Champagne Afternoon Tea | The Aviator Hotel, Farnborough

First of all, do not eat for at least four days before you indulge in this afternoon tea. Sure, it may not look like much in the photos (my family and I all fell into that trap too) but oh my word will you waddle out of the building thanking all kinds of Gods that you wore a skirt with an elastic waist. But of course, even when you start to feel yourself getting a bit full (midway through scone number two) you simply can't stop.

We spent a little over two hours in the hotel's Sky Bar; chatting, eating, drinking, lounging, eating, eating and yes, eating some more. They make you feel totally at home in the hotel; when you arrive, you are invited to relax and get comfortable while they fetch the perfectly chilled (and totally legit) Champagne which they then pour into your glass like a total pro. Everything runs seamlessly; after the champagne, the host then returns to offer you hot beverages and gives detailed explanations of the vast variety of the Jing loose leaf tea on offer. Once you place your order (I went for Darjeeling) you are given your own cafetiere full of your chosen tea that you can drink at your own leisure. And then, and then, the cake stand arrives. Lord have mercy on my waistline.

For each person in the party, the 'starter pack' includes: four finger sandwiches, two scones, three cakes, one macaroon and one panna cotta. Absolutely everything, right down to the jam and clotted cream for your scones, is made by hand at the hotel just for you. I say 'starter pack' because as it turns out, you can order extra of anything you like and they'll (freshly make) and supply it for you. I have no shame in admitting we ordered extra sandwiches because they were so unbelievably tasty. Who knew cucumber, cream cheese and mint would be so good?!

An afternoon tea was the perfect way to round off a birthday (the chef's even surprised me with a plate of chocolate truffles!) and I would absolutely recommend choosing The Aviator for pretty much any occasion.

~ Eleanor xo

Address: The Aviator Hotel, 55 Farnborough Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6EL

Saturday Brunch at Bill's

Address: Bill's Restaurant, 1 Angel Gate, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4AE

I feel like writing this post now means I am officially a blogger. Visiting a Bill's is kind of like a rite of passage, or at least, that's kind of how it looks. So, am I officially in the club? Should I keep an eye out for the postman who's going to secretly deliver me a cool t-shirt and snapback to wear because that's how this thing works? Like Fight Club, nobody is allowed to talk about it, but you know it's true.

Surprisingly, it was my mum who suggested we try out our local Bill's restaurant for a Saturday morning breakfast extravaganza. This Bill's is a Martha Stewart-esque delight; it fills the entire first floor of an old coaching inn so the decor is a dream; with exposed brick walls, wooden floors, low lighting and steel framed windows (that had me recreating the heart-eye emoji) so it has a really wholesome atmosphere. It's somewhere I could definitely see myself spending endless autumnal hours. Even though the place was packed, the service was speedy so it wasn't long before I was sipping on a warm latte and tucking into a fresh plate of eggs royale. Everyone else at the table chose variations of the Bill's breakfast, which they seemed to enjoy, but there's something about eggs and salmon that just speaks to me on a spiritual level, so my mind was set.

I totally get the hype about this place; it's charismatic, it's friendly and the food is super tasty. We all left feeling suitably well-fed and headed off to the High Street to delve into the remnants of the sales racks. I'm already planning my next trip and I can't wait to try more of the menu. As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

~ Eleanor xo

Where to eat in Albufeira, Portugal

Let's be real, one of the best things about going to a new place is trying the food. Or is that just me? Am I just obsessed with food? Probably. But that's not the point. I have an insane obsession with Spanish food; the meats, the fruits, the fish, the tomatoes, everything is better in España than it is en Inglaterra.

So having never been to Portugal before, I was excited to try some of the local cuisine and discover what dishes the Algarve had to offer. As none of us were old enough to rent a car (boo!), we chose restaurants that were within walking distance of our apartment, which largely fell into the area of the old town. Here's my verdict on some of the places we tried...

Best for: Pleasing everyone

Downtown: Pizza & Pasta (just off the Jardim Público de Albufeira)

We chose to eat at Downtown on our first night as by the time 7pm rolled around, we'd been up and awake for sixteen hours and were in serious need of nourishment. The menu (that's designed to look like a hipstery newspaper) isn't exactly that vast, but for an exclusively pizza and pasta restaurant, it provides exactly what you'd expect. I opted for the Capricciosa Pizza (a pizza with mozzarella, ham, mushroom and tomato) that was reasonably priced and had that distinct 'this has just been made and cooked fresh' taste, which was great.

The menu also offers you the opportunity to build your own pizza if those listed on the menu don't quite take your fancy, which I thought was a pretty neat feature. The service was quick and the wait staff are all really friendly and some of the more helpful we came across.

Best for: A dinner & cocktail combo

Restaurante Bar Bank (on Largo Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco)

One of the pricier options, but the food was a good quality, and the service was definitely fast - whether that's because we were being typically British and eating early while most of the restaurant was empty, I cannot say. The menu definitely favoured Mexican and burger dishes but I'd say there was a decent amount of choice. The servers outside the restaurant were some of the more pushy (and handsy), but the food we ordered was tasty, but maybe not quite worthy of the price tag - €13 for a grilled chicken salad? Seems a bit much. However, the presentation of the burgers was adorable, with the side of fries being presented in tiny chip pan baskets.

In terms of cocktails, the drinks menu was not as extensive as you'd expect from somewhere with 'bar' in the title. As well as that, the prices are pretty hefty and the servers weren't all that nice, and frankly, there appeared to be little alcohol in the drink. Still, Our Sex on the Beaches arrived Instagram-ready with decadent decorations and extra long straws.

