Spring Has Sprung

Spring has finally sprung in the UK and while if we were back in the US that would mean warm temperatures, sunshine, and the beginnings of a tan. In the UK it means it’s rainy season. We had one week of glorious sun where we laid outside to get our daily dose of vitamin D and then the following week when we were debating if we should order some sunscreen it began to rain and rain and rain. I’m not joking when I say it has rained every day for two and a half weeks and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon. While I don’t mind the rain the rough part is that since restrictions are easing in the UK you can only go to a pub or restaurant if they have outdoor seating, and while I don’t know about everyone else I can’t stand the idea of a wet bottom or wet socks and therefore have no desire to sit outside during a downpour…

However, today when we woke up it was SUNNY!!! We looked at the forecast and it wasn’t supposed to begin raining until after 12 so we got up, got ready, and made the trek to our favourite ice cream parlour which also happens to serve brunch!!! From our location in Delph it’s a quick 40 min walk to Grandpa Greene’s in the next town over, cutely named, Diggle. The first time we went to Grandpa Greene’s was a few weeks ago, remember that one glorious sunny week I mentioned, and treated ourselves to an ice cream sundae, one of the best sundaes I think I’ve ever had! It was named the Kinderella, two types of ice cream, Kinder bueno, and nutella, topped with hot nutella sauce, whip cream and kinder bueno pieces all throughout. It was heaven. For those who don’t know Kinder Bueno is a wafer candy bar, filled with a smooth chocolate hazelnut spread, and covered with chocolate. I’ll say it again, one of the best sundaes ever! Once we’d had the sundae we knew we had to go back and try their brunch menu as well.

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I will digress back to today. We arrived, the sun was shining, tables were open and we were starving! Once seated, we looked at the menu. I was stuck between the smashed avocado toast or the full English brekkie, which is one of my all time favourite breakfast meals. I could eat it a few times a week, I love it so much. But, knowing that we were going to also share a sundae after our meal I decided to go with the lighter option of smashed avocado toast, with poached eggs, and chili jam. There was the choice to add bacon, which honestly, for me, isn’t really an option… who could say no to locally sourced bacon from a farm shop that Ben and I have also happened to have visited a few times since arriving in Delph. We also decided to splurge a bit more and order ourselves some cappuccinos as well, and let me tell you, whether it’s because we haven’t had a proper coffee in ages or we haven’t had good coffee very often in life, these were divine! 

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After brunch we sat, chatted, and digested. We got to enjoy the lovely scenery of a little canal nearby with lots of cute ducks and people walking their dogs. Anyone who knows me, will know I love to point out and exclaim over how cute every single dog is. After a few moments we decided we were ready for our ice cream, our server conveniently stopped by asking if we needed anything and we placed our order. The GG’s Mess, a little play on the traditional English dessert, called the Eton Mess which is a pile of crunchy meringues, fresh strawberries, and whip cream, while I’m not a huge fan of meringues Ben loves them, he did grow up eating pavlovas after all. This sundae, like our previous one, did not disappoint! It was a mix of raspberry pavlova and strawberry ice creams, they were both so smooth, creamy and refreshing. It was topped with the freshest, most delicious raspberries and strawberries, a huge pile of rich whip cream, fruit compote, crunchy bits of meringue pieces throughout and topped with the charming GG stamped wafer! While the first sundae was decadent, chocolaty, and rich this one was light, refreshing and fruity. It was the perfect end to a perfect brunch! Keeping ourselves to a budget we try to find the best place to spend our money and not one complaint could be found of this perfect spot and we will sorely miss Grandpa Greene’s when we move to Germany in June.