Quince & Mint Iced Tea - scrumptious.

Each of the courses was impeccably presented and tasted amazing.  I can't really pick one course out above the other, but the Beetroot & Goats Cheese Tart with Dill & Rye was quite fabulous.  The first dessert of Frozen Lime Marshmallows & Grilled Meringue, which was likened to toasted marshmallows, really did taste like it'd been cooked over a wooden fire - wow.

Oh, and I know it sounds really odd, but make sure you go to the toilet whilst you're there.  I've never seen such a HUGE arrangement of flowers in my life as I saw in the ladies loo.  Hubby said there was a similarly large arrangement in the mens.  There is also a chat screen between the mens and ladies loos (not in the actual toilet cubicles, yuck) which is a bit of fun.

Red Bull Museum, below the restaurant, well worth a visit

Restaurant Ikarus

Wilhelm-Spazier-Strasse 7A

Salzburg  Austria  5020

Phone:- 43 662 2197 77

www.hangar-7.com

Restaurant Review : Monschberg 32, Salzburg, Austria

Had a great lunch on the fabulous open decking area, looking over the amazing views, at Monschberg 32 (M32) on Sunday.  M32 is the restaurant for the Salzburg MOMA (Museum of Modern Art), and you reach it by lift up the mountainside, then a few stairs.  As we were going out for a big dinner, we didn't want much, so just ordered salads and coffees which were lovely, but you really go for the views.

There are lots of lovely outdoor tables, on a large stepped decking area, all under the cover of umbrellas.  Staff weren't overly friendly, but were efficient and the food was good.  There is also a large inside restaurant with a brilliant ceiling covered with hanging deer antlers.  It was brilliant lingering over lunch as we watched hang gliders launching from the mountains in the distance, whizzing and whirling around in the warm air.

The ticket for the lift is €2/person to get up to the restaurant, but you get a return ticket per person when you pay for your meal.  They also do breakfasts and I think we'd try that next time.  The breakfasts came out on tiered trays (similar to high tea trays) and looked amazing.

M32

Monschberg 32

Salzburg  Austria  5020

Phone:- 43 662 84 1000

http://m32.at/en/m32-2/the-monchsberg/