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Comfort Hotel – Heathrow Airport

We’ve been late for a flight leaving England before, and that was the only flight we’ve ever missed. So now, if possible, we’ll try to be closest to the airport the night before, as we’re paranoid of missing an international flight, and we don’t fly on independent airlines or anything like that – that doesn’t help you out…

This time, we took the London Tube out to Heathrow Airport the night before. We chose this hotel as it’s really close to the airport, and there is a shuttle that takes you to and from the airport for a nominal fee. It was very reasonable, and much economical than taking a cab from the airport. Our day consisted of checking in early, and taking the tube back on to London, and returning that evening to the hotel — only to check out again the following morning.

This hotel offers excellent service, as they allowed us to check in early! They offered free internet for us, as we were apart of their loyalty program.

The shuttle service to and from the airport came quite frequent, and was never off schedule – in fact in both cases, they were early which is excellent if you were running late for your flight. This bus service to Heathrow is only 4GBP one way, or 7GBP round trip! This was an excellent offer and the shuttle was called National Express Hotel Hoppa.

The actual room was quite small, but offers everything you need in a hotel room, especially if you’re not looking to be there for long term – as it’s great for lay-over stays or anything like that. I really enjoyed my stay here, even though the rooms were a little dated, it had it’s fun component to it! It was more of your “standard” hotel room layout, with 2 twin beds, a small CRT TV, and that’s pretty much all you need for hotels like this by the airport! It really is a place for you to rest your head down and get a nice hot shower!

Another thing I really like about this room was the fact there was a towel heater in the bathroom! There’s nothing more relaxing than using a towel that is perfectly warmed to wrap yourself in after your shower. It was my favourite feature during my stay and I know if I’m in the area and doing an early flight the following day, I will be returning to this hotel!

Comfort Hotel Heathrow

Shepiston Lane, Hayes
Middlesex, UB3 1LP

Phone: 020 8573 6162

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Boston Pizza Chinook Centre – Calgary, Alberta

This particular evening we were wanting to eat at Boston Pizza which is somewhere we use to go a lot, but has cut down. We went to the Chinook Centre location as it’s not only convenient, but we could also get some Christmas shopping afterwards! This location is one of the newest locations in Calgary, and I think it’s great!

I ordered the Baked Chipotle Bacon Penne which was excellent, with a nice spicy smokey chipotle taste which was kind of subtle, but enough to detect. This plate of penne was a large portion but was really good – it was penne with creamy alfredo sauce tossed with mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. Then to make it extra special, they put a nice layer of cheese on top and baked it to oozy gooey yumminess!

For the pizza, we ordered Spicy Perogy Pizza and this was such a different type of pizza. Instead of your typical tomato pizza sauce, they use sour cream, and they line the pizza with potato slices. The toppings was delicious and it had lots of smoky bacon, cheese and green onions!

For dessert, even though we were super stuffed, we were convinced to try the Sticky Toffee Pudding and we’re so happy that we tried it. It was a delicious steamed chocolate sponge cake, topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream smothered with rich caramel sauce.

The food at this location was phenomenal, and the service overall was excellent. The prices was right, and you’ll never know what kind of new menu items you’ll find from Boston Pizza. It’s not your typical Pizza Chain as it offers not only your usual suspects at a pizza joint, but it offers new and exciting menu items and even specialty items like gluten free dishes.

Boston Pizza in Calgary Chinook Center

232 – 6455 Macleod Trail SW Map
Calgary, AB
(403) 255-2525

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Days Hotel London – Waterloo

During our stay in London, we stayed in a small hotel called Days Hotel London – Waterloo which didn’t matter as we were only there for the bed – for a few hours! We were actually expecting the room to look more like a cabin on a cruise ship, so when we checked-in, the hotel met and exceeded our expectations!

The bathroom was extremely small, as you’re staring at yourself in the reflection of the mirror on top of the sink while you’re on the toilet. There was no bathtub, just a tiny stand-up shower. There was plenty of space in the hotel suite itself, and comes with complimentary coffees and teas. The star rating for this hotel is a 3 Star hotel, which is fine of a rating. I may have rated it 2.5 stars, but that’s my opinion.

A few neat things about this hotel though, it’s got no air conditioning, and just offers a fan. It was fine when we went (in September) as it was cool and rainy for a few days. We actually turned on the heat at nights too. A good thing about this hotel, the windows do open for fresh air, and it’s 100% smoke free. I never would’ve thought that would be possible in England as it seems like everyone smokes.

