Playing tourist in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Last month I took a fantastic trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was a work trip but Michele (my work colleague) and I managed to cram in a good chunk of sight-seeing too!

We stayed right downtown Halifax at the Four Points - it was 1 block from the water and I had a teeny glimpse of the harbour from my top floor room. We arrived late on Monday after a long day of travelling but we headed straight out and enjoyed a nice stroll along the board walk and into a couple of different pubs for drinks before settling down at Salty's for a classic Atlantic lobster dinner over-looking the harbour. (well Michele did - I don't even like lobster - I know - wrong province right?!)

Tuesday was a glorious day weather-wise. We worked in the morning but wrapped up our work day early enough to head out for the some sight-seeing. We hopped in the rental car and took the long scenic route south out of the city following as much coastline as we could get. We made a brief stop at the York Deboubt Historic Site - built in 1793 on a bluff overlooking the harbour entrance it was a windy stop, and not fully open for the season so we didn't stay long.

The road took us through a number of other small communities - Ketch Harbour and Prospect all the while clinging on to the gorgeous rugged and rocky coastline. These little villages were smaller than I imagined and less touristy and developed - I was expecting gift shops, B&B's and cafes galore but for the most part they were quiet and unassuming places that looked like they were just going about their regular business and hadn't catered to the tourists at all. We made it to the infamous Peggy's Cove and lighthouse. It's a sight featured on many a calendar here in Canada!! It was later in the afternoon so the little fishing cove was deserted and the few art galleries and shops here were closed for the day but it gave the place a rather peaceful feel for us strolling  around. The lighthouse itself sat on the edge of the rocks right on the edge of Canada, waves crashing around it - we hopped the tide pools and rocks to reach it and admire the view of that big bad Atlantic ocean.

Wednesday morning I got up before work to head out on my sight-seeing run. I've started to really look forward to going for a run when I'm travelling - getting in my workout AND seeing the sights of the town! Bam! Killing it with the time management there! I used MapMyRun to scout out a route along the waterfront boardwalk (past some funky installation art - are those lamp-posts drunk?!), through the commercial docks to end up in Point Pleasant Park. Oh man, what an awesome park - it reminded me a lot of Stanley Park in Vancouver - lovely wide gravel pathways around it's circumference and cris-crossing through the park with a myriad more smaller trails through the forest. I headed out of the park, through the Spring Garden neighbourhood and to the Citadel - a short, sharp hill climb got me to the top where I could run the perimeter and enjoy some wicked views of the city. From there I headed back along the waterfront to the hotel and had clocked 10km for my troubles - such a great start to my day!

Thursday Michele and I had put in a vacation day so we headed back down the coast for Lunenburg. The weather was lousy - crazy torrents of rain which made for a sad, wet drive. We stopped briefly in Mahone Bay but really just cruised through town a couple of times admiring the views from the comfort and dryness of the rental car! Finally when we reached Lunenburg the rain had mostly let up so we could spend a couple of hours strolling around the town without looking like drowned rats!

We explored the very interesting little Knaut-Rhuland House Museum - where we had a personal tour guide who explained how the town was settled by the British - there were great incentives to encourage people to settle here - including a plot of land and some animals - each person arriving would draw a card to set what lot they were being 'given'! These days the town is a UNESCO World heritage site and is full of delightful old, cheerfully painted buildings and is a perfect place to just stroll around (even in the rain!)

I got in a final run on Friday morning before our flight out. This time I headed out of the city, over the main MacDonald bridge and across into Dartmouth. I ran along the water separating the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth. Much of the route seemed pretty industrial and at time perhaps a little sketchy and I was seriously questioning my sense of direction a few times, but Google maps is my friend and together we made it (as per my plan) to the Woodside Ferry terminal - part of the city's transport network it was a $2.25 fare on the water taxi back to the wharf in Halifax and 2 blocks from my hotel. Quite the adventure and some great views of Halifax from the bridge as I crossed the harbour.

