Grasmere highlight: Baldry's Tearoom

When you find yourself hungry while in Grasmere there are a lot of places to choose from for a bite to eat but I personally will always attempt to find somewhere that has been recommended. 

Whether it's a suggestion from a friend or random reviews on Trip Advisor, I prefer somewhere which has already received a thumbs up. Can you tell that I've had my fair share of adventurous mystery picks which have disappointed? 

Life is just too short to eat mundane, microwaved, bland or boring ('uninspired' as hubby says) food.

So, having read about Baldry's on a blog ages ago I was thrilled we could get a table. It's very busy, as you would expect, during the Summer high season (we attempted to come during a Summer visit previously but it was chocka!). It's much quieter in October with less tourists around overall. 

It has a picturesque welcoming store front and once inside it oozes character while still being cosy. 

The staff was very friendly and the menus burst with delicious homemade options from quiche to burgers, fruit crumble to scones. 

I was craving a bit of a sweet treat for my elevenses and chose a Raspberry & Blueberry scone with jam, butter & whipped cream, of course. 

The scone that arrived was impressive, not only was it huge but it was also homemade. There were little pockets of berry sweetness and a lovely crusted top. The perfect combination to compliment my sinful spreads!

For the adventurous hot beverage drinkers there is a plentiful selection of teas from around the world to choose from within the Tea Menu (it is a tearoom after all).

I went with the loose leaf Rooibus tea which I enjoyed with milk (it tastes nice even if it's possibly not 'proper'). 

Hubby was cleverly matching his hot beverage to his choice of treat with the loose leaf Wild Cherry tea that he felt would go brilliantly with his slice of Bakewell Tart (I agree!).

It was an enjoyable experience from walking in the door right through to wiping the crumbs from my top just before leaving. 

This lovely tearoom is definitely going on my 'Grasmere Highlights' list (currently alongside getting Grasmere Gingerbread each visit) and I'm already hatching a plan for when i'll be able to stop by again!

Sweet Barcelona

We spent three hot Summer days in Barcelona and made sure to taste test some of the local treats.

I read about the pine nut covered almond truffle/biscuits, a local sweet worth trying, so I was eager to try it and of course I was excited to taste test a couple of other fun looking biscuits once I saw the selection on offer at Dolceria de la Colmena. 

The pine nut balls were not as sweet as I imagined they would be and they had a subtle marzipan flavour which was nice. 

The other biscuits were again, not as sweet as I imagined but were enjoyable (I suppose my sweet tooth is based on my American tastebuds which were raised on far too much corn syrup).

It was hot during our visit, very hot (30C/90F). The obvious choice for a cooling treat is ice cream!

I chose an odd looking pineapple and coconut ice lolly which was absolutely amazing and really hit the spot. It looked like something you would make yourself in a styrofoam cup as a child during Summer break but the flavour was full on and I was very happy with my choice.

And of course, no trip to Spain would be complete without this next delight, we had to try a hearty portion of churros y chocolate (makes me giggle as that was the name of our high school Spanish text book).

Wow! They did not disappoint. 

I'm not sure that any of us could have managed to actually drink the thick rich cup of hot chocolate, (are you meant to?) but it was just perfect for dipping the sugar covered swirls of sweet fried dough into.

This massive portion was gone in a few moments with only sugar remaining on the plate. 

Delicious!