Review: Jamie's Italian and Afternoon Tea at Bill's

So this week was mine and my dad's birthday, so I wanted to review two places that I went to:

Jamie's Italian

For my dad's birthday, we went out for a meal at one of Jamie's Italian restaurants in our local town. This was a small location so it was the Trattoria version, and had only recently opened. I've been to the Brighton Jamie's Italian for my 18th birthday and the food was amazing (definitely recommended), but I always see it as a pricey restaurant to visit on a regular basis.

As this was a birthday, we decided to treat ourselves and splash out. The Trattoria menu basically incorporates the most popular dishes of the normal Jamie's Italian restaurants, therefore it's a miniature version. Luckily they had the dish I was eager to have again, the Tagliatelle Bolognese. It is basically spaghetti bolognese, and although it doesn't sound adventurous, I can guarantee it's one of the best tasting bolognese I've ever had!
There are other delicious italian dishes that I sampled from the what the rest of my family ordered, such as the Porcini Fettuccine, the special risotto for that day was amazing, and my mum tried the italian beef burger. All of these tasted amazing and I would happily eat any one of these dishes.

So as far as food is concerned, Jamie's Italian is highly recommended for good tasting and flavoursome italian dishes. One thing I was disappointed by was the lack of a cocktail menu. The last time I had visited I had this delicious cocktail called the Florence Fizz, but due to it being a Trattoria restaurant, it wasn't included in the menu. But I did try the non-alcoholic cocktail called Citrus Crush which was soo good and made up for the other drink being absent.

Citrus Crush

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Overall, it was a nice meal out, and the atmosphere as well as the staff made the evening really pleasant and enjoyable. The decor was kind of old fashioned italian, and the toilets were amazing! Worth a visit! This was the perfect place for a birthday meal. My only fault for it are the prices, which aren't that much higher than the usual high street restaurants, but when drinks are incorporated it can become pricey, and dessert was out of the question. For a special occasion, this place is the perfect location to eat.

Bill's Afternoon Tea

Onto the next review, for my birthday I decided to go up to London for afternoon tea but as I had done this before in a fancy hotel, I wanted somewhere cheap. I came across afternoon tea at Bill's restaurant in Covent Garden. For only £9 something, it was perfect as I didn't want to pay excessive amounts for the location. When we arrived the location of the restaurant is in St Martin's Courtyard which is nestled in the side streets of Covent Garden and is in a really prime and pleasant location.

Bill's restaurants are very nicely decorated, and it was pleasant to sit down and enjoy the experience. When afternoon tea came, they gave us two stands for 4 people which included a selection of traditional finger sandwiches (around 3 per person), 4 mini cakes (brownie, strawberry and cream shortbread, lemon and poppyseed sponge and a marshmallow) plus two scones with jam and clotted cream. The food was nice and the mini versions meant we could eat all of it and still feel full up. Afternoon tea is a sugar overload though, so we were buzzing off sugar for the rest of the day!

Selection of mini cakes

Scones

The tea supplied was plentiful (I had 5 cups, that combined with all the sugar was a bad combination), and there is a selection of many different flavours. For £12, you can also upgrade to a glass of fizz.

English Breakfast Tea

It was good for the money and I wasn't expecting anything more, however I felt like because it was cheap then it was what we were getting. The staff didn't really know that we were there for afternoon tea even though we had booked it, and they gave us general menus to start with. We always had to go up to get there attention (we weren't handed any cutlery to cut the scones or cakes with) and I felt like I should have paid a little more for a better afternoon tea experience. Groupon always offer deals for not much more money and having afternoon tea whilst everyone around you is there for lunch felt kind of wrong. The atmosphere was very loud and it was difficult to have a conversation. In a hotel setting, it's usually in a high class restaurant so you do get the high tea experience, and this was lacking.

My advice is as a casual tea place, yes go to Bill's, but if you are looking for the classic and traditional 'High Tea" experience, then do it the proper way and book into a fancier location.

Disney HHI: Final Checklist

Ok so with 3 days to go, this post will be the final checklist for your Disney International Program. Of course it may differ from the Orlando programme, however it is roughly the same and includes a general checklist of things you will need to take.

Firstly and most importantly, the documents you need to take that will allow you into the country are:
- DS-2019
- Passport with Visa
- Disney offer letter
- Proof of medical insurance
- Flights tickets
- Onboarding paperwork
- Photocopies of passport photo page and visa page
- Travel Insurance

Towards the end, these documents aren't necessary but good to have on you just in case. For Hilton Head programme, we don't have to pay a program assessment fee therefore I haven't included it, but do check the requirements for your program.

Next is a general list. I've tried to pack as little as possible with the intention of buying everything else out there:

- Clothes (for the suitable temperature)
- Shoes
- Underwear
- Make-up/toiletries
- Smart business wear (a few days worth)
- Medications/painkillers
- Hair/Jewellery
- Waterproof
- Chargers/adapters
- Towel (Hilton head have bedding provided)
- Suncream
- Litte satchel
- First Aid- plasters
- Swimwear

This list is for hand luggage but could be optional or taken in your luggage:
- Phone/charger
- Sunglasses
- Documents!
- Money
- Camera
- Ipad/Things for the plane

There are other things that you will need but this post only aims to cover the basics. One thing I've done is bought travel miniatures of shampoo/conditioner etc and then buy bigger versions at Walmart. This saves space and weight! Make-up is cheaper out there as well as outlet malls so I am aiming to take as little as possible and come back with more than I went out with. It's proving harder than it looks!