The best thing about this hotel would be the location – being a few minutes walk from Lambeth North station makes it really convenient. For the big Tube station, the Waterloo station is about a 10 minute walk away. On the same street as the hotel – going towards the station, there are little grocery/convenient stores that seemed to be opened a lot and was great for us to pick things up like water and snacks.

It was lovely, and from our window, we were able to see the top of London Eye as we were staying at the Southbank.

Days Hotel London- Waterloo

54 Kennington Road, London, SE1 7BJ GB
Phone: 44-2079-221331

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Fernandez & Wells – London, England

While we were in London, we really wanted lunch, and had absolutely no idea what we were wanting to eat – but knowing we had to eat! We just happen to be walking down Lexington Street, and we saw 3 cured legs at the window, and we knew this was the place where we wanted to eat! This lovely location is called Fernandez & Wells which seemed perfect!

This store front is wonderful! It’s small, warm, cozy, and the smell of freshly roasted and cured meats fills the air! When we got to the counter to see what we wanted to eat, there was a pile high of sandwiches on a selection of ciabatta buns or ‘bocadillos’ (crusty flutes) – and they get grilled after you order them.

I ordered the Grilled Chorizo Sandwich which is made of their fresh chorizo, and lined with some roasted red peppers and rocket leaves. After this sandwich was grilled, it was delicious and it was kind of spicy and super tasty!

We also ordered Rare Topside of Beef Sandwich which was a sandwich packed with roast beef and some horseradish. The roast beef was perfectly roasted and it wasn’t tough at all! It was tender and full of intense beef flavour which was very nice! I personally think they put a tad too much horseradish on the sandwich, as it cleared my sinuses and made my eyes water! I ended up scooping off some of the horseradish before finishing up my half of the sandwich.

Fernandez & Wells really keeps things simple. When we asked what there is to drink, they looked at us funny and said “wine or water”, so we opt’d for wine, as it looks like the thing to do! We don’t ever drink wine, so it was kind of funny as we had a nice buzz from it! 🙂 We ordered the Alpha Zeta Chardonnay which was quite light already. I can’t say if it was good or not as I do not know how chardonnay is suppose to taste, or the difference between any wines. But, it was crisp and light – and actually a bit refreshing!

This was one of the best sandwich lunch places we’ve had in a long time! Things are kept basic, simple and rustic and that made for a delicious place to eat! We even went at an odd time, and there wasn’t seating left. Most of their customers take away, or they’re sitting there enjoying cheese and wine or something like that! It was just nice to step out of the busy streets of London and step into their restaurant and we were able to relax and watch the world pass by. This location is truly a hidden gem for us!

Fernandez & Wells

43 Lexington St
Soho, UK
(020) 7734 1546

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Fiamma Trattoria – Las Vegas, Nevada

We were staying at the MGM Grand Resort & Casino, and didn’t want to venture out too far one evening. We actually wanted to try Nobhill by Michael Mina, but they were closed, along with Seablue by Michael Mina. So, we opted for Fiamma Trattoria on Studio Walk inside the MGM Grand.

Fiamma is an Italian restaurant, and in the past, they have been a 4 Diamond AAA Recipient from 2006 – 2010. This restaurant does feature a delicious and large selection of items on the menu. I ordered the Grilled Atlantic Salmon and it was cooked to a perfect medium as requested. The salmon wasn’t tough or fishy but it was tender and flaky. A large piece of salmon portion was on the plate, and it was sitting on a bed of vegetables which was sauteed zucchini and peppers. On the side, there was a dipping sauce that was a parsley and chive sauce with lots of lemon juice in it! The acidity was really nice to balance out the salmon, and the fresh vegetables. This dish was absolutely fine and I would order it again!

Our table also had the Roasted Petaluma Chicken which came on a large plate with chicken stacked up to sky high! There were 2 large pieces of roasted chicken, roasted to perfection as it was super tender and juicy and fall off the bone goodness. These pieces of chicken rested on a tall bed of sauteed swiss chard, roasted fingerling potato – cut up into smaller pieces. This entire plate was then drizzled with the sauce from roasting the chicken and was really a great home cooked meal masterpiece!

Finally, we ordered a plate of Fettuccine, and custom ordered our to use Alfredo Sauce instead of the Basil Pesto sauce that is stated on the menu. It was delicoius and this bowl of pasta had Santa Barbara Spotted Prawns, which were extremely large prawns, sweet, crispy, fresh and awesome!

The food from Fiamma was really good, portion sizes was large, service was excellent and the prices was very reasonable! It’s a place I wouldn’t mind going back to and even taking family and friends. They’re only opened for dinner, so be sure to book a dinner here one day!

Fiamma Trattoria

3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV
(702) 891-1111