Travel Tuesday- Armistice Day

Remembrance Day or Armistice Day is commemorating 100 years since the outbreak of World War One in 1914 & remembering those who fought & lost their lives for their country. There were 888,246 British military fatalities! 

The Tower of London- Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. image from the DailyMail 

  

The Sea of poppies at Tower of London has been a huge attraction over the past week. 888,246 poppies have been planted and the last one will be planted today at 10.52 before the two minute silence at 11.00. 

Every poppy planted represents a life lost in WW1, this amazing display has engaged with individuals the amount of lives lost during the War. It's been humbling for those who organised it and emotive for those who visit the Tower of London. 

The display of poppies is called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, the glass poppies have been designed by ceramic artist Paul Cummins. The creation of the display of a waterfall flowing from the tower and filling the moat was set by Tom Piper. 

These ceramic poppies can be bought for £25 and 10% of each poppy gets evenly distributed amongst the chosen charities. They are hoping to sell all of the poppies and raise millions of pounds for six different Armed Forces charities such as Help for Heroes & Coming Home. 

The Great War hasn't only been commemorated in London, it's been remembered nation and worldwide with services, wreaths, banners, artwork being created and designed to remember those who gave their lives for their country! 

Treat Thursday- La Civiere d'Or

As you walk into the centre square in Brugge you are immediately surrounded by cafes, horse and carts, and architecture.  It is the heart of the city and a buzz of activity with every cafe busy with people and others absorbing the cultural atmosphere.  

We decided to enjoy the evening sun which was still shinning on the left side of the square as you enter from the station/top side of the main square.  Being October it was chilly if you weren't in the direct Indian summer sunshine, but if you were then it was a little slice of heaven!

Being on the main square it was super busy and you had to jump on a table as soon as it was vacated, we felt a bit like predators, but everyone was doing it! the cafe overlooks the main square so it makes for a wonderful variety of people watching, one of my favourite pastimes! The square is pedestrian only and the horse and carts trotting by adds to the quaint atmosphere the city has to offer. 

All of the bars, cafes, restaurants are a captured market so the prices are higher, but the waiters speak good English and are well versed in the variety of beers available.  Drinks come with a bowl of nuts and the service is relatively quick considering there only seems to be two waiters running the whole outside area. 

Inside is dingy and feels almost dirty and the toilet facilities are very basic, but the main selling point for La Civiere d'Or is the outside seating area and the views of the main square, so I would rate this place a 3/5 star which is fine for a drink but didn't leave us inspired to try a meal here. 

Savoury Saturday: Potato and Leek Soup

It's soup season!! The autumn and winter months are perfect for soups. We love experimenting and creating different soups in BVF Kitchen. 

This recipe is easy to prep and create. Potato soup is versatile and you can make any variations you desire such as: adding cheese, chopped broccoli, diced chicken, and so much more! 

Ingredients 

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 2 medium leeks, sliced (white and light green parts only)
• 1 pound Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 2/3 cups fat free milk
• Freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large pot. Add shallots, leeks and potatoes, and cook on a low to medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken or vegetable broth and milk, and simmer half covered on a medium heat for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Transfer half of the potatoes and 3/4th of the liquid to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add more of the remaining liquid until desired consistency. Combine the puréed soup with the remaining diced potatoes. Garnish with sour shredded cheddar cheese. Bon Appètite!!! 

Travel Tuesday! 10 BVF Things to do in Paris

10 BVF Things to do in Paris 

1. Rue Mouffetard Market: Located in the Latin Quarters. Great places to eat, nice area to walk, fresh produce stands, cheese shops, etc. 

2. Pont de Arts Bridge: Iconic bridge with the 'locks of love".

3. The Louvre Museum-See countless works of art including the Mona Lisa. 

4. Shakespearre's Bookstore.

5. Montemarte: Eclectic, lots of crepe stands, art corner, gorgeous view of the city from the top of the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart). 

6. Markets, you can find them by arrondissement 

7. Try chocolate pain at a local bakery.

8. Walk along the River Seine, buy a book from a local vendor.

9. Attend a live show such as Crazy Horse, the opera, ballet, symphony, Moulin Rouge, etc. 

10. If you enjoy sweets and nuts, visit the Pistacherie (multiple locations throughout the city).

Congratulations Diana!! Welcome Baby Oliver

What an exciting and glorious day!! Congratulations to Diana, Phil, and new big brother Alfie on the birth of baby Oliver!! Look how gorgeous he is!!! 

Oliver Matthew Jenner was born today at 10:57am and is a healthy 9 lb beautiful baby! Beaming Diana!! 

Alfie welcomes Ollie. Big brother Alfie (and my beautiful Godson)!! 

