Bonjour,
I’m the kind of gal that likes to spend her money on trips and experiences (or food), rather than chucking away £25 every Saturday night getting smashed. I do like to do the latter from time to time, but all you take away from it is bruised legs, a hazy memory and a few more inches round your middle from the cheesy chips you scoffed at 4am!
My (most of the time non-existent) money was burning a hole in my pocket and I felt like it was around time I booked another night away in the UK, somewhere easily accessible by train from Leeds.
I did originally fancy going to York, but hotels in the centre are SO expensive, even for a weekday. So I think I’m just going to save that for a day trip on a sunny day. Having heard on the grapevine that Nottingham is a good place for students, I thought why not! And in the words of Zac Efron’s infamously bad tattoo, YOLO.
With mine and Jacks 16-25 railcards, the train was only £10 return. I managed to book the Ramada in the city centre for £50 via Trivago, I’m unsure as to whether It’s as cheap on a weekend, but the room was nice with a banging view and in a great central location.
On the Wednesday, we did all the usual day trip activities; Museums, Shops, stopping off along the way at any cheap pub we could find. I find that wandering the streets and getting a little lost in them, is always the best way to discover a city.
For tea, I found a beautiful Greek Mezze and tapas restaurant called ‘Yamas’, positioned not too far of the high street. We decided to get a Moussaka and a chicken souvlaki with tzatziki and split.
Boy had I missed moussaka. Aubergines are life.
They did offer a set menu per head of £17.50 which looked incredible but I just didn’t have the funds to support it! Maybe next time…
On the night we didn’t fancy a ‘big night out’ so we just popped in a few pubs. Naturally though, my body wouldn’t let it end well. Despite only having three drinks, I got a dodgy Doner kebab at the end of the night which flipped my stomach upside down, and I ended up crawled round the toilet seat till god knows what time in the morning spewing my guts up! Yum.
The train back on the Thursday wasn’t until 3pm, and although it was a gorgeous sunny day, we were pretty knackered from the early check out and I was still pretty fragile from my projectile vomiting episode, so we decided to go to the cinema.
We saw The BFG, it took me a little while to settle into the story, but it was simply magical. I’m a big fan of Mark Rylance already, particularly for his performance of Rudolf Abel in ‘Bridge of Spies,’ and his performance of everyone’s favourite giant was just as heart-warming, humorous and mesmerising. I cried, as per usual.
My cousin went to Nottingham Uni so I messaged her prior to going, asking for any recommendations on places for food or drink. She mentioned Brown Betty’s, a little sandwich spot nestled on St. James street.
It’s more than just you’re average tuna salad kind of place, I’ll tell you that! They had regular hot food options like curry and rice, as well as veg, breakfast, fish and meat sandwiches.
We opted to go all out and get one of their ‘sloppy joes’, I went for the Angry Joe and Jack got the bomb. Mine had curried chicken, bacon, cheese and jalapeños, whereas jacks had turkey, salami, bacon and cheese. And they came to £12.50 for the two, and considering the size they were very reasonable.
Nottingham is much bigger and vibrant than I had expected, filled to the brim with pubs, cafes and shops. It’s perfect for a day trip or night away.
My only complaint was that I didn’t see anyone dressed up as Robin Hood.
Love Em
X
emilyrosejacko.com 