Turning 29 - disgracefully

On my 28th birthday I celebrated by drinking lots of cocktails with my lovely friends and downing a lot of shots. 

The night ended by me demanding that Soldier and I get a cab home. After making him pay for said cab once we arrived at the flat I then proceeded to throw up in someones garden. Nice. 

What followed the next day was possibly the worst hangover of my life. I fell asleep standing up whilst leaning on a man on the Central line and on arriving at the office inhaled two Greggs sausage rolls and a diet coke in 00.2 seconds. Unfortunately this only made me feel worse so I spent the next hour basically crying at my desk. 

So with this memory still fresh in my mind I was determined my 29th birthday wouldn't follow the same pattern. 

And surely it wouldn't? After all I was about to turn 29. Ever closer to 30. Surely it would be a small gathering with just a few drinks, right? WRONG. 

My first mistake was picking a bar with a two and a half hour happy hour where EVERYTHING on the menu was half price including my favourite Champagne, Pommery, which was going for £25 a bottle. My second mistake was feeling the need to drink as much as possible before the end of happy hour chimed at 7.30pm. 

So I arrive and my best friend Sarah had arranged for a bottle of Pommery and a balloon with a pic of her face to be brought over. Soldier also bought a bottle as did Elaine. You can see how this is going can't you? 

Then came the inevitable round of shots of Sambucca that I can never, ever turn down. So now I'm drunk. And when I'm drunk I feel the need to be elevated above everyone (I think it's a being short thing.) I stood on a chair and my housemate Rachael followed me up. Then I decided to take it one step further and comb on the table… Which tipped over spilling every ones drinks. Not ideal. 

Not long later I step outside for 'air' and proceed to throw up in the street. Classy. I then try and get back in the bar but the two bouncers stop me and tell me I'm a 'security risk'. They could have had a point… 

One of them goes to get Soldier who brings up my stuff and we flag down a cab - a cab which I have to keep stopping so I can be sick. Again, less than ideal. 

I don't remember much after that. I DO remember waking up the next day unable to lift my head from the pillow and looking like a model for an anti-binge drinking advert. Oh and being relieved that I had booked the day off work this time…

So it seems despite being a year older, I'm none the wiser. Here's to next year. Maybe moving into another decade might mature me. Then again, I highly doubt it…. 

Afternoon tea with free flowing champagne - yes really!

There is something so decadent about an afternoon tea. I really love them but have only had been a couple of times simply because they turn out to be just so expensive. 

Enter the Mandeville Hotel's Reform Social and Grill with there fabulous offer of afternoon tea with FREE-FLOWING Moutard Champagne. 

Sound to good to be true? I know. I thought so too. I booked immediately and got my friends Elaine, Kate and Harriet involved, but I was nervous. It was a brilliant offer - so what was the catch going to be? When is an offer ever really THAT good? 

Well trust me, it was that good, and then some.

We arrived just before our 1.30pm booking. It's an amazing venue, really luxurious and the staff couldn't have been more friendly and helpful. 

We ordered the vintage afternoon tea and  started off with peach and green apple Bellini's before the Champagne, well, literally flowed. 

I thought we'd have to keep asking for a top-up of the Champagne but not at all. They staff suddenly appeared, bottle in hand, as soon as our glasses were only half empty. Nothing was too much trouble. They were efficient without being too in our faces and we felt completely relaxed. 

As Kate pointed out, it wasn't stuffy like some afternoon teas. She told one horror story of paying £19 for an extra glass of Champagne!! 

The sandwiches and treats came out really quickly. The sandwiches were cut into fingers and were v tasty, especially the salmon and horseradish on beetroot bread.

But the cakes were the really treat! The scones were fresh and warm - you could tell it had come straight from the oven. They were served with the most amazing clotted cream and jam. We had one each but I could easily have had another! 

We also had pistachio macaroons (which I LOVE) and a slice of mini battenberg, a slither of chocolate cake and a little cherry cupcake. The staff even sang happy birthday to me - v cute and a nice touch. 

Before we knew it our two-hour seating was up and we'd lost count of how many glasses of Champagne we'd had. But the staff didn't rush us out, instead they just asked if we'd mind moving into the lounge area and gave us another top up of Champagne. 

I asked for the bill, and did hold my breath a little, but it was all fine. For over fours hours of lovely food, great Champagne and wonderful company, with service charge which we were more than happy to pay, it was just £36 each. BARGAIN. 

I can honestly say it's the best afternoon tea I've ever had - and not just because of the free-flowing Champers! The atmosphere and the good staff were what made it and I'll definitely be going back. 

The offer is only on for a few more weeks but one of the waitresses said it's sure to be back in January, so keep an eye out on their website.

Right, now I'm off to deal with my Champagne head. Bacon butty anyone? 

Perfect Paris

Paris. Because I'd been there aged 14 on a school trip I thought I'd 'done it' and therefore had never had any desire to go back - how stupid I was. 