I was quite taken with Halifax! I'm kicking myself for not sneaking Chris into my suitcase for this trip - he would have loved it! The city seems very funky and forward - the calibre of restaurants and eateries is a notch above Kelowna. We dined at some real gems - including a Vegan restaurant (which had a big picture of a vizsla on the wall so they got my vote even before the food turned up!!), an awesome place called 2 Doors Down who source mostly local produce, and an incredible fish n' chip place buried in the middle of a residential area but agreed upon by all we asked to be the best place going for classic fish and chips and the beer...oh the beer!! I only seem to drink beer when I'm travelling and then I turn into some craft brew drinking beer monster - and I really I love every minute of it - Propeller, Garrison, and not forgetting the most famous of them all - Alexander Keith's brewery (where we did indulge in a brewery tour - complete with costumed guides, a little singing and dancing and of course a couple of pints to sample!!)

Halifax, I think you're awesome!! (and you even have a shop especially for me!!)

Our AirBnB 'Hosting' experience

I first heard about Airbnb several months ago - from people who had travelled and used the service as a way to find accommodation. I was intrigued but I had no cause to book any accommodation at the time. 
(if you want to sign up and book through Airbnb check out my code to save you $27 at the bottom of the post)

According to their website;

Founded in August of 2008 and based in San Francisco, California, Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world — online or from a mobile phone.

Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, Airbnb connects people to unique travel experiences, at any price point, in more than 34,000 cities and 190 countries. And with world-class customer service and a growing community of users, Airbnb is the easiest way for people to monetize their extra space and showcase it to an audience of millions.

Then Chris and I got to thinking. We have a beautiful house which is generously sized for 2 people and a basement with 2 spare bedrooms that are rarely ever used. It seemed the perfect idea to sign up to Host on Airbnb.

A couple more months went by and procrastination was our houseguest so nothing happened. Then in June we eventually jiggled some furniture around to make the main room a little more attractive (read: photo-genic!) and functional for guests and then pulled out the wide angle lens for the camera and snapped some photos. I spent a couple of hours creating our profile online and writing a full and detailed description of the space we had available to rent. Details about the room, the space and amenities guests have access to, the neighbourhood & surrounding area, public transit options, house rules, and the level of interaction hosts have with guests.

Within 2 hours of listing our space we had our first booking! Then the next day another one for that very evening! It was an exciting start!

It's been an awesome way to maximise space in our home that was sadly under-utilized and meet new people. Meli has been in her element as chief guest-greeter and is making BFF's every time someone new shows up! We've had guests from Alberta, Hungary, France and of course BC. Airbnb seems like a no-brainer option compared to staying in a grotty motel - it's more personal and usually a lot nicer accommodations plus typically cheaper. For us it's great to be able to offer travellers that option and we make some cash to boot!

Guests make a booking through the Airbnb system either on the website or the Airbnb phone app. The booking comes through to us as hosts to accept or decline....although there is a calendar visible which we keep up-to-date as best we can it still gives us an opportunity to make the final decision. Once accepted the guest then pays Airbnb straight away (with a small admin fee added). As hosts we get the confirmation of booking and then sit tight waiting for the guest to arrive. We receive payment (minus a small admin fee) 24 hours after the guest checks-in and we have chosen to receive our payouts via Paypal which are pretty much instantaneous. After a stay is completed there is a review process for both guest and host - so right now we're working at building a good review base.

I now want to be on the 'other end of things' so to speak - I'm excited to stay in some of these beautiful listings - I'll have to plan a trip just so I can book through Airbnb!! Just browse the website listings - there are so many funky places to stay - in retro trailers, castles, igloos, a shipping container, a teepee, a lighthouse or a treehouse. Our listing is a bit 'plain-jane' compared to those but we've had great feedback from our guests and we don't want all out funky all the time, right?!?! It's just a nice comfortable guest suite....

