but is no 24 hour party person

Manchester. Meeting up with the GlamourPuss and Profski (who was there for a conference). A couple of days catching up, chatting, exploring;  maybe a cocktail or two? I researched dog friendly places via my regular dugswelcome haunt and this blog and was really pleased to find out there were lots, and in the Northern Quarter, I remembered that district fondly from my last visit.  We'd really enjoyed walking around there. And so we returned....

I had a list of places in my head and thought we could wander and then just  choose the one we liked best. And so on a lovely sunny, late Spring evening that's what we did. We wandered about looking for somewhere for a drink and something to eat.

Perhaps at this point I should introduce the "Perfect Teashop"concept. Back in days of yore, before DogStarke was even a gleam in anyone's eye, indeed even before her mother was born, on Sunday afternoons MrS and I would drop MasterS off at his dad's and go for a drive. Sometimes to the seaside sometimes to the country. We would have a walk, maybe visit an historic site, admire dogs. And then come mid afternoon I'd get a hankering for tea, and perhaps cake. And so the search would begin..... This one would be too busy, these cakes too generic, those cups too clumsy. And so on. Until even the ever patient MrS would grow exasperated, and thirsty.  And lecture me on the futility of my search.

very nice, but this was lunch

nice, but not a teashop

maybe I should stick to coffee

or wine?

Cut to the Northern  Quarter, and that lovely sunny, late Spring evening. Four mature adults and one cute dog. I had my list.We wandered. Now, where shall I start on my list of "nots"? This one's too busy, that one too noisy, this one looks nice? Ah, nothing 'til 10pm. Eventually two very lovely young folk, with an equally lovely dog, suggested very tactfully that Bluu would maybe suit us; it was big so we should be able to get a table, dog friendly and "smarter". A very tactful way of saying, suitable for oldies.  I even liked the music*.



Anyway, I got my cocktail, we ordered some wine and dug into ribs and brisket. In our banquette we could hear each the speak. And DogS was a great hit. So the evening ended well.

Next day with Profski duly waved off to his lectures the rest of us set off for Didsbury, where after a short bus trip (no. 42, there's a choice of services, nb  the tram does not allow dogs)

a scritch from the long arm of the law

on the bus

DogStarke was able to have a lovely run around the park and we had a late, late breakfast at Lounge.

very GlamourPuss

what none for me?

But what of our evening? Friday evening to be precise.

afternoon cocktails

We didn't venture out. We cocooned in our big Novotel room with some drinks and snacks and watched the Chelsea flower show  and a gem of a documentary about the flower trade.

chill zone

I know how to party.

Marina x

*it has a 80s theme

and ponders on "friendliness"

Dog friendliness to be exact. You may have noticed a certain doggycentric slant to my posts. Since Dogstarke came to live with us back in 2012 she has become a very important part of our lives.

Who could resist this smile?

And so she comes with us when we travel. I heard a piece on the radio recently reporting how hotels were responding to the demand for pet friendly holidays. I know I've been on my soapbox about this before but it didn't really chime with my idea of what  dog friendly means. High up on the list of things were special dog menus and beds. Now I don't know whether we are exceptional but DogStarke fares best when she eats her regular diet, which we always take with us and her own blanket and bed to make her feel at ease. Dog spa treatments got a mention too...DogStarke likes to seek out her mud and seaweed fixes herself and hates grooming, so not much appeal there.

Zzzzzzzz

So what do I look for?

1) Friendliness, to people and pets. I think if you can't be friendly to customers then really you shouldn't  be in the business.

2) Somewhere to walk. It doesn't need to be a massive garden but that is a plus. It's good when rooms have suggestions for local walks too.

3) A bin for the inevitable waste. One very nice inn we've visited several times not only has no bins on site, there  are no waste bins in the village. But if you do fail to find a bin that is no excuse for leaving little bags around the place. Take it away!

4) Having an eating area and some public space accessible to dogs and their owners. It's not really friendly if poor dog has to be locked in the car when their people leave the room, and very unwelcoming to non drivers.

5) A sensible supplement for cleaning, because, well rooms should be thoroughly cleaned after every guest, dog or human.

Everything else is just window dressing.

DogStarke on her travels

And for our part we dog owners should abide by certain minimum standards of behaviour.