Best for: Great value cocktails

Meet Bar (on Avenida 25 de Abril)

More slightly pushy promoters trying to get us into the bar with a "think how much more attractive I'd look if I was holding a puppy" ego and a constant assumption that because we were British, we had euros to splash - sadly not when you're on a student budget, my friend!

Still, these cocktails definitely had alcohol in them and a huge €6 peach daiquiri served with a (slightly scary and a potential health risk) sparkler for sure hit the mark. The promoter promised that if I uploaded the below picture to Instagram, it'd get 250 likes. It didn't. Shocker. Beware that although the music is really good, you will be surrounded by rather drunk men at about 10pm (and probably earlier). Get it together, lads!

Best for: Variety

Restaurante Bailote (on Rua 5 de Outubro)

This restaurant had an extensive meat and steak menu with good portion sizes and a family friendly atmosphere. After toying between the grilled chicken and the pork schnitzel (served with chips and salad), I decided to go with the latter as I hadn't eaten schnitzel in so long but it's always a firm favourite. But fear not, there's something for everyone with the menu being vegetarian friendly. The restaurant is also in a great location for people watching and always appeared to be a popular spot.

Rock Cafe Bar (on Largo Engenheiro Duarte Pacheco)

Choosing what to eat here was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make. The menu had so much choice with salads, meats, fish and pasta dishes all calling out to me. In the end I managed to decide upon a grilled tuna steak in onion and olive oil (served with baked potato and vegetables), that, no lie, I am still dreaming about to this day. It was cooked to absolute perfection and tasted amazing. Across the table, similar reactions were had for grilled chicken and vegetarian pasta. Fairly reasonable prices and staff that are up for some banter.

Best for: Brunch

Burger Bar (on Avenida da Liberdade)

I know what you're thinking, "brunch, at a place called 'Burger Bar'? Are you crazy?". Nope, not crazy, but after wandering around in the increasing heat, we discovered that Portugal, or at least, this particular town, isn't exactly into brunch. Our best option was Burger Bar and we weren't disappointed by what we got (anywhere that offers coffee and dutch apple pie for €3,50 knows what's up).

We all opted for a waffle with strawberries, ice cream, cream and strawberry sauce, accompanied by a homemade iced coffee (which has a distinct likening to the always-tasty Starbucks Frappuccino). The waffles were devoured and the iced coffees annihilated, but to say I had a severe whipped cream overdose is an understatement - I was full up for days. Burger Bar is a cool place to hang out and is very reasonably priced.

Best for: Gelato!

Downtown: Sunset Beach Club

You can't go on holiday and not go out and each fresh ice cream on the beach at least once (turns out, we went twice). While the price was rather steep, with the cheapest place charging €3,80 for two scoops, there were a lot of super fun and exotic flavours to choose from. We all took this very seriously and spent an age coming up with the perfect combinations. Of course I had to have at least one scoop of my favourite flavour, mint chocolate chip which I paired with pistachio, and upon trying a spoonful of my friend's coffee ice cream, I chose a combination of coffee and banana & chocolate ice cream the following evening.

Ice cream is the best way to round off a day in the sun, so long as you devour it before it melts down your arm or falls on the floor. Nobody should have to cry over spilled ice cream, but I think I would.

Read part one of my Albufeiraian adventures here!
~ Eleanor xo

The Tea Party, Lee-On-The-Solent

In Britain, as soon as someone catches even the slightest glimpse of the sun, the barbecues come out, the sun-cream gets lathered on, ice cream is purchased by the gallon and we all remove as much clothing as legally acceptable (and then complain when we all feel a bit red and sore a few hours later).

On Saturday, having seen an almost too-good-to-believe weather report, one that predicted high temperatures and completely cloudless skies all day (the stuff of legends), my parents and I decided to head to the South coast and pay the little town of Lee-On-The-Solent a visit.

We used to come here a lot when I was younger; oh the memories I have of blustery, rainy half term days, eating a picnic of squished and unnaturally warm homemade sandwiches while huddled in the car with the window cracked open ever so slightly so we could all claim how much we enjoyed the fresh sea air.

Luckily, Saturday's visit was different; a) it was actually sunny... for the most part and b) we enjoyed lunch the cutest little independent tearoom called 'The Tea Party'. I know, you're sold already. I was too.

Even though the sun was shining brightly, the wind was practically hurricane level, so after walking along as much as the beach as we could before our bodies could no longer take the gale-force, we mosied through the high street and took shelter in the tearoom. This place is everything you'd want a vintage tearoom to be; the wallpaper was quirky and girly, as was much of the decor, the menu had a great selection of light bites and freshly made cakes (I mean, just look at that counter). The staff were really friendly and it was a cozy place to sit, drink tea and enjoy some delicious homemade food.

My dad and I shared a pot of loose-leaf Darjeeling tea (in some of the cutest mismatched chinawear I've ever seen), my mum went for, in the words of the waitress, "ordinary tea". I laughed. To eat, I ordered one of the specials; mashed avocado, poached egg & fresh grilled tomato served on bloomer (long name, suuuper tasty), my dad went for a salmon and cream cheese sandwich and my mum also picked a special, choosing the apple, cheddar & chutney quiche, both of which were served with a freshly made side salad. Served on, of course, beautiful floral crockery. I was in heaven.

Apart from almost being swept off the face of the Earth, we had a great day wandering around the seaside, feeling ever so British. And whilst I tried not to lose my iPhone in the wind while taking artistic photos of the sea, my parents enjoyed some ice creams... that mostly ended up all over them. Who's the child here again?

If you're ever on the South coast of England, be sure to check out Lee-On-The-Solent, and definitely have a pit-stop at 'The Tea Party'. I promise it's worth it.

~ Eleanor xo