If you'd like to try Airbnb for yourself then I can save you $27 off your first stay....use this referral link to sign up...if you're on a phone and it prompts you for a code then use hmills3
(I also get referral credit if you sign up and make a stay or sign up to host!)... Happy Travels!

Our 2-year Vizsla-versary!

July 4th marks the day when Miss Meli came to live with us. For us this date seems way more significant that her actual birthday and since she's a dog I'm hedging my bets that she probably won't care all that much either way!!

The last 2 years have flown by!

She's a well behaved girl - provided there aren't too many distractions!! Which means she's angelic in the house - using a bell to let us know she needs to pee, knowing her boundaries around the house (she's only allowed on certain furniture - and over the course of time that list is rapidly shrinking - we're such suckers!!), and waiting patiently for the command before she'll eat. Out of the house she's a bit more of a runaway! She still thinks everyone wants to be her best friend so she'll dash up to anyone nearby! She loves hanging out with other dogs, but does seem to tire of them quickly - after the obligatory butt-sniffing she does tend to come back to us (unless it's Brix the Weimaraner from down the road!).

These days she runs with me on most of my training runs - usually 2-3 times a week - our long runs are up to around 10-12 miles with a couple of shorter ones mid-week. The distance and time out running is great for her but she seems to come home ready for more. Unless she's had some serious off-leash play and running at her own pace (I'm just too slow!) she is difficult to tire! We're so lucky that we have access to around 20km of trails right from our front door so we trail run some of the shorter distances so we both get a great workout! And then she's a happy, happy pup! More recently Chris has also started taking her out mountain biking on the trails and she's loving that!

She is OBSESSED with her ball-on-a-rope. It's ideal for us since we can really throw it some distance (even me who can't throw to save my life!) The best game ever?! - Us standing on the front lawn and throwing it up the bank opposite into the shrubs and waste-ground. She'll dash up the bank, leaping like a deer at the crest, and then moments later come bounding back down the hill with it, do a lap around the lawn and come back for more, more, more!! It's a great way to get the wriggles out (I nearly said 'to tire her out', but really, that never happens!)

We did take her on an excellent camping adventure last fall - 2 nights in Glacier National Park, with a couple of days of serious mountain hiking. And actually that was the closest we may ever have come to the elusive 'tired vizsla'....6 hours hiking 16km up a mountain and back does that to a pup....She couldn't even keep her eyes open for the campfire...

Despite the lack of hair and undercoat our girl loves winter. Yep!! Crazy! Snow must be her favoutire thing and she was a great companion to our frequent snow-shoe trips this past winter. We got her geared up in a cozy fleece lined waterproof jacket and she'll go on forever! She also loves the lakes (even in the winter - sliding across a frozen lake was funny for all of us!!) - now summer is here she'll be back out on the SUP with Chris - she's rather protective of Chris and doesn't like to watch him disappear off too far from shore so will generally jump on in and make a swim for him! The 2 of them even went SUP in February when the lake was still partially frozen!

However, this girl does NOT like her photo being taken. It's usually the Miss-grumpy-pants face as soon as she sees us getting out the camera or our phones...

Possibly my favourite photo of the year - Daddy's Little Girl....!

We love you Miss Meli-mou!! xxx

Race Recap: Whistler Half Marathon 2014

Last weekend was my second year running the Whistler Half Marathon and once again proved to be an excellent weekend away.

In fact my over-riding impression of  the weekend is that it really was so much more than just a 21.1km race. it started the moment we drove into town on Friday afternoon. Whistler is such a great vacation-atmosphere resort town so I really enjoy the vibe and kickin' back. After our 7 hour drive I really do feel like I'm in vacation mode!! We wasted no time checking in to the host hotel, visiting package pick-up downstairs and then heading out for a late lunch. The village stroll is full of options; we took advantge of the gorgeous weather and ended up on the patio at La Bocca - a place right opposite our hotel! Later that evening we also attended the presentation and pasta party at the local Brewhouse. It was difficult not to sample too many of their craft beers, but race day in Whistler is Saturday!!

