Escape Hunt

 My Christmas present to Jo, Rich and Jacob was to spend time with me. As I didn't know what to get them and we like a fun activity I paid for us to go to an escape room. They haven't done one before and we're all super competitive so I thought it would be something fun for us to do. We went yesterday to Escape Hunt at the Albert Dock which I've been to twice already with Holly for my birthday and for her birthday. They didn't know what we were doing until we'd parked up in town and walked to the place so it was a nice surprise for them.

I booked The Fourth Samurai as that's one I haven't done yet. I forgot that it was actually the hardest one but it made sense as there was 4 of us rather than 2 so we should be better. We started quite slow but then we did eventually get into. There were different parts which we were all good at that helped us through it. We did manage to break out in 49.51 minutes. I thought we were over 50 minutes so happy with that. Not the fastest or the slowest time I've done it. They all enjoyed it and Jacob said he's been wanting to do an escape room so it turned out to be a successful present.

After we went for dinner in Il Forno - Italian on Duke Street. It's been on my list for years to try but just never went as it's a bit pricey

I got the lobster ravioli

Ravioli All'Astice - Fresh homemade ravioli with lobster, served with a lobster bisque - £27.50

Jacob

Filetto Di Manzo 10oz - Grilled prime fillet of beef served with dauphinoise potatoes, spinach, parmesan crust and Barolo sauce - £37

Jo's carbonara came out in a bowl then he put it in this giant cheese wheel and asked how creamy she wanted it!

Jo

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara - Artisan spaghetti with eggs, guanciale, parmesan, crushed peppercorns (made the Italian way) - £16.50

Rich

Tagliata Di Wagyu Di Manzo 10oz - Australian Wagyu steak, sliced and  topped with rocket and parmesan shaving - £35.50

Rich's side

Potato Dauphinoise - Thinly slice potatoes slow-cooked in the oven with cream - £5

My ravioli was nice. Small but enough as I've just needed a detox from Christmas as I had 4 roast dinners last week. I didn't actually eat that much at Christmas but have been having a lot of chocolate and had a sore throat for a few days. The dauphinoise potatoes were nice but not how I thought they were going to be as they're not usually like this. Usually really thin and creamy but this was crunchy.

We had an eventful night in Il Forno and never going back as Jacob after his first bite of his steak started choking on it. Luckily he was fine but it was pretty dramatic. Jo also felt sick after her food she just thought at first she had low sugar but then when we were walking back to the car said she didn't feel good after the food but not sure if it was because her carbonara was too cheesy - too much dairy. She ended up throwing up in the night and was fine after it so don't know whether the food was contaminated and she got sick or her stomach couldn't take it. But carbonara is her go to and think she's now been put off it for good. A good fun night turned into a bit a dramatic one but everyone is all good now!

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Quirky Quarter

 

For Holly's birthday I got us tickets to the Quirky Quarter on Duke Street near Chinatown. We were suppose to go 2 weeks ago but Holly had covid and I ended up doing some filming so rescheduled it for today.

Duke Street Market

We went into town to have some lunch which took us a while to decide where to go and finally settled on Duke Street Market. I went there a few years ago when it first opened with Jo and Rich but not been since. I think most of the places have stayed the same but some of the places have changed. I let Holly in charge on what to order.. I did say I wanted something light and she ended up getting carb heavy food...!

Big Lolas Taqueria

Chicken Quesadilla - Grilled chicken thigh quesadilla, with salsa roja, mixed cheese, coriander and spring onion - £9.50

Holly ordered this by accident but it was nice and I didn't taste any coriander!

Big Lolas Taqueria

Grilled Chicken Burrito - Grilled chicken thigh burrito with black beans, Mexican rice, cheddar cheese, avocado creama and pico de Gallo - £10

This doesn't say it has coriander but it definitely did and could taste it!

Cahita

The Famous Cahita Cubano - Mojo pork shoulder, roast ham, sliced chorizo, gouda cheese, house pickle and sweet mustard served with mojo mayo - £10.50

Wasn't a fan of this, it was dead greasy and definitely not something I would order. The quesadilla was my favourite considering it was an accidental order and Holly didn't realise till it came to our table as you order via the QR code on your table then they bring your food over.

I finally got a pistachio croissant from The Butterholic that they had in. It was so nice loved the crème patissiere inside. I ended up eating this first as it took use that long to decide where to eat I was hungry and ate it while Holly ordered the food.

 It looks so fake like the fake food they have to display but it was definitely real and cost me £3.50. They also have chunky cookies but they were expensive for £3.75.

Quirky Quarter

We were booked in for 4pm and went at 3:45pm and they let us in early as it was dead quiet there was only like 2 groups of people there when we went. We went in and they gave us gloves for the end and said you will know when to wear them and this will come towards the end and the first bit you have to work out how to get through it. Then there was a guy who was our photographer to take some cool optical illusion photos.

Finally wore my Ugg Boots that I bought nearly 2 years ago! They make my feet look massive as it is but these photos make them look even bigger!

This didn't work that well the guy should have guided us better and I think if we did one standing on each other would have worked well.

Holly didn't get the green screen...

In the corner of the living room on the TV Lionel Ritchie's Dancing On the Ceiling video was playing and the guy came back out and said he would record a 10 second video for us dancing to the song then you can flip the video to make it look like you're dancing on the ceiling. It was the most awkward 10 seconds as I can't and don't dance!

These photos were fun but I don't know why we didn't do any standing up ones and why we chose to lie and sit on the dirty floor!

It was fun we were in there for an hour and I thought it was just good photo opportunities with optical illusions but there was different challenges and puzzles which it does say on the website but I just didn't click on to. It wasn't as big as I thought it was going to be though. I think it was only meant to be here temporarily but is now here for good. Tickets are £13.50 and it's a fun day out if you're looking for something to do especially if you have kids or a group.

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