Anniversary celebrations in Birmingham

Last weekend we celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary - some say we don't look very different but personally I'm glad the perm has gone!!

24th June 1989

This year our celebrations were in Birmingham, two nights away, although just 26 miles from home. To our delight we had discovered that the London Concert Orchestra was at The Symphony Hall on our actual anniversary. A concert of Hans Zimmer and John Williams movie themes conducted by Anthony Inglis - it couldn't be more perfect and we enjoyed every note !

Arriving at Hampton by Hilton on Broad Street at midday Saturday the city was relatively quiet. After checking in we took a stroll to the Library of Birmingham. I have visited before but Hubby hadn't; it's an amazing building with two roof gardens, a superb skyline view and the Shakespeare Room. This room is at the very top of the Library and was moved here piece by piece, when you see the intricate wood and glass you can see it was an amazing achievement.

Library of Birmingham - intricate modern styling

It looks more like a theatre inside

Superb skyline views 

The Shakespeare Room

On our walk through the City we passed by the Town Hall, outside which was the Chelsea Flower Show garden made in recognition of the Windrush - a floral display that had so much meaning, I'm so pleased we were able to see it.

The Windrush Chelsea Flower Show Garden

Steamboat and train 

Iconic London bus

Last year at Love Wine Birmingham we discovered many local producers and suppliers, one being Loki. They are located in the Great Western Arcade which wasn't far from the Library or Town Hall .... and so a visit was a must !

It's a superb wine and spirit shop, over two rooms downstairs filled with wine, champagne and spirits with a larger seating area upstairs with comfy sofas and coffee tables. Loki have around 40 wines in special wine machines that will serve tastings in three different measures. We have seen, and used, these in Calais Wine too in their Tasting Room, it's a great way to sample wine before buying. At Loki you load up a tasting card, each time you sample a wine the card takes that payment, you have the choice of the size of tasting, each wine clearly shows the prices ranging from 99p upwards. We had a very enjoyable time trying new wines - had we had time to stay we could have settled in upstairs and purchased a bottle of our favourite to enjoy (Loki charge £5 corkage). We will be calling by again when in the city and I do hope we meet again at this year's Love Wine Birmingham.

What a super entrance

A few of the tastings on offer

The tastings upstairs 

I tried a few white wines and a couple of reds, whilst Hubby focused on just red wine - these are the wines we tasted, the descriptions are Loki's own from in front of each bottle at the machine:

Pegasus Reisling 2015 New Zealand - honeyed rich and elegant with classic acidity with a bit of sweetness 

Domaine de Vissoux Beaujolais Blanc 2015 France - from a small hamlet near Fleurie, well presented fragrance of white flowers, rich and round with flavours of grapefruit, white peach, pear and apricot

Mahi Sauvignon Blanc 2016 New Zealand - unique aspect is the proportion of wild ferment which adds the most amazing texture and weight without being too overpowering

Bodega Norton 'Lote Negro' Malbec Blend 2013 Argentina - powerful but compact showing dense inky bramble fruit, plums and wood spice from 16 months in new French oak barrels

Domaine Viranel Aromes Sauvages 2015 France - a funky wine with big full tannins and rich bold fruit from the Languedoc 

Bodega Izadi Rioja Reserva 2013 Spain - 16 months in both French and American oak barrels to soften the tannins and add a dash of spice 

Altano Duro Vinho Branco Symington 2016 Portugal - really rounded texture with a lovely floral lift, produced using a blend of indigenous Portuguese grape varieties

After a lovely afternoon at Loki we ventured to Brindley Place, a lively area by the Worcester and Birmingham Canal with plenty of bars and restaurants. A great meal in All Bar One accompanied by a good bottle of wine -  Fico Grande Sangiovese, with all the partying around us, it certainly made Saturday night lively.

Perfect sitting on the terrace

There were plenty of hen and stag groups enjoying a warm summer evening; after dinner we strolled back to our hotel but Broad Street carried on partying until past 3am ..... resulting in a quiet Sunday for some hee hee

Not a quiet Sunday for us, after enjoying a great breakfast at the hotel we wandered around the canal area. There were quite a few narrow boats, plenty of original steep footbridges, old warehouses converted into bars and new builds blending in with the surroundings. Although in the centre of the City it feels fresh and relaxing even with all the people and activities going on.

Old warehouses and new skyscrapers

A mixture of time blending in together

The happy couple of 29 years 

Those old bridges were very steep 

One such activity on Sunday was the football - England played Panama in the World Cup. I'm not a football watcher normally but I don't mind if there is a big event on, and it doesn't get much bigger than the World Cup. As our concert was mid afternoon and the match was on at 1pm we seated ourselves in Wetherspoons The Soloman Cutler to watch the big screen, the first time I have been in a pub to watch any game be it rugby or football - quite and experience; my gin and tonic very much needed!

As I mentioned before the concert was amazing. The Symphony Hall is the perfect venue for live music, I was transfixed with the Da Vinci Code in particular. The fireworks, lasers and Anthony Inglis' variety of disguises made the whole event superb, a perfect way to celebrate.

A stroll back along the canal to the Mailbox and dinner at Cote Brasserie; and a stroll back along the canal to Brindley Place for pud at the Slug and Lettuce where I discovered a new drink that is available in the supermarkets.

Trio of puds - they were all delicious 

Bailey's Iced Coffee Mocha - fabulous 

As the evening sky turned red we took our final stroll back to our hotel, the end to our anniversary in Birmingham - what a superb day, thank you Mr H! I wonder what next year's celebrations will be ;-) 

Perfect sunset to end our perfect day