Longleat - PartOne

A dear friend came down to visit for the first week of May, and I planned a surprise trip to Longleat in Wiltshire for the occasion! We stayed at Forge House in Trowbridge, and I have honestly never stayed at a nicer B&B. Gorgeous. I adore the Bath&Avon area and have always though it's stunning. It remind me a lot of where I grew up in Hampshire, although Southampton has got nothing on Bath and Bristol. Sorry. Because I always always have a back up plan, I'm thinking of relocating to Bath should I not end up going to University, just because I can.Sharon, who ran the B&B recommended that we try a restaurant called The Mill, about 5 miles down the road, and it was certainly well worth the recommendation. Sharon however, is a very classy lady and the prices of The Mill were a little steep compared to what I'm used to back in Wales, although I don't usually eat out at places like this anyway. Eating out isn't really a big thing with my family.I've never tried mussels, ever, and thought this would be a nice occasion to experience something new! Now, I love seafood - so was expecting to like mussels and they were delicious. My future abode. Ahem.Our first stop when we reached Longleat (after I accidentally took a wrong turn and pulled out in front of an angry Mercedes and nearly killed us both) was the house. Longleat house is built on the site of an old monastery which burnt down, according to our tour guide called John. You wouldn't know it though because the house was stunningly beautiful, although if I lived there I wouldn't have a clue what to do with all those rooms! Then again, they didn't have birth control back in those days so I'm sure they had no problem filling them...One of the previous Lord Baths had a fondness for Italian architecture and sent his interior designer on a trip to Venice for inspiration. All these ornate 24ct gold (no less) ceiling are the result. They certainly made the house that much more grand.I think what I loved most about Longleat house, was all the art displayed there. The current Lord Bath is an artist and art collector himself so there was certainly a lot of it - not just the standard oil painted portraits of family members who are long since dead...Oh, and did you notice the desk back there? I want one. There's something kinda similar for sale in an auction house in town, but the price tag is literally two months' wages. Not good.

Stay tuned for part two where a charming little shit monkey from the safari park chewed a hole in my car's wing mirror and stole a wiper blade...