New Years Eve

The hotel had a New Years Eve celebration.

As part of our package, Gord and I were able to go to the gala dinner (it would have cost us $75US each otherwise).

Here we are when we first got to the dining room.

Appetizers, soup, entrees and dessert were included.

I didn't like any of the appetizers so Gord had mine ... he had Olive Oil Poached Maine Lobster and Trio of Hudson Valley Foie Gras.

I didn't like either of the soups so had mine ... he had the Maine Lobster Bisque and Baby Corn Soup (with duck confit rillette and chervil).

We both had the Black Angus Beef Wellington (it was okay).

For dessert, Gord had the Elixir Seasonal Fruit Salad and I had the Apple Crumble Crostate (with cinnamon gelato).

The food was okay (I'm not really into fancy schmancy food). Had it not been included for us, we would have done something more casual and cheaper. The service was really slow and unorganized. We got there at 9pm and finished at 11pm. We didn't get acknowledged until 9:30am and had to keep asking for our next courses and wine.

After supper, we went to the lounge where the festivities were taking place. There was a band. They played Motown-like tunes and were good. There weren't many people there but everyone was dancing.

Here are me and Gord just before the countdown.

10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6- 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 ... Happy New Year!

Bubbly was served at midnight and we headed to our room with a glass of bubbly about 1am.

Grotto Bay Beach Resort, Bermuda

Gord and I decided to go something different for New Years this year ... we are spending a long weekend in Bermuda.

We left early this morning on an 8:15 flight and got here about noon.

Here is our resort.

We are on an all-inclusive package so all our food and drinks are included.

Our room wasn't ready 'til 4pm so we had lunch. Gord had the buffet. I started with wings and then had a burger/fries (I barely touched my fries, though).

They were good.

Here's the restaurant.

The lobby of our hotel is very festive.

Alas, it was raining ... here's Gord.

Here's our room ... it's cute. We're on the second floor and all rooms face the ocean.

The rooms don't have WIFI which is inconvenient. They have it in the lobby but they charge you for it (from $10 for an hour to $70 for a week). We'll head to the Swizzle Inn and use their free WIFI (and spent the money we would have spent on WIFI on a cocktail instead).

The Swizzle Inn, Bailey's Bay, Bermuda

After we had lunch, we still had a couple hours before our room was ready so we walked a couple blocks to a pub called The Swizzle Inn.

The Swizzle Inn is Bermuda's oldest and certainly most famous pub. Established in 1932 in a 17th century roadhouse, the "Swizzle" as locals call it, is home to Bermuda's national drink the Rum Swizzle. This potent rum and fruit juice cocktail is legendary for making the locals "loco" and the tourists "tipsy"!

Since 1962, the Swizzle Inn has been owned and operated by the Correia family. Johnny and Jackie were the husband and wife team for many years and then their son Jay took over in 1990. 2002 marked the 40th anniversary of the family running Swizzle Inn which coincided with Jay's 40th birthday.

A number of changes to the business have taken place over the years including the opening of the restaurant in 1973, opening the second floor to dining and a gift shop in1993 and expanding the patios and parking lot in 2000. However, one thing that has never changed has been the unique pub area with its graffiti and business cards as well as the rustic furniture and fixtures. The visitor books date back to 1942 and are full of funny anecdotes about people's visit to Swizzle Inn.

It's a cute spot ... though it was raining, we sat on the patio. Here's the inside.

We shared a shaker of their signature drink, the Swizzle, and are taking home the shaker as a souvenir.

Here we are ... exhausted and wet but having fun.

Here's me giving the Swizzle Inn a thumb's up!

Gord enjoyed a local beer, Oscar's Amber Ale.

There were lots of birds hanging out with us on the patio.

Yep, we're still having fun.

Oxana was our server and she took great care of us.

It had stopped raining by the time we headed to our hotel ... yay! This was our road home.

The Swizzle Inn is a fun spot and I bet we'll be back! The food looks great and they have free WIFI.

January 1, 2012 update: Gord and I went to the Swizzle Inn to surf and catch up with the world (WIFI is free whereas our hotel charges us). We ended up staying for supper and had some yummy pizzas.

Gord had pepperoni, bacon, mushrooms and green peppers ...

I had pepperoni, bacon and tomatoes ...

Yum!

January 3, 2012 update: Since we didn't take the all-inclusive option for today, we had supper at the Swizzle Inn.

I had the Buffalo Style Wings (tossed in Jay's ring of fire sauce) and Butt Kickin' Chili Nachos (A mean hombre! Heap of tortilla chips topped with Monterey Jack, onions, diced tomato, jalapeños and Johnny's butt kickin' chili. Salsa and sour cream as well) ... both were good. The meat in the chili was like stew beef rather than burger, which I was expecting.

Gord ordered the The Swizzle Burger (Seasoned 6oz all beef burger with crisp bacon, real cheddar, lettuce and tomato on a sesame bun) and onion rings which he said was good.

We had some drinks and surfed and got caught up with the world.

Kitties aren't much help packing

Morgan loves to sleep on suitcases.

Gord was packing his suitcase this evening. He had it on the bed in our bedroom.

Morgan made it difficult because he climbed on it and went to sleep.

Crumpet wasn't much better ... she went to sleep in the clean laundry (I'd taken it from the dryer and put it on the bed so we could fold it).

Gord finished packing and put his suitcase in the living room ... Morgan wasn't too far behind getting comfy again.

Ritual Spa, Toronto, ON

Gord and I got pedicures this afternoon so our feet will look great in Bermuda.

The place we usually go to closed last month so we went to Ritual Spa (King W/Niagara).

It was bustling there with people getting pedicures, manicures, haircuts and waxings. It's really white and I didn't find it overly cozy.

My feet are now nice and soft. My toes are Opi's Meep Meep Meep.

It's hard to see the actual colour so here it is:

They look great!

The woman who did my toes was fairly quiet but answered questions when I asked.

The woman who did Gord's toes was more chatty. She had a bandage covering the entire tip of her nose. She said she had been bitten by a pit bull on Christmas Eve and required many stitches.

Foggy Dew, Toronto, ON

Gord and I had lunch today at the Foggy Dew (King W/Niagara).

It was fairly busy there ... not a big surprise considering it is the Friday before New Years Eve at lunchtime.

It's been almost a year since I was last there. Gord sometimes stops on his way home for a pint or two after work on Fridays.

We both ordered Beer Battered Fish & Chips (cold water caught Cape Capensis, chemical free white fish filet in Kilkenny Cream Ale batter served with fresh hand cut fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce).

I got mine without the coleslaw and tartar sauce.

It was good and filling.