I finally synced my Blackberry this morning and was able to get my pics off of my phone! I can finally give a NYE recap as well as tell you about our trip to Geneva. Those on twitter saw a lot of these pics already, but alas. Here they are!
PB booked us a black tie dinner & dance at this stately home near our house in Basingstoke. I tried to document us all gussied up in our unpacked mirror (PB- get on getting that thing hung up!), but alas, the BB flash proved to be a problem.
We then re-took in the bathroom. Which is sort of awkward, but what can you do.
We were the first to arrive and they seated us in the library. PB always has to be early to everything so of course we were the first. Clearly he needs to be schooled in the art of fashionable lateness. It did, however, give me time to take pics!
We had one glass of champagne in the library but PB was sweet and got us another to take into dinner with us. If you all don't know, Champagne is my JAM. I rarely have it so we decided to "splash out" as PB says.
Perhaps two glasses of champagne went to PBs head. He was having far too much fun with the party goodies they gave us to play with at midnight!
So I forgot to take a picture of our starters because we ate them so fast. I had the venison carpaccio with a blueberry sauce. It was to die for! PB was jelly.
Then we had a bellini sorbet to cleanse our palate. It was refreshing and tasty!
(Also, perhaps I should have moved my spoon.)
I ordered the duck. It was really tasty but was a little too rich for my Weight Watcher's tummy. It made me really sick later in the evening. The dauphinoise potatoes were the best part, in my opinion; Creamy and perfectly seasoned.
For dessert we had a pecan pie and a sage panna cotta. I have to admit, I was not a fan of either of them. The pecan pie was a sad rendition, but it is what I would expect from Brits. They needed Miss Paula's recipe! The panna cotta made me gag. I am NOT a fan.
Then, if we weren't already stuffed, they brought us a cheese plate. This was possibly my favorite part of the night! All the cheeses were made locally and they were perfect! We literally ate everything on the plate. The homemade chutney was the best I've ever had.
They even gave us a cute parting gift of truffles.
Then we danced the night away! It was SO.MUCH.FUN. I mean I think we were some of the youngest people there, but everyone was up boogying! There was an 85 year old woman who was totally breaking it down to the Black Eyed Peas.
We danced and danced and danced and danced.
I loooovvveee British peeps. I'm convinced they dance more than Americans.
We ended the night with a fantastic fireworks display on the grounds of the Hall. It was a surprisingly good!
On our way back in after midnight they gave us "Bucks Fizz" (aka mimosas) and smoked salmon on bagels. Due to my upset tummy I only had one mimosa and had to pass us the bagels. I'm still heartbroken about that because they looked amazing!
We had a fantastic time. This was a moderately priced dinner/dance option and we were both impressed with the value for money we got. Next year we might try one of the really pricey options to compare. If you are in England next New Year's Eve you should definitely check out a dinner/dance at a stately hotel. (Check for "Handpicked Hotels" for some gorgeous hotels.) We had a blast!
I know it is a month late, but how did you all ring in 2011?
Posted in: Christmas,England,Holidays,New Year's Eve
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