Saturday 5th March 2011 – In a forest, dark and deep show

http://westendtheatre.eolts.co.uk/tickets/in_a_forest_dark_and_deep/pg:72/showid:2645

American actor Matthew Fox and British actress Olivia Williams co-star in this dark comic thriller about family dysfunction and the betrayal of truth. In A Forest, Dark And Deep tells the story of a brother and sister, Bobby and Betty, who meet up to clear out Betty’s cabin in the woods. Tidying the dowdy interior is not as easy as it seems, and soon sibling rivalry turns into conflict as a cobweb of lies starts to unravel. 

Saturday 5th March 2011 – Britannia International Hotel

Address: Britannia international London hotel, Marsh wall, Canary wharf, London, E14 9SJ

Web: http://www.britanniahotels.com/hotels/london

Hotel classification – 4 star hotel 

General Info – One night stay in double room with continental breakfast

A ground (6/10) – The Britannia International Hotel within Canary Wharf is situated on the water's edge of the London Docklands with superb views of the London Skyline. The O2 Arena, Greenwich and the West End of London are all within easy reach.

Reception (5/10) – Standard reception and services

Bedroom (6/10) – The hotel has 442 large air-conditioned rooms with en suite as standard. Rooms on the upper floors offer spectacular views of the Thames and the London skyline, but in the day time you can hear the dockland light rail pass nearby. Rooms were of a classical style rather than modern, and the bathroom was not the best quality for a 4 star hotel  

A hotel facility (4/10) – The hotel has three restaurants, including a late opening pizzeria. Breakfast was severed between 7 -11 a.m. but turned out to be two tired, a main room with English breakfast, but that was an additional cost. Ours was in a separate room for continental breakfast; most of the food however was on the stale side.

There is also the Conservatory Bar which offers an ambient atmosphere with views of the waterside. Finally there was a fully equipped Leisure Club offers features a swimming pool, sauna and state of the art gym.

Value for money (5/10) – cost £83 per night

Overall 26/50 = 52%

Barcelona City review – Feb 2011

Eating Out (7/10) – restaurants open late for evening meals but there is a good range of restaurant options and the quality of food is generally very good. However restaurants along the coast line come at a premium cost for food.

Nightlife (5/10) – a cosmopolitan city with a range of night life options, bars are often small areas within the city, but those on the coast are large club/bars.

Outdoors (9/10) – very good city for the getting outdoors, you have the options of city shopping and sightseeing, a sit on the beach, or a trip into the mountains. The general good weather helps.

Romance (6/10) – while not as romantic as cities such as Paris, Barcelona still offers the nice cosy restaurants and the sunset views while on the beach

Shopping (8/10) – An excellent range of shopping, from the streets of top end shops, to those of the old city streets with tiny one of shops. Finally some very good outdoor but covered markets with the fresh food on display  

Sight- seeing (8/10) – a huge range of sigh seeing, a city with it all, from Roman city, to beach life, and up to castle views  

Hotel (8/10) – very good quality for the price, with rooms larger and of higher standard to those found in other European countries

Communication (8/10) – ease of communications, most spoke English

Transport (7/10) – Metro very good and easy to use, however city street themselves were hard to navigate, with street signs sometimes hard to locate

Value for money (6/10) – more expensive than some places, but then lots could be done for free like a visit to the beach

Overall 72/100 = 72%

19th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 3 – Overview

19th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 3 – Evening meal at Sazzerak

Address: C. Consell de Cent, 211

Web: http://www.sazzerak.com/

General Info – Bar and restaurant situated a few meters from Hotel Axel.

Decor (6/10) – Simple black and red decor with candlelit tables

Atmosphere (6/10) – Cosy and romantic, lounge music  

Food (7/10) – nice international cuisine, my starter consisted of breaded camembert, while Dan had the cheese board. For our main we both had sliced duck with very finely sliced, freshly made Dauphinoise potatoes.  

Service (8/10) – very good, although being English we were the first customers there at the opening time of 8.30 pm

Value for money (7/10) – approximately £45, very good for the quality of food

Overall 34/50 = 68%

19th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 3 – Eixample Part 4 Parc Guell

Parc Guell - The Park is open daily from 10am to 6pm in the winter and 10am to 9pm in the summer. Admission is free. There are about two miles of pathways and trails here, so wear comfortable shoes and prepare yourself for lots of steep climbs.

Entrance Pavilions – two fairytale like gatehouses with oval grounds and tiled tentacle like exteriors mark the entrance to the park.

Double Staircase – water trickles down from the mouth of the emblematic multicoloured dragon that presides over this monumental flight of steps.

Hypostyle Hall – a total of 86 classical columns support the weight of the square above, set in the ceiling are mosaics representation of the sun

Viaducts – there are three snaking viaducts within the park

The Square – a serpentine bench covered in mosaic curves its way around the edge of this square, intended for markets and public events and views over Barcelona

Casa Museum Gaudi – this house was lived in by Gaudi until he moved to the Sagrada Familia, and contains furniture designed by the architect.  

End of the tour – Dan still looking happy :)