Day 1 6/9/08 - England

London -> Cheltenham -> London

Highlight

• Terrible weather, but at least the bus ride was smooth, and the seats were much more comfortable than the ride to Cardiff, there was so much leg room I couldn’t reach the foot rest.
• Got forced to walk around in the rain for hours with my non-waterproof shoes that I wore especially for the restaurant.
• Walked to the unremarkable Pittville Park, with a lake that is foreshadowed by some 70s high rise. The Pittville Pump Room was not that impressive. Plus, I’ve seen it all before anyway, and it was such a long tack to get there.
• Walked a long time to the restaurant again, and not only my shoes, but the bottom of my pants were soaked by the time we sat down.
• While the restaurant was good, it was not that great. The waiters were attentive, but except for the exceptional desserts, everything else was very ordinary. They don’t even have a degustation menu! Read my full review here.
• Very quick walk around Montpellier Walk and Montpellier Street, with some very quirky shops. However, Slokky didn’t think it was a smart idea to stop and look, so I missed out on seeing any of them.
• Brief walk through the Imperial Gardens, where the flowers didn’t really live up to expectations.
• It was so boring that the highlight was probably buying some Columbia pants at Blacks.
• I was extremely glad when it was time to get the bus home.

Food

• chocolate croissant
• orange juice
• taste test cinnamon bagel
• Le Champignon Sauvage lunch:
  • cheese puff
  • potato and leek soup with elderflower
  • bacon brioche
  • Dived Shetland Scallops - with Jerusalem artichoke puree, globe artichoke with liquorice root
  • Bibury Brown Trout - risotto of wild garlic, roasted garlic cream
  • Cinderford Lamb - smoked roasted onion, cep mushroom puree
  • Gloucester Old Spot Pork Belly
  • Salted Chicory Root Iced Mousse - vanilla rice pudding, rich chocolate sorbet
  • Bitter Chocolate and Olive Tart - fennel ice cream