Set in Braga’s historic square, just a short stroll from Braga’s town centre, this ... more
contemporary-style hotel provides a central yet peaceful setting away from the hustle and bustle.Offering a stylish fusion of modern design with antique furnishings, Alb...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
Advantages: Great food & fantastic lunch time deals Disadvantages: Pricey
Branca is a stylish and sophisticated Italian restaurant situated in the Jericho area of Oxford city. Jericho is the trendy place to be and with uber cool restaurants and bars, Branca is sat in a perfect position.
I first heard about Branca a few months after I moved to Oxford from a university friend of mine and I was told that it served a fabulous lunch menu. Without hesitation on our next lunch out together my husband and I headed down to Jericho for a lunch for two.
*The restaurant*
Situated on Walton street, with its full length windows, Branca is hard to miss. From the outside, the restaurant looks clean, fresh and inviting. When entering the restaurant, a cosmopolitan aura welcomes you. The décor is modern and contemporary whilst stylish and comfortable. With stone walls, polished dark wooden floors and gleaming chandeliers ...
Advantages: Excellent service, nice quite location Disadvantages: No lifts or ramp for those with walking difficulties
~Introduction~
During our holiday to Maderia recently we stayed at a very nice little hotel called Quinta da Casa Branca. It is part of the Estalagem hotel chain and is included on a list of small luxury hotels of the world. Our travel agent Expedia had this hotel down as four stars so we were surprised when we turned up to see that the hotel had five stars on the gate. So who was right Expedia or Estalagem?
~Location~
Madeira is off the coast of West Africa, it is an steep sided granite mass sat out in the Atlantic ocean. The capital of this small island is Funchal in a bay on the southern coast. Quinta da Casa Branca (QCB) is located in the relatively quiet holiday apartment area of Casa Branca. QCB is north of the main hotels along the cliffs and west of Funchal's city centre. The hotel is on a crescent shaped parcel of land ...
The title did it! When I came across it I knew I had to have the book. The synopsis on amazon made it clear that it wasn't a cook book, it said that the main character was a foodie using Fernet Branca for cooking; if I didn't know the vile stuff, I may not have been hooked.
It was in 1845 that the Italian Bernardino Branca, a self taught apothecary, brewed a herbal elixir that was reputed to cure many ills, it was even tried on cholera patients (without success, though), the director of a hospital approved of it and so its success story began and hasn't ended yet. Nowadays it's sold as a digestive, made with over 40 different herbs and spices from four continents and aged in oak casks for over a year, it has 42% alcohol; when I drink it, my eyes bulge, I gasp, I splutter.
Do you have to know all this in a book review? Yes, you have ...
