A success!

We are just back from my Beloved's surprise 60th weekend away. We went to York - the place of his birth - and stayed at the Cedar Court Grand which was fantastic. It used to be the Headquarters of the North Eastern Railways and just happens to be the place my Beloved's grandfather used to work in, as well as being round the corner from the Nursing Home (now no longer a Nursing Home) where he was born.

After getting to the hotel and settling into our lovely room, we headed downstairs to the spa. Great pool, steam room, sauna and jacuzzi. I was a touch disappointed as we were to be joined by his sister and brother-in-law for the celebrations, and I had thought it would be brilliant if they could meet us in the steam room to surprise my Beloved as he thought it was just the 2 of us. Sadly my brother-in-law said an emphatic 'no' to that one, and so we had a lovely time a deux and then met up with them in the bar later.

After a champagne cocktail we went off for a fancy, shmancy meal. It was absolutely delicious. We started dinner at 7.30 and we didn't finish until almost 11. It was one of those meals that was unhurried, full of laughter, great food, and all in all something to be remembered fondly. There was just one tiny thing and that was that I'd ordered a cake with sparklers, and it never showed up! I went to reception after and told them and they were very apologetic. Just before we left today the restaurant manager came up and apologised again and offered us a free meal the next time we go there. So that's something to look forward to and we will definitely take that up.

And finally, we had a relaxing massage this morning to finish the whole hotel experience off. Fab!

My brother-in-law headed home this morning, while my sister-in-law joined us for a walk round York, a visit to the Railway Museum, and a lunch at Zizzi's. Then we all headed off to the station for a final fairwell.

It all went very well and my Beloved really enjoyed himself, so as far as I'm concerned job done!