Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone from Secret Agent (eating lots of turkey and drinking rather too much in Barcelona ...hic!). Cheers!

1 week and counting!

Christmas cards written? check!

Turkey ordered? check!

Christmas presents bought? check!

I am so organised this year. I'm cooking for my family, and have been watching Delia, Nigella, Gordon, the Hairy Bikers, and Jeremy Clarkson to make sure that I'm ready to cook the Christmas feast!

Okay, the Jeremy Clarkson bit is just because I like Top Gear (maybe I am The Stig? have you thought about that?), but the rest has got me fine tuned for some quality Christmas time.

I was given an early Christmas present this year from my friend Harriet - a trip to Barcelona! I am so excited... strolling down the Ramblas, lots and lots (and lots) of Tapas - I'll definitely be heading to Cal Pep! And of course, don't forget the Cava.

We're staying at the H10 Universitat Hotel which is right near Plaza Catalunya and the Ramblas itself.

The outside of the building is all 19th Century, but the inside has been refurbished in a modern style. It's really elegant and the bedrooms furniture is quite beautiful.

The bar and the restaurant at the H10 Universitat are really funky, so I'm sure a decent amount of time will be spent there too - just discussing and researching which piece of Catalan architecture is first on the list.

Harriet loves architecture. If she could change her name to Gaudí she would!


Right, off to find some Nigella style outfits and practice my Gordon dialogue.

Laters

Secret Agent

Jersey's a-callin'

I have a confession to make... even a superhero-hotel-finder like me sometimes needs a rest. Last week was jolly busy, and Rosie has so much energy that I found myself somewhat lacking in my usual get-up-and-go (it had got up, gone and made a cup of tea, failed to ask me if I wanted one, then left the building!). So I needed to find somewhere I could go and sit and just 'be' for a while. It didn't take long to think of somewhere cosy, relaxed, close to home and away from it all... The famous 4 star Pomme D'Or (that means Golden Apple, yes I did concentrate in French lessons!) in Jersey.


When I checked in I learnt from the friendly staff that they've spent £3million on their bedrooms over the last 5 years. I'm sure you can understand, dear reader, how keen I was to get up and try out the bed for some well deserved ZZZZs! But there was more... the Pomme D'Or has fantastic restaurants. The Harbour Room (yes, with views over the marina) serves buffet meals, including traditional 4-course Sunday lunches - my mouth was watering at this point, it wasn't a particularly pretty sight, but I think the staff were used to that reaction as they went on to tell me about La Petite Pomme restaurant. This award-winning restaurant uses local produce, and is really popular with the locals. As they described the current menu I drifted off into a culinary daydream, where I sat in the middle of a big table of their delicious dishes and ate my way out!

I woke up when they asked if I wanted some help with my luggage. I declined, as I hadn't taken much with me! Upstairs I wasn't disappointed. The rooms are classically designed, with warm, tonal colours and... oh dear I sound like Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. Suffice to say, when I sat on the bed, I melted into a lovely, well-earned snooze.

The air-conditioned rooms, with 24-hour room service, have free wi-fi and broadband. Which would be great for anyone on a business trip, but I just used it to watch silly people falling over on youtube (well, it's an hour wasted relaxing and laughing at other people's self-induced misfortune, eh!).

I decided to check out the 'Aquadome' leisure club at the Pomme D'Or's sister hotel, the Merton. Very well equipped! Sauna, steam room, spa pools and waterslides (nope, I'm not too old!). The Flowrider standing wave, I've still no idea how it works, but it enables you to surf without the annoyance of having to bother leaving the spa! Bliss when you're in a lazy mood like I was!

If you were feeling more adventurous, there are so many lovely things to do on the isle of Jersey. We wrote about it - not a song or a poem, but a little something about the wonders of Jersey... see it here.

All this, and there's a great offer on at the moment. Get 3 nights for the price of 2 at the 4 star Pomme D'Or hotel Jersey from £126pp.