mmm, Fantastic Gromit!

That was a lovely weekend, with all the special people in my life, at least in England anyway ;o)

On Friday Silvia and I got a train to Woking and met up with my parents, where first we had a nice pizza together at the only non-shite chain place we could find, and then followed by an evening at the cinema to see Wallace & Gromit - Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
I can't recommend this film enough, for all ages, there was something to keep you hooked, with nods to cultural items that the elders will only get, as well as the obvious non-stop action and adventure for kids. Plus the bunnies are very cute!
There were a couple of moments when I was almost in tears of laughter, and another moment which literally made my mum jump out of her seat, which of course was even more hilarious for me!

Then after getting up reasonably early on Saturday, Silvia and I jumped in the car and pootled off to Bath for the day. The weather turned out really well, and as there was a Bath vs Gloucester Rugby match in the city at the time, there was an extra buzz about the place. I'd been before, a long time ago, when I was at University in Bristol, and so it was pretty much all new to me, as well as Silvia, and we were immediately taken by the beauty of the place. Picture Postcard kind of thing.
After Silvia had got her Wallace-esque Cheese fixation out the way with a bit of Goats Cheese from a cool little, er, Cheese Shop, we then looked for somewhere to have coffee. We eventually found a nice little Chocolate Shop (all the shops are theme, unless they a chain) and sat down quickly in order to get a nice spot by the window, giving view of the Abbey and the Roman Bath, but I was immediately accousted by a little Japanese waitress who demanded, 'order at counter, then you sit down!' I sheepishly left Silvia at the table while I did as ordered, and then we swapped places so Silvia could stock up with some uber-expensive Chocolates.
We then visited the Roman Baths, and at first it seemed a tad boring, like a dirty swimming pool, but then the tour took you deeper into the history, literally, and you began to appreciate more what you were seeing. Personally I'd like to have them demolish the surrounding shops and the Abbey (it's not like the Christain Faith doesn't have enough) and unearth all the other Roman ruins that are still buried out of site. The photo I've included was taken using my mum's digital camera, which is a few years old now, which meant that when I noticed a Japanse tourist with the same one, I was fairly suprised, seeing as they usually have the most upto date gadgets.



The Japanese tourist, upon noticing this little coincidence thought it was the most hiliarious thing ever, and kept laughing and shouting, 'SAME CAMERA, SAME CAMERA' while showing the evidence to his equally amused friends.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying the rest of the city, including the Rugby Ground, Sally Lunn's and of course, Ann Summers. :oO

On Sunday my plan of cooking duck for my parents was well scuppered, as I'd thought the frozen duck would be fine outside the fridge, for a couple of days, because it was quite big and thought it would take ages to thaw. However I think the warm weather over the weekend put paid to that theory, and it quickly found the bin, while I quickly went to Sainsbury's to get some beef.
My parents, Silvia and I then had a little trip to Primrose Hill, which I was suprised my parents hadn't been too before, although unfortunately it was a bit misty to the view was too great. It was still quite a pleasant walk. Then we came home and after some debate, came up with a recipe that both Silvia and I were happy with, and although the meat was a bit tough, it tasted very nice and everyone was satisfied.

So overall a lovely weekend, good to spend sometime with my parents, and a bit of quality time, just the two of us, with Silvia (outside the four walls of this bloody flat!)