1) Always pick up your dog's waste.

2) Clean your dog, wipe their paws etc after those lovely muddy walks and...

3) Don't bath your dog in the hotel bathroom, that just spoils things for future guests, I know of a least one formerly dog friendly hotel that throw refuses dogs because of this. Many hotels/inns in country areas offer outside taps/towels. Use them.

4) Don't allow your dog on the beds/furniture even if they are allowed at home.

5) Keep your dog under control and don't let it wander about, not everyone is a dog lover.

6) Have fun with your dog, go for walks, play.  A happily tired dog after a great day out with its people will be more likely to settle down for a snooze under your chair.

have ball, happy dog

Well I've just finished booking a short break  at various dog friendly places, I'll let you know how we all get along.

Marina x

..and puts the heels back in the box.

So I'm back from my weekend in the city and it's been back to my more usual footwear

although on sunny days I've worn these.

This means that Dogstarke has been very happy because it's meant lots of "walkies" for her. And coupled with some lovely sunny weather it's brought smiles all round.

As well as one of our regular walks, taking in not one but two of Dogstarke's favourite beaches we also explored another one from the excellent walk highlands site.  It was in many ways a perfect walk; circular, close to a coffee stop, excellent views, historic interest and for Dogstarke a friendly dog to play with (because she's not so big on views)

looking north

Dounie castle

across to Jura

We ended the week with  a lovely lunch at The Hawthorn Restaurant at Benderloch and then (partially) walked it off at Tralee beach. It has to be said, DogStarke did most of the calorie burning, and she hadn't eaten lunch. But I did have a paddle.

Today the weather has turned a little cooler but we still had a lovely walk and enjoyed the Spring flowers.

We have visitors next week so I  hope the sun doesn't go too far away. And after that I might just be dusting down the heels for  another city outing.

Until next time

Marina x

and meets herself coming back.....

Well, sort of.....Actually I'm stealing Dogstarke's subject matter with this post. Yes it's a post about walkies! On Easter Monday we drove to Glen Etive, which you may have seen in a certain movie  a few years ago, and walked westwards along the north shore of Loch Etive.

looking north to Glen Etive, Easter Monday

 Yesterday we drove up from the Connel Bridge, where the Falls of Lora were in full flow, past Ardchattan Priory to Bonawe where the public road ends. We parked up and set off east ,towards the head of the loch.

looking north from slightly further south, yesterday

In the best tradition of Winnie the Pooh we fortified ourselves with ".....pro, pro, things we take with us..." and stopped for a picnic lunch along the way.

everyone got a picnic

Now Loch Etive is nearly 20 miles long and even though we'd started our walk nearly half way along we had  no plans to walk all the way to the head of the loch, we were aiming for the spot we'd turned around on our eastward trek. But tempted by signs for this bridge

quite a bouncy bridge....

.......over this

we took a detour, passed by this offgrid hideaway and then after finding ourselves in quite a boggy spot had  a final cup of coffee and  decided it was probably time to head back home.

If you like the sound of this walk you can find another description here. 

Today I was pleasantly surprised that  I wasn't too stiff but my toes were sooooo happy sunshine let them  get some respite from boots.

putting my feet up, today

Soon we're off on a mini break back to Edinburgh so I'm hoping to report on some nice clean sheets. Last time we stayed at the Novotel on Lauriston Place but this time we'll be trying out somewhere new. I'll be sure to let you know.

Marina x

and realises it's been too long

Gosh! I haven't posted anything here since well before Christmas. Not that the world will stop turning but I like to keep busy and it's quite good self discipline to post regularly. So what's been happening and where have we been?

