Okay, we get it. Not everyone likes Valentines Day. It’s a day designed to make single people feel depressed, couples to spend money, and for the restaurants to rake in the cash. I really should mention that my boyfriend and I have never been a ‘Valentines Day ‘couple. Not really. We still do the card swap thing, but while we were both at uni, we rarely saw each other on Valentines Day. We didn’t think anything of that, but its still an excuse to send each other a few cutesy texts. Two days ago I found out that I’ll be starting my new job as a Marketing Manager in a couple weeks time. So yesterday instead of celebrating valentines, we initially spent the night celebrating a new start in my career.
February 14th. a day for food and celebrations (for me anyway!)
At 6pm, just after leaving work, we both headed to Panchuli, an Indian lounge on the Solihull high street. Josh and I are massive curry fans, so it was great that we found one that served champagne with the food. The ambiance was really relaxed, and the place was surrounded with candles. We had 3 courses each for £18, and of course, I was drinking as much red wine as possible to accompany the meal. The food was great and the staff were incredibly attentive (not too much though – I hate it when waiters ask you if your food is alright when you have your mouth full of food. I swear some do it on purpose!). They also gave all the women roses, so I definitely recommend the place if you are after a cosy Indian in Solihull for a satisfying night.
To continue the foodie weekend, earlier on today I took Josh to his first ever Afternoon Tea. I was a bit hesitant about doing it because he had never been and I wasn’t sure if he would enjoy it. But we arrived at the Hampton Manor, based in Solihull and we walked to the tea room, which was incredibly spacious and once again, the staff were extremely friendly and welcoming. We arrived 15 minutes before our table at 3pm, so we settled down in front of the open fireplace with a glass of wine and a beer before our food. Sometimes it’s nice just to relax and do nothing but eat sandwiches and cakes. If I had my way, I’d do this every weekend. Once at the table, we were given a choice of tea flavours and were delivered an array of salmon, egg and ham sandwiches, a selection of cakes, scones and champagne. Needless to say I felt pretty tipsy from all the alcohol, but it made the food that much more delicious. We ate in style and I’m pretty confident Josh enjoyed the day too which made me happy. I’ve had a lovely weekend and I was given flowers from Josh as a “Well done” for finally landing a job. Once again it’s been an expensive weekend, but totally worth it. I’m now ready to curl up into a ball and fall asleep for the night.
When we arrived at the Manor it was pretty rainy and miserable, but Hampton is an absolutely gorgeous place to visit.