A Loooooong weekend of Anniversary Celebrations. PART TWO

[Guest]

A Loooooong weekend of Anniversary Celebrations. PART TWO

Sunday 2nd July 2017

We are off out again today but we have most of the day before we set off at 3:30p.m. We are headed to Westminster on the tube and then it’s a short walk over Westminster Bridge to the Millennium pier which is situated immediately below the London Eye.

We are taking a Thames Rocket (Rib) boat trip down the river to the Thames Barrier.
This had been purchased for us by our friend Jenny as a Christmas gift. What an experience! They operate about 3 boats in sequence. You don a small upper chest life jacket and then board the 12 seater rib. Speed restrictions mean that we have to make our way slowly down river. Our guide is Geoff (my namesake who is quite a wit ) and our pilot is Andy. You pass all the main landmarks along the way but more of them later. We pass under Tower Bridge and its then they open up the throttle.

Perhaps best if you watch the video:





Once she takes off they steer from side to side and the port and starboard edges of the boat touch the water's surface in turn. It produces an amazing spray but none of us gets wet. We snake at 30 knots (just over 35 m.p.h.) all the way down past the Isle of Dogs and the O2 stadium on our way to Greenwich. Here we stop for a short while to take in the view of the Naval College and the vista up the hill to the Observatory which marks 0 degrees of longitude.

The two Americans sat in front of me can’t quite grasp how one minute we are in the eastern hemisphere and the next we are in the western hemisphere. We have crossed the Prime Meridian.
We rev up and once again we tear down the Thames bouncing and skimming the water. This is a trip with a thrill.

On reaching the Thames Barrier - the second largest flood barrier in the world (the first is in the Netherlands) we slow down. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It cost £534 million but it will need replacing eventually and current projections talk of £1.6 billion! Geoff explains how it all works and indeed its actual design.

We pass through and then U turn for our return to the Millennium Pier. Once again we roar through the water tipping left and right as we go.

At Tower Bridge we slow down and resume the speed limits of the City River. Geoff points out all the landmarks - The Tower of London, the Walkie -Talkie, the Cheese Grater and the Gherkin skyscrapers of the City. The Shard at Liverpool Street - the tallest residential building in Western Europe. The dome of St. Paul's. The Great Fire Monument, the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. It goes on. Finally we arrive back where we started. 80 minutes of breath taking water travel. I'd certainly recommend to thrill seekers. Pregnant ladies are advised not to ride. If you have any heart problems you must sign a waiver.
Current price (July 17) is £52.50 adult / £36.50 child
An amazing trip and one I would thoroughly recommend for a day out in London.
We make our way home wondering what on earth we are going to have for dinner.
Tomorrow (Monday) is a day off. Darrin has to work but will do so from home. I’ll shoot off to Watford to do some shopping. Late afternoon will be a soak in our hot tub and hopefully, an early night.
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Tuesday 4th July 2017
This the actual day that our anniversary arrives. 28 years of being together. Living in four different homes, having a cat for 21 years and now have a dog who will be 5 in October. We exchange cards and gifts. Darrin receives a new Fat Face top (he loves the feel of them), a new belt and a couple of packs of Turron (it’s like a Spanish nougat but harder). I have got a Lego London Bus (which I had to go myself yesterday).

Once again we have most of the day to ourselves but late afternoon we start to get ready. We are having dinner at the Ritz in Piccadilly. Now before you think that is going to cost the earth I did get an offer from Bookatable and as the date fitted nicely with our anniversary we went for it. We have been to the Ritz before for afternoon tea so we know the layout.

The hotel was opened by Swiss hotelier César Ritz in May 1906, eight years after he established the Hôtel Ritz Paris. After a weak beginning, the hotel began to gain popularity towards the end of World War I and became popular with politicians, socialites, writers and actors of the day in particular. Noël Coward was a notable diner at the Ritz in the 1920s and 1930s. The interior was designed mainly by London and Paris based designers in the Louis XVI style, which is consistent throughout. Author Marcus Binney describes the great suite of ground-floor rooms as "one of the all-time masterpieces of hotel architecture" and compares it to a royal palace with its "grand vistas, lofty proportions and sparkling chandeliers".

Thus we enter this heady den of pleasure. We have some twenty minutes before we are due to dine and thus we go into the Rivoli bar. This is a favourite of mine because of the wonderful Lalique glass panels that are featured on the walls and pillars. I have a friend who collects Lalique and I know he’ll enjoy these photos.

I opt for an Orient express (it is a combination of Dalmore 15 Years infused with Honeycomb, Fresh Tangerine Juice, Cinzano 1757 Dry with Saffron, Sugar Syrup and China Elixir. It’s delicious.