Well we spent a lovely Christmas in Wales with GlamourPuss and the Prof. On our way south we had a two night stopover at the lovely White Swan, Pickering, North Yorkshire. This is a great addition to our list of dog friendly hotels. The dog friendly accommodations are the hideaway rooms in the courtyard.  These are not the second class abodes sometimes forced on dog owners, they are large, cosy and luxurious. And you're not confined to your room either, dogs are welcome, and a real warm welcome it is too, in the bars (where you can eat off the restaurant menu) and the sumptuous residents only bothy, which is about as far from a mountain bothy as you can get. Unless you know of a mountain bothy with soft sofas, an open fire, magazines, free hot beverages and an honesty bar??? The food is good too and Pickering seems to be well supplied with nice little eateries if you want to venture out.

candlelit dinner

relax by the fire

pig in a jar

Pickering is a pretty little town with some interesting shops,  a heritage railway , castle and stand out medieval frescoes in the church of St Peter and St Paul which is tucked away up a vennel behind the pet shop (also recommended). The surrounding area has plenty to offer too and hopefully will soon recover from the terrible floods.* After exploring the town we headed to Filey to stretch our legs on the beach; the tide had other ideas though so we kept to the prom. Dogstarke did manage a little dip and met lots of nice dogs, including five other BTs (and was nice to them) so it was a good day for her too.

church of St Peter and St Paul, Pickering

Filey

enjoying the sea

Christmas Eve saw us loading up the sleigh and heading to Wales where we mostly cocooned and  enjoyed the splendid hospitality of the aforementioned Glamour'n'Prof. But we did sneak in a couple of visits to our old favourite The Angel, I loved the apres ski bar.

Rudi taking a break from the sleigh 

it has to be said, she was less than thrilled.......

just one of Glamour's trees

in the selfie shack

that might not be coffee.......

We headed back north for the New Year and after a brief stop off with the MacStarkes,  were home to toast 2016 at our local with a dram and some dancing.

a dram similar to the one taken

A belated Happy New Year!

Marina x


*Pickering avoided the floods

and makes a little list

I haven't done a list for ages, so here's six things I learned on my holidays.

1) I live somewhere which is very beautiful, even in the rain. This is good as it rains. Often and luxuriantly.  Bergerac and the countryside around needed sun to show them at their best.

                                                                       

2) Don't believe all you read/hear about France being a country of intellectuals and serious "talking head" TV. They have their own version of "Come Dine With Me",  "Un diner presque parfait" http://undinerpresqueparfait.m6.fr. Scores given for Ambience, Decoration and of course Cuisine. And also "Le Choix" think "Take Me Out" but  with more participants and in a resort, but I didn't really like that and it was on at dinner time. There are also award shows.

not sure which was best; Sean's look of total bewilderment (I don't think he speaks French) 

or Marion's frock

3) There doesn't seem to be the same camaraderie between dog owners in France as here. Most French dogs had their leads tightened and were pulled well away from Dogstarke. And she is no ravening beast.

Interestingly when we were in Ile de Re a couple of years ago we had lots of interaction with fellow dog owners. But we were there slightly ahead of the season and the tourists were  mostly Dutch or German.

this cute dog did want to make friends

4)  It's might be not so common now in Paris, but out in the country people still do have two hour lunch breaks. Museums and shops closed and folk headed home or to the restaurant. Service stations were full of families and single travellers sitting down to a proper lunch. MrS and I were questioned on where our hot dishes were when we paid for our salads and coffees. On non travel days we eschewed the salads and joined them, there's no fun wandering around looking at closed shop windows in the cold. In fact our best meal of the holiday was at lunchtime, at La Tour des Vents, Montbazillac, http://www.tourdesvents.com. No wine as MrS was driving (I was providing moral support and he reciprocated by turning down pud., given up by me for Lent). Though he did wolf down all the chocs and canelles that  came with coffee. And Dogstarke was welcomed too!

madeleines and cannelles similar to those described

5)  Those mountains on the Volvic label really do exist! I got quite excited when I spotted them but couldn't take a photo. I didn't think it was such a good idea as I was driving.

Here's a view from the service station instead.

6) Calais gets a bad press. In guide books they say it's just a transit town and has nothing to offer. I don't agree. We arrived late and managed to have a good dinner. OK the first place we tried (both recommended by the nice young concierge at the Mercure hotel) was a bit grumpy and turned us away (kitchen closed)

probably worth a try despite the grumps

but we had fun at the other La Vieux Fourneau, which was full of French families enjoying themselves on a Friday night.

                                                            taken the next morning 

Saturday morning there was a good market in the square which unfortunately we had to forgo. Devoted though he is to cheese and tempting as it was MrS decided it would probably have lost its appeal after 500 miles in the car.
And then who could dislike a place which sold these?