Week One - A Fabulous 40th

Royal Crescent at night

Where do you take seven of your dearest friends flying in from glamorous lives all over the globe when it is one of their 40th birthdays'?


In truth it wouldn't matter where we went as precious time in each other's company was all that was required.  So, people arrived over the course of the evening to sup bubbles and soak it up with pizza beside a roaring fire and a huge amount of gossip.


Saturday morning, brunch and relaxing venues to chat some more were the order of the day. Fabulous Bath based massage therapist, Lucy Glendenning lucymassagebath@gmail.com swung by with her massage bed and treated us all to a full body experience that left us all walking on air!


We then floated into the city to Jacob's Coffee House http://www.jacobscoffeehouse.co.uk/ for coffee, panini's and yes more chat. Jacob's is so central you can spy into the Pump Rooms but has cosy space in the upstairs Georgian sitting rooms and has the benefit of being independent - it supports lots of great local producers, such as, the delicious Granny Gothard's ice cream http://www.grannygothards.co.uk/ - a personal favourite.


A visit to sample the healing waters at Thermae Bath spa http://www.thermaebathspa.com/ was curtailed as rain drove many tourists to try the same and the queue was too long. You can group book in advance if your party is more than 8 but we were too chilled out by this stage to mind.  We opted instead for a spot of retail therapy in the new Southgate Centre.  Whilst not full of Bath's unique boutiques, Southgate offers most of the mainstream fashion retailers all within a five minute stroll of each other.  More on this in my retail blog next week.


After tea, cake and more bubbles it was time to repair to our rooms for some serious primping. We chose Sub 13 http://www.sub13.net/ - for its slightly more glamorous and discreet crowd for some pre-dinner drinks.  They also create the best cocktails in Bath with an ever increasing appetite for mixology (check out the menu for yourself on the website).  Bar manager, Alex had put us on the list and kept a lovely space in the old wine vault free for us and our weary, heeled feet!

On for dinner...shunning Bath's more expensive options (Olive Tree, Hudsons), we opted for French style bistro chain Cote http://www.cote-restaurants.co.uk/ which was nearer and in my opinion always a safe option for an eclectic range of tastes and requirements. Cote resides in the venue of Bath's popular gastro pub Moon and Sixpence which sadly lost the battle to the recession. The service at Cote is always excellent and take note, birthday bookings are met with complimentary Kir Royale's all round.


Clubbing was curtailed due to an early leaver but for a more sophisticated late night venue, I had Circo or the Common Rooms in mind - more on bars in Bath another week.


Next week: The snowdrops are out so its time for Spring retail therapy in Bath...watch this space for the best boutiques, brands and fashion finds....


Tip of the week:  Visit fabulous Mee Boutique http://www.meeboutique.com/ and adjacent Lux http://www.luxshoes.co.uk/(shoes and bags) on Bartlett Street who have put out last Summer's beautiful Milly and Heidi Klein to name just a couple of great brands, at absolute knockdown prices.  Perfect to take you in to Spring 2012 at a fraction of the price.