We stayed at the Crystal Lodge - the same hotel as last year and I really can't recommend it enough. It is so nice to be walking distance to the start line. With my usual race morning jitters and angst about last minute pit stops I can skip the porta potty lines and with minutes to spare leave my cosy hotel room and jog down to the start line and hop stright into the corral as the national anthem is playing! Sa-weet!

My race wasn't my best result. Last year I broke a huge barrier for me and clocked my first sub-2 hour Half Marathon - I then managed to finish all 4 of my 2013 halfs in under 2 hours. My race on Saturday I came in a little over 2 hours - of course I'm over 40 now! - yes, indeed, that must be it!! When trying to look for silver linings I can say that I conquered Blueberry Hill. A rather infamous hill near the start of the race - it stretches a little over 1km and I remember last year walking a good portion of it. This year I reached the top without stopping and felt pretty darn pleased with myself. But there was a lot of unexpected hills - a lot more than I'd remembered and Blueberry Hill I think had so physched me out I gave everything I had to that and left nothing for later! I was dragging from around the 12km point - yikes - it was a still a long way to go. Anyway, I finished. 2:01:51.

Surprisngly one of the highlights of my weekend was a late addition to the Race weekend schedule - a 'RecoverRun' on the Sunday morning. Given that it was an 8am start and I was giving up any chance of a weekend lie-in I signed us up for this free bonus event. It was a coach-led 5km trail run around some of the fabulous Lost Lake cross country trails right by the village. Aside from the fact I was taken somewhere I'd never been before it was a comfortable paced 35 minute run with a stretch routine after in The North Face store. There were just 50 spots available so it was a great sized group and perfect opportunity to loosen off those weary legs! We all received a North Face visor for showing up and had coffee, fruit and chocolates to welcome us back after we were done! And we were up, worked out and back in our room with plenty of time to shower, chill out a little and grab breakfast all before our check-out time!

The Whistler Half marathon sells out quickly and it's really no surprise why! It's a great deal - I think the early bird rate was just $78 (with no annoying fees and taxes) and our race packages were full of goodies - it's heavily sponsored by The North Face and they look after us well - a cute women's cut tshirt, arm warmers (whcih I saw in the store later retailing at $28!), a water bottle and the visor which I got at the Recover run. Plus awesome food and special 'North Face' toasted cheese as post-race food!! (yes the logo is imprinted onto the toast!), Refresher drinks from Starbucks and Oikos Greek yogurts from Danone.

Another fabulous weekend in the books!

I'm linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday!

Race Recap: Mudd, Sweat & Tears, Kelowna

A couple of weeks ago I was part of a 7 person team taking part in the second Kelowna 'Mudd, Sweat & Tears' event. It's very similar in style to the Tough Mudder & Spartan races out there - basically mud, obstacles, running and some major kick-ass team building/bonding!!

I recruited Chris and I both for my workplace team 'The Bridge Trolls' (we work at The Bridge Services!). I'm not really sure if you need to train for these kind of events - I figured that since the distance was only 12km my regular road running had me comfortably able to manage the distance. And cross training at home doing P90X and Insanity workouts should have me covered in most other aspects, really I think the most important aspect in pre-race readiness is the right mental attitude!

Our team had an assigned start time of 10am - which was quite the treat - being so close to home the alarm was actually set later than it is on an average week-day! Due to the logistics all participants had to be bussed up to the ski resort where the event was taking place. The day got off to a bad start when they were in short supply of buses and it took 80 minutes to stand in line waiting for a shuttle ride...

But we got there....and with a quick dash around to get us registered, changed, bag dropped, potty break etc we were ready to go. Having such congestion at the buses and start line worked in our favour - they introduced an 'extra' start time of 10:15 and since most people had rushed to set off at 10 we had a very small start corral! Perfect once you encountered the obstacles with no line-ups!

