Stars and the White Garden

I thought that we should head a little further afield for this post, and while we’re there we can pick up some sun at the same time. Yes, for this post we’re heading over to the Andromeda Botanic gardens in Barbados. Clearly I’ve not been there recently, what with it being 2020 and all that, but we did visit at the end of 2019 and our visit is rapidly approaching its year anniversary, which is also crazy.

It was our second time in Barbados, the first time we went for a friend’s wedding and as part of a larger group we spent a lot of time socialising rather than sight seeing, and it was great. But when we went back - and part of the reason for going back - was to see more of the island, and of course the rest of the reason was sun, rum and relaxing.

There were two gardens on my visit list in Barbados, and this was the second one we visited. We booked a cab and off we set. The Andromeda Botanic gardens, is a wonderful place (as their website says) and is both beautiful and informative. It’s also a partner garden of the RHS, and so - and rather bizarrely - I was able to use my RHS membership to enter.

But anyway, on arrival you’re given a clutch of laminated papers with lists of what you’ll see. I was doubtful that it would be useful, but I was so, so wrong. The list fan in me loved it, as I made MOH visit each number in turn, and yes it was hot.

The white garden, you’ll not be surprised to learn included plants that had - or while have - white flowers and/or foliage. We set about looking for the white ginger, bush clock vine, a busy lizzy (found that one), crinum, varigated mondo grass and so on.

Well we spotted some of them, but more than that we enjoyed the garden, and this part of the garden especially. The ‘instructions’ told us to turn left onto the deck, and to take a seat and admire the views.

Who were we to argue?

But then I spotted something hanging from the branches, and so it wasn’t long before I was off to find out more.

I was mesmerised by the stars. It was instant admiration - and many photos were taken as I was convinced they would be easy to replicate. I think they probably are, but I still haven’t tried.

Looking closer I was convinced they were made of newspaper, sprayed - or maybe even just bleached by the sun - and covered in glitter.

They would make stunning Christmas decorations. I even found a website, which I have squirrelled away somewhere, with a tutorial on how to make them. I’m sure that one day I will.

And then MOH spotted the busy lizzie - a plant he knows, and we were off again. But not before stopping and admiring these leaves, which were not only variegated, but huge!

I think these leaves - which are quite similar in shape to the leaves of my Lords and Ladies - are fab, and could have admired their ‘markings’ for much longer than I did.

But with views like this, Andromeda isn’t a place that you stay still in for long.

The loo we couldn't find at first

Once we found our hotel in Lyon - which was trickier than you might expect, as the entrance was low key to say the least, we learnt we’d had a room upgrade as we checked in. That doesn’t happen to us so often, so it was quite exciting. As we were shown our room we took it all in our stride as we were shown around, but as soon as she was gone, we were exploring for ourselves, looking out of the window for the view, checking the snacks on the dressing table, the wardrobes with its towelling robes, and the bathroom. It’s just that one thing was missing. And that was the loo.

Seriously.

A huge bath, luxurious toiletries, fluffy towels, a fancy sink. But no loo.

There had to be one. And then in clicked.

It had to be off the mirrored entrance-way…

And so it was, opposite the wardrobe. The brass door knob in the picture above was the only clue we had. And neither of us were quite ready for what was behind that door.

Yes, our very own OTT hand-painted chateau-scene. If It’d have told you beforehand, I’m not sure you would have believed me, and seeing was believing.

It was totally bonkers, and totally made for my Loo Series posts - did they know? And what were the other room’s loos like?

In truth, it was a bit like a caravan loo, just quite a fancy one. But still bonkers.

Only in Lyon. Or is it?

The best wine bar in Lyon

That’s quite some claim and one that got us through the door when we visited back in February. We were staying in a hotel close by, and as is often the way when we stay in hotels, we didn’t need any more food. Well not a full evening meal anyway.

But, what to do of an evening? And this evening in particular was a pretty foul one, so wandering around wasn’t really an option. So that’s how we found ourselves spending our evening in La Cave Des Lyons in the old town, in Place Saint-Paul. We’d walked past it earlier in the day, without really noticing it, which sounds a bad thing, but I don’t think it really is. At that point in time, we were tourists seeing the sites, and hungry tourists at that, who were looking for breakfast.

Yes, after a fabulous meal in our hotel the night before, breakfast as soon as we got up wasn’t needed either. You’re right, this is almost unheard of, but Lyon isn’t a place where we went hungry. The food was plentiful and fantastic, and I seriously came home heavier after just a few days away, even though we walked near and a little bit further around its streets.

As you’d expect the wine bar had plenty of choice and through sheer good fortune and a fair bit of pointing we got ourselves a fairly decent glass of vino, actually a few. We’d hoped for a bottle but maybe that’s just an English thing. Settled into our spot just by the door, which gave us a perfect people spotting spot. The best sort of spot, I think. We could see the whole downstairs area of the bar, peek into the tiny kitchen (through the doorway at the end of the bar), monitor the stairs and even people walking past outside. Or as the evening went on, blow past.

It was turning into quite a foul night outside, the winds getting up and the rain starting again. We didn’t need much more to encourage us to stay put and have another glass. We also opted for food, but only a small amount. A cheeseboard to share. And just as well we shared, it was huge. It also came with a variety of accompaniments, some you’d expect, like nuts, dried fruit and such. But also some that I wasn’t expecting, including sliced banana, which also worried me slightly.

I have no photos of the food - again, too busy eating than photographing - one day I might remember, but I can’t promise that. But actually the banana weirdly worked. I’m not sure I’d add it to my cheeseboards through choice, but I’d probably try it again.

FOR THE RECORD WE DIDN’T POLISH ALL THESE OFF

So was it the best wine bar in Lyons? Quite possibly, though we only tried the one. I’d definitely be up for going back (at some point) to try here again, and some others for comparison. All in the name of research…