Bed and Breakfast | Tales from the Hutt

Saturday, 16-Nov-2024 into Sunday, 17-Nov-2024

With Dunluce and the Giant’s causeway behind us, we headed to the exceptionally fancy Bed and Breakfast that Andrea had booked for us – a spot called the Banoge House, a bit outside of Belfast.

Back when we’d originally planned the trip, Andrea and I had found a simple enough option for our stay – nothing fancy, but something perfectly serviceable. For me, it would have been fine. But for her… something hadn’t set quite right. It wasn’t an ideal place – there were a few compromises, and it simply wasn’t right.

In what has become a hallmark of our relationship, we discussed the issue, and took a bit of extra time to search for something that was right. Something that was in the right location, fit our budget, and had that “just right” feeling associated with it.

Banoge House fit the bill perfectly – it was where we needed it, within budget, and it was absolutely stunning with an amazing breakfast included to boot.

Now, I will admit to one flaw in the plan that we hadn’t considered… It wasn’t quite close to any dinner options, and we’d arrived later in the evening on Saturday that we’d expected. Which meant, then, that dinner options were… limited.

Limited to a spot called McDonalds, or a local doner kebab place.

We went with McDonalds, made a fancy meal of it, and had a great time.

And, if there was any concern? Breakfast at Banoge House the next morning easy made up for it.

Thursday, 04-July-2024 through Saturday, 06-July-2024

My plan for France was to stay in a small town called Cassis, that I’d visited before in 2014 as a climbing trip with a whole group of friends. It was a lovely town; small, touristy, and that grand combination of authentic feeling, but also welcoming. My Mom and Stepdad would be joining me for a bit over a week, and we’d adventure, vacation, and test the waters of group international travel.

I’d found a good place to stay, then went looking for plane tickets… but found that they wouldn’t quite work out with the dates in mind – In the end, it all shook out that I’d arrive two days early, and find a spot to stay in Marseille.

It complicated things, to be sure, but I wasn’t against the complication – it gave me the opportunity to relax a bit, in a spot that I didn’t feel pressured to spend a lot of energy exploring, and just rest and catch up on photos, this blog, and do a bit of reading.

Allauch was the ideal spot for this, and I’d found an ideal bed and breakfast in that ideal spot.

I stayed, I relaxed in the garden, and had breakfast at the B&B itself. I grabbed elevensies at a bakery nearby, generally skipped lunch in favor of a nap (and the food from elevensies), and then had dinner at a nearby pizza place, ironically run by a guy who’d just finished his MBA in Dublin – though not at the same school I’m going to.

It was, simply put, absolutely lovely.

Nearly infinite flowers, lovely warm weather that just bordered on hot, and streets that seemed designed specifically for wandering. And, of course, amazing food!

Le fournil de la Pounche – Amazing bakery, and they put up with my absolutely mediocre French with far more patience than I ever expected.
Venchi Pizza – Amazing pizzeria, sort of a town pizza place like “<Blank> house of pizza” back in New England. But… you know, better pizza. I ate in both times I visited, and was the only one staying in to eat – but it was really fun getting to chat with the folks working the oven!