The organizers wasted no time in living up to the first part of the event name - MUD. After scrambling over a 9ft wall we were getting down and dirty in a shallow mud pit, bear-crawling along staying low enough to ensure we avoided the barbed wire hanging just inches above the mud. From there we had rope climbs, more mud pits, more walls, tire pulls, and a couple of demoralizing hill climbs with heavy sand bags (up AND back down again).

Surprisingly in the end one of the more challenging aspects of this race was the running in between obstacles. We'd signed up for a 12km race, but at the end my garmin had only logged around 7km (and was consistent with several other teams). Frankly I didn't mind! We'd run from the bottom of the mountain to the top - around 1200ft elevation gain in just over a mile! and then all the way back down again. (You know, there was a perfectly decent chair-lift right there we all could've used!!)

The kicker was the final obstacle. It was an 'Over & Under' type thing. A giant shallow pool of very liquid, slooshy and cold mud. With logs across it - some were 4-5ft high - those were to go over (more difficult than it sounds since they were slick with mud) and then some logs were just inches above the mud pool - and those of course you needed to go under - I mean, of course!. The first 'under' wasn't too bad - we were down and crawling and it was bad. But then there was the second 'under'. And that was the mother of all muddy, dirty obstacles. This log was no more than 2-3 inches above the level of the mud. I stood there contemplating my fate for a few moments. I considered just hopping over the thing and calling it good. And then I decided that 2-3 inches may be just the air gap I needed. I got down flat on my back perpendicular to the log and ducked under hoping and praying and squeezing my eyes as tight as they'd go that I wouldn't end up fully sub-merged. I was one of the lucky ones. I surfaced with a small patch of pinky flesh still visible! Yay for small mercies. The rest of my team did not fare so well and every. single. patch. of. human. body was slick and covered in mud. And I mean EVERYWHERE!

The TEARS part of the even name came right after we crossed the finish line. There was a fire hose hooked up to icy mountain water to wash off a little - and you did have to wash off, or at least try! It really was pretty hard to bear without getting instant brain freeze and it most certainly brought tears to your eyes!

In all, it was a super fun event!

Linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday

Race Recap: Vancouver Sun Run

Time has been whizzing by and already 2 weeks have passed since the Vancouver Sun Run. I LOVE this race! This was our third time taking part, the first back in 2006 and we were tourists still road tripping around North America in our RV! Wow, I'm sure we never dreamt back then that we'd be running 8 years later as Canadian residents!

I love that it's such a BIG race - this was it's 30th year and there were over 50,000 people registered! The crowds aren't for everyone but I love the atmosphere and vibe of it all. I love that tight jostling in the corrals at the start and the sight of so many people doing what I love doing - running!

We had a fantastic hotel really close to the start line - just one block away from the back of the corrals. We were actually placed much further forward so we walked about 3 blocks parallel to the start line street until we could enter our corral a little nearer the front.

What I found marvellously liberating and refreshing is the knowledge, having done this race a few times that there was NO time pressure to get to the start line. There are 50,000 people all lined on Georgia Street in 6 or 7 very large corrals and it takes over an hour to get everyone through the start line. And with the race being chip timed your race doesn't start till you cross the start line! There's a countdown and release for each of the corrals so you don't even miss out on the pizzazz of the start wherever you are! Knowing this we opted to loiter in our hotel till the very last minute. I'm a nervous runner pre-race - and I need the bathrooms. Usually multiple times. And really it takes longer to queue at the start line than it did to just hang in our room till I was sure I was good to go!! Plus we didn't want to check bags for clothes, so we made got ourselves completely ready and probably didn't head out till just before 9 (official start time). It really was just a few minutes walk and as we approached our cross street we heard the gun go off for the first corral. We had time to squeeze into our corral as they removed the barricades and edged us forward to the start line. We got going at around 9:16 I think!