Darrin has a Marie Antoinette (I added was that before or after the guillotine?) – it consisted of Olmeca Altos Blanco Tequila, House Made Rhubarb Syrup, Tiptree Raspberry Gin Liqueur, Fresh Lime juice, Cactus Flavour Drops, topped with Champagne and Aloe Vera Foam.

It’s time to dine and we are shown to the Ritz dining room where we have a table for two almost opposite where the pianist is.

The room is stunning with a golden statue of Neptune and Aphrodite at one end:

and a mirrored wall at the other:

We begin with the included glasses of champagne – Barons de Rothschild Brut

We are offered bread and I choose the Parmesan sheet. It is absolute heaven. Darrin goes without.

We both choose the terrine of Goose Liver for starters with peach, gingerbread round and tonka. This came with a slice of brioche.

We are presented with a small tray of hors d’oeuvres: goats cheese on oatcake, savoury snaps with coronation chicken and lemon meringues with salmon mousse and salmon egg.

Main courses:

I have the loin of lamb which comes with courgette and tomato. Cooked just right – medium rare and beautifully pink:

Darrin chooses the Bresse Duck with duck liver and orange:

We went a light red with the meals and the Sommelier (who turns out to be from Sardinia) recommends a Gusbourne Pinot Noir 2014 from Kent!

We both have the Apricot soufflé and it comes with roast almond ice cream. This is total heaven.

I love a good soufflé but this is exceptional. To accompany this we each have a glass of Vin De Constance (2013 Klein Constantia). If I told you how much a glass this was your hair would stand on end!

We finish with a pot of coffee served in a silver pot. Petit Fours are produced which are dark chocolate with cherry liqueur, vanilla macarons, orange jelly and chocolate and hazelnut cream.

Throughout the meal we had a pianist for over an hour and then later a string quartet arrived complete with singer.

The waiters were attentive without being intrusive and the service overall was just 100%. We were not kept waiting at any point. They would clear and then there would be a small interval before the next course arrived. Yes, we pushed the boat out and added on wine and dessert wine but we were very happy the bill.

The Ritz is a special experience and a fitting celebratory ending to our anniversary weekend.


INDEX: https://DIBB.in/12651338

[Guest]

Fabulous x

[Jaspercat10]

Wow wow wow that food looks amazing what a stunning setting, I am hungry after that off to my snack drawer 😋, congratulations to you both what an amazing break

[Melvin Pearce]

Looks like you both have had a lovely few days. We have seem the Thames rocket going up and down a few time when we have taken the ferry from South bank up to the O2.

The food looks lovely at The Ritz, our daughter was there a couple of Saturdays ago for the afternoon tea with an old friend. We have never been but it looks lovely

Once again Happy Anniversary

Lesley and Melvin

[Gryff]

A wonderful anniversary weekend Thankyou for sharing with us

[hornetgirl]

A perfect day.

[Megandllsmum]

Lovely Geoff... just lovely.
My eldest daughter and her boyfriend are travelling down to London next month for her birthday... they have a lovely hotel booked and are off to see wicked on the night of her birthday... thinking the boat tour would've been more up her boyfriends street but at that price it's a bit much for me to book them as a little treat on the Sunday ... then again Meg will want to mainly shop lol.

The Ritz looks sublime I really would feel very out of place in a place like that but would love to experience it one day just to see how the other half live ... so nice to read another of your reports and you definitely both know how to celebrate in style ... a lovely anniversary 🥂🍾🥂

[disney332]

Congratulations to you both... following with interest.

So pleased you had such a blast.

Take care

Disney332 (DD DW)

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Megandllsmum

The Ritz looks sublime I really would feel very out of place in a place like that but would love to experience it one day just to see how the other half live ... so nice to read another of your reports and you definitely both know how to celebrate in style ... a lovely anniversary 🥂🍾🥂

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You know, I hear people say that a lot about places. On here it's usually about the Grand Californian or Victoria & Albert's. I take the view that at the end of the day they are offering a service which you are expected to pay for. I really don't see why staff etc would want to make their guests feel uncomfortable. Just because surroundings might be plush and more upmarket doesn't mean you can't enjoy yourself. As I mentioned, we got chatting to the Sommelier, a young lad from Sardinia. He knew his wines and he was happy to chat about how the UK is starting to become a prominent producer of good wines like the one he recommend for our meal. We then got on to Sardinia itself and how he was looking forward to his break when he could go back there. He finds London weather either damp or depressive. I know where he is coming from! At the end of the evening we shook his hand and left an appropriate tip that I presume is shared by the staff team.
I accept some territories can be daunting and new but it's all about confidence and grasping the nettle. Once you've done that then nothing will phase you!

Hope your daughter and her boyfriend have a great time. I love "Wicked" - seen it five times!

[penguin19]

Wow! The meal looks wonderful so glad you had a lovely experience.

The boat ride looks like a fantastic experience too! Good weekend all round