Last month (of how the sunny days of September seem so very, very far away now) my fabulous friend Amy was visiting from Sydney. Unlike me she was desperate to go France's capital - and with the knowledge that Champagne would be on tap, I was more than a willing companion. 

We boarded the Eurostar from St Pancras for the bargain price of £60. (Who knew it was so cheap?! Just a few days later I travelled to the less than glamorous Derby for the not so cheap price of £82!!) And just two hours later we'd arrived. 

The moment I stepped out of the station in Paris, I knew I'd had it all wrong for all these years and this was going to be so, so different from the school trip I went on. 

For starters we weren't staying in a grubby hostel but in the decadent Hotel du Panthéon in the rather cool St Germain. 

Dropping off our bags we headed straight out to soak up the Parisian atmosphere - which basically meant drink Champagne and eat cheese. 

Lunch consisted of Croque Monsieur, a selection of cheeses and a bottle of Pommery, whilst sat outside a little cafe. Paris had me in her grip. I could see instantly why it was the city of romance - the cheese saw to that. 

Afterwards we walked through a park and took in the beautiful buildings before stumbling upon a gorgeous little chocolate shop. Stocking up we then headed back to the hotel to get ready for that night. 

Dinner was at Kong, a Japanese infusion restaurant which you may know from the famous Sex and the City episode where Carrie meets her Russian lover's x-girlfriend.

And hey, if it's good enough for Carrie, it's sure is good enough for us. 

With it's glass top rooftop we had the most perfect views across the city a sunset. Of course Champagne was ordered (when in Rome and all that, or in this case, er, Paris…) 

Amy ordered their famous lobster with udon noodles while I went with the tuna and red curry mashes potatoes. YUM. 

Afterwards we went a short taxi ride to the Crazy Horse. Now I know people go on about Moulin Rouge being fabulous and I can't really comment as I've never been, but what I can say is if you get the choice you should seriously go to Crazy Horse, you won't regret it. This is the best cabaret I've ever been too - the girls are mesmerising! 

The next day after an obvious breakfast of croissants and of course more cheese, we headed down the Seine to the Pont de l'Archevche also known as the lovers bridge over the Seine with Notre Dame nestled behind it. 

With those tourists spots ticked off we headed to Angelina, the original French tea room where I had the most delicious pistachio macaroon which was almost as big as my face. All washed down with Champagne - what else?! 

That the evening we headed to Eiffel Tower as we wanted to see it at sunset.

While it was lovely and iconic what ruined it was the sheer amount of people pestering you to buy tacky souvenirs. We were going to have dinner round there but we were really put off so headed back to St Germain ending our trip how we started it - sat outside a little cafe drinking Champers and eating a  Croque Monsieur and a selection of cheeses. Perfect.

Paris you were très bien! Let's not leave it so long next time, yeah? 

There's no such thing as TOO much Champagne....

I don't really need an excuse to drink Champagne, so when I heard that Searcys Champagne bars had launched a National Champagne Week I whooped with joy and headed down to my nearest bar in Westfield Stratford. 

The week was launched after a survey they conducted revealed 48% of people didn't realise that Champagne can only come from France and 62% admitted they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between premium Champagne and a low cost brand. 

Now, I can safely say I DO know Champagne only comes from France however, I wouldn't be so confident in saying that I could tell the difference between premium and low cost Champagne… So there was only now way to educate myself - by ordering the tasting tray where I could sample three different Champagnes from the House of the month. 

This month was Laurent-Perrier and we were poured Laurent-Perrier Rose, Laurent-Perrier Brut and Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut. 

I'm not a huge fan of rose Champagne (or any kind of rose in fact) but I have to admit this was good, probably because it was very dry. The Laurent-Perrier Brut was also very good but what I was most excited about trying was the Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut. Ultra Brut means it is super dry and super crisp - meaning it's super amazing, basically. 

And boy - it was. Just from drinking the three glasses from the same Champagne house, I could tell that this was the more expensive of the three. 

Another fabulous thing about the Ultra Brut is that it's a 'zero dosage' Champagne, meaning that no sugar is added at the end of the fermentation process. No one is saying it's a diet Champagne, but knowing it's sugar free means as far as I'm concerned I can drink it guilt free. Apparently it's Kate Moss's preferred Champers too, and if it's good enough for Mossy...

During our time at Searcys we spent time chatting with the manager, Philippe, who talked us not only through the ones we were tasting but also happily talked about his favourites and why which made me immediately want to jump on the Eurostar and head towards Reims, where all the Champagne houses are. 

After eating snacks of potted crab and smoked salmon, which complimented the Champagne perfectly, we headed off very happy from all the bubbles. 

Even though I still can't claim I'm a Champagne expert, I'll happily keep tasting until I am. Top up? Oh go on then…. 

To find your nearest Searcys visit: searcys.co.uk and follow them on twitter: @SearcysBars