I love that the first 1km is down Georgia Street, towards Stanley Park and is a steady and gradual downhill. It's perfect for me to work up to a good pace and breathing pattern with just a smidge of gravity assistance. Unfortunately I spent that first 1km wrangling with my Garmin to pick up a satellite signal on the fly after it failed to start. Frustrating but at the 1 mile mark I got it going (what is it with me and my technology at the start of races - it's not the first time this has happened!!)

I had no great expectations for this race - I never do! The previous 2 times we've run it we've both been hungover and have gone into it with a worst case scenario of 'it's just a nice stroll out on a Sunday morning'! Of course we've always managed to pull out the stops and do a little better than that, even with a fuzzy head! This year we'd had our big night out on Friday but I still didn't feel on top form and liked that it was no pressure - kept me way more relaxed.

The thing is, the only real 10km races I've done were back when I ran in Cyprus - before chip timing and so far back that when I contacted the organizers to try and get the results out of the archives they were too far gone! They were always around the 60 minute mark though. I do have a couple of 10km split times from some of my half marathons - my best being 51 something, but really not an 'official' 10km time. So the only other 10km races I actually have times for are my previous Sun Runs - and they were both just over an hour. So I was feeling pretty confident that no matter what happened I was going to get a new 'official' PR!!

I'm always slower for the first mile or two of a race - since most of my races are Half Marathons it evens out OK, but for a 10km I guess I should work on that!! Chris ran with me and kept me at a good pace - really pushing me on the couple of bridges when I may have slowed. It's a nice, flat course apart from those 2 bridges! As you run the decline on the second bridge you can see BC Place and you know the finish line is close, and as you turn onto the exit ramp there it is! With a final push we made it across the line with the clock showing 1:08!

Now as you'll remember my garmin wasn't working so really I didn't know what our time was. I only thought I'd remembered seeing 9:16am on the clock as we set off, but I'm not totally sure. With some rough calculations I hoped that meant we should have finished in around 52-53 minutes, but we'd have to wait till the results were posted online - either way I was happy - it was a good race and  PR no matter what that I was pretty pleased with - considering that I'd not specifically trained for a 10km and wasn't feeling on perfect form.

After the race we dashed back to our hotel to grab a quick shower and check out and then headed for lunch at Steamworks Brewpub. I loved that everywhere you looked in Vancouver that afternoon all you could see were runners and happy faces - many people were still wearing their race t-shirts and bibs and you had the feeling that you were all in one giant club. This is the atmosphere that I was talking about!

And my new 'official' PR time - 51:47! I'm happy with that!

Linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday

Eating in the dark at The Dark Table, Vancouver

Last weekend we enjoyed a city break in Vancouver - once again killing 2 birds with one stone we were celebrating Chris's birthday and running the Vancouver Sun Run.

We headed off early on Friday morning and went via the Aggasiz Tulip Festival. The fields were in full bloom and after a short walk from the parking lot we were in the middle of it. Rows and rows of the beautiful blooms in lots of different colours! - just gorgeous and very spring like! We lucked out with some great weather too - although there had been a lot of rain the fields were pretty dry - in fact strangely spongey and rather fun to walk on!

We checked into the St.Regis Hotel for our weekend - it was a fabulous small boutique hotel and the location was second to none right on Dunsmuir and just one block from the start line for our race on Sunday! From the moment we checked in the doorman remembered us and greeted us by name throughout our stay - talk about great customer service. There was free wifi and free bottled water in the rooms. The rooms were small, but very nicely decorated and modern. There were cosy bathrobes and an amazing bathroom - it was nearly as big as the room itself. The breakfast was also an awesome perk - included as part of the room rate it was an a la carte menu served meal cooked to order and was delicious, plus an on-site pub/bar which was perfect for drinks before we headed out to dinner in the evenings.