My Summer Awaits...

I can finally say that exams are OVER!!!

It feels so good to not have to revise, or feel guilty about not revising! I have worked my butt off for these exams and I have revised properly since January. I have to say, second year of university has been tough in so many ways, and I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle.

There have been times where I have felt like giving up, but I persevered and I am so glad I did. My one piece of advice for anyone in a similar position is that no matter how hard it is, it is only temporary and by working hard and having motivation, it pays off in the end. I now have one more year of my degree and then I will hopefully be a graduate! But for now, I have 3 months of living and working in the USA to look forward to!

So now I am back home and I have begun packing and sorting out all my documents. This week I have my dad's birthday, my birthday on Thursday and then New York on Saturday. A very exciting week up ahead.

Hopefully I will be blogging over summer, so expect lots of posts about my adventures! For now, its back to packing!

Disney HHI: The Countdown Begins!

Well it's been a long time since I've written a post about my Disney CEP, but I've been in the midst of 4 massive exams so I've dedicated all my spare time to revision. I still have two more to go, but I've managed to exclude myself from textbooks to update everyone!

It's exactly two weeks till I leave for the US, yep thats right, TWO WEEKS! That gives me 14 days to finish exams, move out of university, pack and get everything sorted. Not to mention I also have my dads birthday and then mine! Talk about last minute stress!


So in two weeks I will be flying to New York for 3 days, then I fly down to Hilton Head Island to begin my 3 months working at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. I am so excited!! All my paperwork is done including visa and medical insurance, plus I've sorted out a Fairfx card for spending dollars in America (you can find a link to this at the bottom of the post). This basically means I don't have to carry around big lumps of cash, instead I can use it like an ordinary debit card.

I'm not sure what to expect when I get out there, I have been given instructions about the first few days including training, and details of our accommodation but apart from that I'm flying out there not knowing much (which slightly scares me!)

I guess I should start packing soon, the advice I've received from others has been to pack as lightly as possible as you buy lots out there, so I'm trying to take this onboard. It's proving very difficult!

As soon as exams are over I will post a packing list including all the documents you need to take. For now though, its back to the textbooks...


This is where I bought my cash card, which had the best exchange rate:
https://www.fairfx.com/

Review: A Day at the Spa

As a middle of exams treat, today I visited the Imagine Spa at the Hilton Heathrow hotel (T5). It was part of a groupon deal which included 4 hours use of the spa and a mud bath treatment. Now four hours in a spa is a lot so we didn't actually end up spending that long in there, but we spent a good four hours overall (including about an hours worth of the mud bath treatment). The spa was small and only included a hydrotherapy pool, sauna and a steam room as well as a salt mineral room (my favourite).

Altogether with the deal, it cost around £30. I wouldn't recommend paying full price for the spa as it's not that big and there was no proper swimming pool. 

However, with the treatment included in the deal, it was ok and the mud treatment is great for your skin, as well as smelling amazing! Seriously, it smelt like chocolate so it was hard not to eat it! Plus you do it yourself which gave you time to relax by yourself and go at your own pace. Other treatments available include massages and beauty treatments. Take a look at the range of treatments from the link below!

As a treat this is a good place to go, however I know there are plenty of spa's set in nicer locations and with bigger facilities. The hotel was a heathrow one so there was issues with accessing it. We ended up driving but it is hard to get to via tube. Also, we got there early to eat before but the hotel cafe and restaurant was majorly overpriced and although there were a few local pubs around, it is not near any town or central London meaning there was a lack of choice.

These sorts of deals come up on Groupon on a daily basis, however I would recommend you choose a location that is either pretty and has bigger facilities, or is in a central area. Head over to Groupon to see the latest deals, but one this you have to be is quick as they don't last long!

http://imaginespa.co.uk/thamesvalley/beauty-treatments/

Review: Royal Opera House Backstage Tour

Amongst revision and exams, it was nice to have a day out in London to experience something different. This weekend, I ventured to Convent Garden to experience something completely new at the Royal Opera House.

Royal Opera House Auditorium

This is home to many ballets and operas and although I've never been to see a performance there, I have had a look at the foyer and always wanted to go.

This time, I went to the Royal Opera house backstage tour. I spotted this whilst on their website and looking for a present for my sister. The ticket prices for performances are cheap anyway, but this was something different and at only £12 per person, very inexpensive.

We booked on to the 12.30pm tour and when we arrived, we were handed a lanyard so we could access the backstage areas which made us feel very exclusive!

The tour lasts around an hour and 15 minutes and takes you into the auditorium, the backstage areas, rehearsal areas and to the costuming departments. Our tour guide was very good and explained in detail all aspects of the opera house, including the history and aspects of how a production is put on. for someone who used to dance, this was very interesting as the productions put on here are internationally world class and you were able to see dancers actually rehearsing for the matinee performance.

For anyone looking for something different to do in London, I thoroughly recommend doing this tour, it will take you to places that no one else is able to access and is great to do before watching a performance on the same day. An additional benefit is your ticket enables you to have 10% discount in the shop and restaurant on the day of your tour. 

Here is the link for more information, definitely check it out!

http://www.roh.org.uk/tours/backstage-tour