Wine is back in fashion!

A few decades ago, you couldn't move for fancy wine bars and there were Threshers and Oddbins on virtually every corner. However, nice wine seems to have fallen out of favour in our town centres of late. 

Take my home city of Salisbury as an example. Our last off-licence closed a few years ago and most of the bars serve house red or pinot grigio and not really a great deal more. Every type of vodka under the sun, yes. A selection of wines from the Stellenbosch, no.

If you want a bottle of decent wine, you invariably have to go to a supermarket or restaurant and suffer something slightly substandard everywhere else.

I'm pleased to say that the trend seems to have started to buck, in Salisbury at least. 

Last year, a specialist wine retailer finally opened in Salisbury, as part of the Cambridge Wine Merchants chain. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine to buy wine in a supermarket and I am a massive fan of the selection at Waitrose and Marks and Spencer. However, nothing can replace walking into a shop, and being able to ask what wine they would recommend to go with the duck or fish dish you are cooking that night. And having the personal service of expert wine advice based on your tastes and preferences.

Cambridge Wine Merchants, Salisbury

And, you don’t just get some store attendant who has done a three week course in beverages as part of their store induction. These guys know their stuff.  The manager, Gareth, has long recommended and slurped wine and used to manage the last of the wine shops in Salisbury, Oddbins and Nicolas. Last time we went in there, we explained we were going to my parent’s for coq au vin and Gareth recommended a delicious drop of Italian red. A far better experience than interpreting the pretensions of a marketing label on a wine bottle.

Then, in the New Year, joy of joys we got a wine bar! A real wine bar! Well a wine café by the name of Crane Street Wine Café. OK, they do serve food and I did go there for an evening meal, however, you can just pop in for a glass of wine and you don’t have to serve food. And, they have a really good selection and the food is pretty good too. 

Crane Street Wine Cafe in Salisbury. Finally the wine bar is back!

Run by the gregarious Andy Griggs, the place has a really classy ambience and décor too and I can see myself whiling away many an afternoon with a glass of Pinot, watching the people go by. We enjoyed a delicious bottle of Australian Shiraz. And then we enjoyed a second delicious bottle! If you do decide to eat, I would heartily recommend the tuna steak and my Dad wolfed down his spare ribs, so I assume they were pretty tasty! 

I’d be interested to know if this trend is being replicated in other towns across the UK. For me, this is a great departure from shots and red bull and a decidedly more sophisticated way to enjoy a drop.

PS I couldn't write an article about wine in Salisbury without mentioning the Majestic wine store in Salisbury. For me, it’s off this list because it isn't in the town centre and requires a car journey to get there. Plus, you have to buy a six bottle case and you can’t just pop in for a bottle. However, their service is impeccable, there’s nearly always a Pinot Noir on the tasting bar and they do social well. So plus points from me.

The Francais from the flames

When Charter 1227 restaurant in Salisbury went up in flames a few years ago I was so sad.

I'd love to say it was due to my disappointment for the owners and the loss of a historic building in Salisbury. Nope! I was mostly sad because Charter 1227 was supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Salisbury and I had never been. And partly sad as the fire also took the best fish and chip shop in Salisbury with it, Stoby's. Yes I know. The pain was all mine!

So you can imagine my self-centred delight when the restaurant reopened earlier this year, with the same owners and a new and improved menu!

As it was our anniversary, we thought we'd go and have a try. You know, to support the regeneration of Salisbury and local businesses....

The restaurant didn't look much from the outside. But up a fairly steep set of steps (yes I was worried about falling down them!) we found an open plan restaurant, with a modern, fresh feel, yet with a nod to the past.  Our table had a great view overlooking the market square and, as we were in the corner, the rest of the diners. I love to sit "eyes out" in a restaurant, although I occasionally get told to stop staring.


 

Our waiter was really friendly and took the time to chat and make us feel welcome. We ordered a bottle of Chianti and we were given a delicious slice of olive oil laden focaccia bread (which the squeeze could have eaten three more of, even though it was a generous size!).

To start, I had beetroot and goats cheese salad with walnut dust and raspberry essence. The squeeze had Wiltshire pork ballotine, black pudding and apple and vanilla purée. For main, I had Roast rump of lamb, mint potato croquettes, zucchini topped Provencal vegetables and pea purée. The squeeze destroyed char grilled duck breast with braised leeks, celeriac purée, port and blackberry infused sauce.

Yes, your dribbling mouth is correct. It was all absolutely delicious.

In my opinion, there are no other restaurants in Salisbury quite like Charter 1227. Yes, there are lots of great places to eat, but nothing truly refined like this one.

If you want a huge plate of food, served to you within moments, it's probably not for you. But if you want plates of food that look like works of art, with each morsel tasting delicious and surprising and where you get personal service, then you'll love this place. And, if like me you're into your chinaware, and always turn your side plate upside down to look at the brand, everything is served on Villeroy and Boch.
At the end, Danny the chef and owner popped over to say hello and ask about our dining experience. He seemed so passionate and genuine and it was a cordial touch.

And, I managed to get down the stairs without falling over. Another commendable achievement.

It's nice to be called young again

Some HPB destinations are more popular than others. But HPB Physkos in Turunc, Turkey is notoriously difficult to book. I'm told that some of the villas are booked up at least two years in advance!

Having just returned from a week's stay there, I can completely understand why.

The property is very decadent and luxurious with several large pools and hammocks on the lawn in which to laze in the sun. We had a studio apartment, which the booking staff repeatedly informed us was quite small. However, it was perfectly big enough for our needs with two large balconies, a spacious kitchen-come-living area and a nice double bedroom. As usual, the property was immaculate and equipped with every imaginable kitchen utensil you could ever need. We didn't get round to using the three bread baskets....