Anyway, possibly the most exciting part of our weekend was Friday night when we had reservations at The Dark Table. This is a blind dining restaurant - meaning that you're eating in the dark. Pitch. Black. Darkness. I first came across the concept back in January when we watched the movie About Time and there are 2 characters who meet at a dark restaurant.  I loved the idea but lamented that it was a bit hip to have such a thing here. Literally the next day a work colleague of mine was at a conference in Vancouver and posted on her Facebook that she was 'dining in the dark' that evening. With a quick google search I discovered that indeed there was such a restaurant as per the movie in Vancouver, and we were visiting in April for the Sun Run! I made the reservations there and then!!

There are 2 'sittings' and we were booked for 8:45pm as a table for 4 - we were dining with our friends Les and Deanie. I think we were all super excited about what was to come. On arrival you sit out on the verandah and check out the menu - it was pretty simple - maybe a half dozen choices for entrée and then a 'surprise' starter and dessert. They take your food and drinks order and then you get called by name to meet your server at the main door. You line up one behind each other, putting both hands on the shoulders of the person in front and with the first of your group with their hands on the servers shoulders and you're off...after passing through 2 doors you enter complete darkness! The servers are all visually impaired themselves - our server had been completely blind since age 7. But these guys know how to move!! We were whisked along at quite the pace and led to our table.

We could see NOTHING. Nada. You could put your hand in front of your face and you couldn't see it. Chris had to take off his watch since the glow-dial was blindingly bright and in danger of ruining the atmosphere!

You were left at the table for a few minutes to orientate yourselves (before they let us loose with alcoholic beverages in open glassware containers!). The table was large. You could barely reach the person opposite you even when you were both stretched out - on reflection I suppose that was quite key in not knocking things over and fumbling around for your drinks glass - there were no 'extras' on the table - a simple textured place-mat and your cutlery, so after some feeling around you got quite comfortable.

The food was OK. Perfectly nice, but not wow. We had warm bread rolls and the starter was a simple salad, which I felt that I rocked! I even managed to use cutlery and pick it all up with a fork - which frankly I find challenging at the best of times! (at least I think I got it all!). For my main course I'd picked a stuffed chicken breast which was tasty. I didn't find my vegetables till later on so most of it I was just eating great hunks of meat rather than a mixed forkful of food. Well, most of it I ate with the fork!! Eating with your fingers soon became the easier and more instantly satisfying option! Dessert was a very ordinary chocolate mousse-y-cake thing - which should definitely have been a cutlery kind of affair, but by this time most definitely wasn't. But no-one can see you!!

But the food was not why I was here. Seriously I was competing with the Cheshire cat for the size of my grin that night! I just couldn't stop smiling and laughing. It was SO. FRIGGIN'. FUN!! When you needed to use the wash-room you had to call out for your server and he would come, you'd place your hands on his shoulders and he would whisk you off 'doing the conga' style. And you had to hold on tight because he was a busy man and was moving some and you were terrified of loosing your grip and being stranded mid-restaurant not knowing your nose from your ass, and never finding your way out!! I just found it all completely hysterical!! When you were done you had to stand at the bathroom door and call out again so he could lead you back.

Photo source

We were there a good couple of hours and had an absolute BLAST. Possibly the best dining experience I've ever had. And when your face hurts from smiling so much you know it's been a great, great night! It was fascinating to be dining in the dark - an insight into what blind people experience every day and you rely so much more on your other senses - despite our table mates being 'so far away' opposite us we never had trouble communicating - I guess because your hearing kicks up a notch to compensate. And texture and feel became so important for eating in particular.

If you ever get the opportunity to dine in the dark I'd totally recommend it - but go with friends - we were chatting to some couples who'd been and it didn't seem that they had quite as much fun - I think it's not the place for a romantic dinner for 2 (especially when you're sat next to a table of 4 drunken idiots cackling with laughter and giggling all night long!). I wouldn't necessarily go back - not because I didn't absolutely love it but I think it's a bit of a 'one-off' experience not to be missed!