I've had the joy of knowing Diana since she was 17 years old! It's been a privilege to witness her transform from a teenager into an amazing woman. So proud of all she's accomplished over the years and so excited for her to be a mummy of two!!! Cheers to another spectacular new chapter in your life, wishing you and your family endless blessings. I can't wait to see you, Phil, Alfie, and Ollie in March. 

Travel Tuesday- New Forest Wildlife Park

New Forest Wildlife Park 

Butterfly sanctuary- not their season at the moment, they finish end if September. Butterflies need sodium for breeding & that's why they land on you. Butterflies are usually delicious & enjoyed by birds, snakes, lizards, rats & monkeys, but some taste foul & can be poisonous! 

There are several types of otters at the NFWC, some From the Pacific North West 

Otters fur is warm, thick & sleek which makes it highly desirable by humans and they're still hunted for fur because they're not endangered species. Two brothers/ bachelors or travel as families 

Eurasian otters, also known as the common otter, is the only otter native to Britain. We arrived about 11.00 which enabled us to walk along and see everything and arrive at the enclosure just in time for 

Feeding time! All the otters gather round screeching for food, then the keeper comes and feeds each pen chucking individual portions into each enclosure. They live until they're about 7 years old. Otters have to be taught to swim- drag by back of neck & until almost drowning & start to swim. Typical Otter menu: 

Chicks for breakfast

Mince & vegetables for lunch 

Fish (trout/salmon/tilapia) & shellfish for dinner 

Catch rodents & frogs in the wild as well for snacks 

Lucky animals! 

Owl sanctuary & deer roam free. There are hobbit owls, tawny, snow and many other types of owls. At each enclosure there are fun facts and questions for an interactive visit with older children. Dotty the deer is 11 years old and can live until she's 20 years old in captivity. She was hit by a car & nursed back to life. she was eating my pashmina! Very friendly & apparently clothing is a form if comfort to them. 

European Bison- closely resemble North American bison but more commonly called buffalo. Lady in Poland is in charge of all breeding, the population was reduced down to 12 with only 2 males & now through carefully monitored breeding there are over 4,000 bison scattered around Europe. These two males came from the breeding program in Ireland and were shipped over in a large metal cattle crate, they put several big dents in it but once the arrived at the centre it only took them a week to settle into park habitation. 

There are a couple play areas for all ages and picnic areas, so you can spend the entire day at the park or just a couple of hours. If you have an IKEA card you save 30% on entry fee, so it makes for a fun family day out! 

Savoury Saturday- Restaurant Review The Blue Pig

The Angel and Blue pig review 

This 13th century pub has been a well-known establishment in Lymington for years.  It's located in the centre of the High Street and has recently been refurbished.  The girls and I have a quarterly 'girls night out' and we booked a table here based on word of mouth recommendation. 

We started off the evening with cosmopolitans, and thought we were off to a great start enjoying the busy Saturday night buzz of the pub.  Last minute we had an additional friend join us, and when we asked for extra place setting we were told no.... I think they thought they were funny, but it didn't make for a positive first impression from the waitress. 

Being given our menus, we were informed that there were two items off the menu for the evening. We then proceeded to ordered starters (Baked Camembert, Squid Salad and Crab Balls) and two of the three weren't available, they could've run two doors up to Tesco to buy some Camembert! 

The evening started to take a down hill turn as we then waited over 15 minutes for drinks to come to the table. Drinks waiting as the bar man served other customers between filling our order, so drinks appeared one by one over the 15 minute period- the bubbly being poured first. 

The shared starters we had were Crab balls (pictured on the left), which tasted of potatoes & tinned fish with a bitter after taste, and platters of bread & olives served without side plates or tooth picks for olives. 

For our main course, most of the table ordered Flat iron steaks, which all came as requested, except one because they had run out.  So one of the girls had to wait for the chef to cook her rump steak replacement whilst everyone else started on their dinner. (pictured on right) 

I ordered a Jerusalem artichoke served with warm squash and onion salad. What I was anticipating and what arrived were completely different! I was anticipating a large artichoke with a warm squash and onion garnish...what arrived was a salad that didn't have any artichoke in it with lots of raw onion, some warm butternut squash and potatoes with a garnish of greens. 

We were so disappointed with our meal that we chose not to have any desserts at the Angel and Blue Pig, nor to continue our evening there.  Staff were pleasant, but when our waitress went on break we weren't looked after & any further drinks we had to keep asking the bar staff to get for us.  The waitress was embarrassed at the situation with lack of food items available and the service she asked her manager on our behalf if we could have a discount, so we were given a 20% discount. 

BVF would rate this 1/5 stars