For today, as we arrived just after 1 pm, we headed straight for lunch. There was a the main hotel restaurant which did a buffet spread, which we decided to give a miss. The next choice was a slightly more up-market restaurant which only had set menu for lunch. Nope to that as well. Fret not. There were at least four more cafes which did a la cart dining. We took our lunch at a French-Italian restaurant, and ordered pizza, pasta and salad. The food was surprisingly good, although price was a bit on the expensive side. There were entertainers coming to our table, singing Mamma Mia for Idlan and Irfan. Unfortunately, Irfan freaked out to that!
The singers were singing ...
... and Irfan don't want to have anything to do with it ....We spend the next couple of hours exploring the main hotel area. The boys stopped for some games at the play nursery, before running around with the clowns who were on hand to dish them some balloon sword. One was blue and one was green of course, being Obi-Wan and Anakin. After his sword pierced, Idlan asked for a red one and turned into Darth Maul. How appropriate. We then walked around to the swimming pool and fed the swan.
Unfortunately it soon started to drizzle, and stopped by at a boulangerie for coffee. The boys wanted to stay for the night, but we did not bring our clothes with us. Even though I volunteered to drive back to pick them up, with the rain and all, we decided otherwise. The rain also meant that we were not able to visit the botanical and Japanese gardens, or the rabbit farm. A good excuse to return I think. Idlan wanted to ride the pony, and I wanted to try some target practice using a paintball rifle. I can see myself reading a book in the room with the windows open letting the time pass by. I can’t really comment about the rooms or the hotel lodgings at the moment. I will hope to be able to do so one day should we spend an night here. So far, the ambiance and the food has been good
Throughout the afternoon, I can see the place as a popular spot for couples to have their wedding portrait done. We sow at least four groups doing that, despite the overcast weather. There were many enthusiast with their dSLR lugged around as well, myself included. A good chance to take out my new lens for a spin. Yes, the photos were sharp as advertised - all the photos on this entry was from my EOD 7D and the new Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS. The IS definitely helped the indoor pics, and the 7D seemed to be handling the high ISO very well if needed.
All in all, it was a grand day out. Yes, the food may be expensive and with a big crowd, it may not be as comfortable, but for a quick day out, it was not bad at all. We wished that the weather was better. Even though the drive up was windy at times, it was well worth it. After all, it was only 45 minutes from home. Please click here for more information about the place.