View from our second balcony

The pretty town of Turunc is a pleasant five minutes walk. There are plenty of bars and restaurants, a large stretch of beach and a marina with water taxis and day tripping boats to take you around the area. We enjoyed particularly good meals at Tapas Mapas, OBA 09 and Pisces restaurant as well as taking the water taxi to nearby Amos and Marmaris. There is a mini market next door that makes the most amazing pancakes and casseroles that they deliver to your room. You can read about how to get a water taxi on my blog here.

The main appeal, however, has got to be the management team, led by Korhan Demiroz. When we arrived, we had one of the warmest welcomes I have ever received and one of the funniest and useful welcome meetings I've ever been heard (although there was no booze, which for me is a must!). We celebrated a very exciting event while we were there and Korhan even sent a bottle of fizz to our room. A lovely touch from a lovely man.

The best bit however was, we were repeatedly told that "it was nice to have some young people staying at Physkos". Now, being 30 plus some years old, this has got to be one of the nicest things someone could possibly say to me!

And yes, most of the residents were, shall we say, on the greyer side of 50. However, everyone was so friendly and it certainly meant there were no late night parties or loud music!

I've carried on about how great HPB places are on my blog. Having just returned from the nicest one I've ever stayed in, I thought I'd take the opportunity to have another little rave! You can read all about how the HPB system works here and I can't praise the company enough.

The only downside was the naughty old wasps that plagued the pool. But by all accounts they arrive every year at the end of August. There's more about the wasps on my blog here. There was also no free wifi by the pool and since data roaming charges are so expensive in Turkey, this was a real shame.

I will almost certainly return, but next time I will be going in June. And no Korhan, not with children!! Although, who knows what they are doing two years in advance? I barely know what I am doing two weeks in advance so whether I'll be able to book a property may rely on a bit of luck!

I won't be singing in Singapore!

When I started this blog, I promised myself that it wouldn't be just somewhere for me to complain about my bad experiences. There are too many blogs that are too heavily focused on the negative, when travelling should be fun, and sometimes the hic-cups can add to the overall experience.

I've been so disappointed with Singapore Air though, that I felt I needed to write about it, even if it helps other travellers avoid some of the pitfalls.

Elsewhere in this blog, I have discussed how much I love flying. My airline of choice is Virgin Atlantic  but due to costs, I decided to fly to Australia with Singapore Airlines. I spent quite some time on Seat Guru picking my seat, and my plan was to write a blog post about the food, the service and the overall experience.

However, I am due to fly today and since nothing to date has been at all positive, I think it is unlikely I shall feel inclined to write a glowing review of the on board delights.

These have been my issues:

Language barriers: Of course I understand that an airline such this will be multilingual, but every time I have spoken to the "London Office" they staff have struggled to understand me, and I have struggled to understand them. So much so that the booking was incorrect when it was made, with many details relating to my name and email address being wrong due to the staff not understanding what I was saying.

Poor technology: The reason why I have repeatedly had to talk to the team is because of the number of glitches in the system. The website couldn't take my booking at the time. I couldn't amend my details relating to my booking online. When I needed to check the flight times, I kept getting error messages and the site wouldn't work from my Smart Phone.

Dreadful customer service: My flights have been delayed today, which means that I am missing my connecting flight from Singapore Airport to Sydney Airport. Again, I think we all know that sometimes there are delays on flights, but for me, it is about what airlines do when something goes wrong that makes them excellent as well as what they do as part of their standard service.

I was informed that my flight from Heathrow Airport was delayed because I received a text. However, the text did not give me any detail relating to my connecting flight. When I rang them, the operative informed me that I was going to miss the connecting flight and that they were trying to find me an alternative seat on a plane to Sydney, but that I might have to sort it when I got to Singapore Airport.

The view of Sydney Harbour I shall not be seeing as I sit in the Aisle by the loo!

I got quite upset (understandably) and asked whether the delays were due to the cracks in the wings on A380 which have been widely reported in the media. The operative had no idea why the planes were delayed at all. But it was "definitely not" due to the cracks in the wings. As a person travelling alone, huge delays at airports can be particularly tiresome, especially when you have done a huge amount to organise the detail of the trip.
After being put on hold several times, I asked to speak to a supervisor which I was unable to do straight away. However, I was rung back about an hour later by Sarah who had managed to find me a seat on a flight to Sydney. Woo hoo. However, I was unable to get a window seat, so no lovely view of Sydney as we land, and I am also dangerously close to a toilet. And I think we all know what that means on a long flight! 

So, this afternoon, rather than getting a lovely manicure and pedicure followed by a final fat busting trip to the gym, I have been on the phone to Singapore Airlines and getting increasingly frustrated by their dreadful website.

My revenge? I shall attempt to drink the bar dry on the flight. I'll let you know how I get on.

Update!!
So I have now arrived in Australia after a fairly vexingly long journey. There were lots of people on my flight that were in the same position as me, and were going to miss their connecting flight. And most of them had left the UK without any idea when and if they were going to get a seat on a connecting flight. A lot of fairly disatisfied customers!

And was it a good flight? Well I had asparagus for breakfast and an onion and lettuce sandwich for supper. So, not so much.

Do I think the plane was delayed because of the issues with cracks in the wings? Well, interestingly this article was posted on Bloomberg on the day after I flew to say that Singapore Air was starting to check all of the wings of all of their A380 Airbuses. But that this was absolutely not going to affect operations. Hmmm.