Easter fun – part 2

Soo continuing on with my Easter weekend (catch up HERE for part 1).

After running 14 miles on the Sunday (and enjoying a very tasty smoothie) I zipped off to Winchester to meet up with a friend to have a mosey about the shops and have lunch (I suppose the theme of Easter for me really!). Not all the shops were open as it was Easter Sunday but it really didn’t matter as we just walked and walked chatting away – actually it was wonderfully quiet which is just brilliant for Winchester as it’s usually rammed. The weather was lovely and the scenery very pretty so it was rather pleasant!

Winchester 5.05.15

When we stopped for air after chatting so much we realised it was probably a good idea to get some lunch (runger was attacking with a vengeance)! We stopped at CaféMonde which was surprisingly good as it looked quite small and non-descript from the outside. I went for a salad…surprise surprise! And not just any salad, but my favourite…the Caesar of course.

Caesar salad Winchester

At first I was a bit disappointed as it wasn’t huge and from experience usually the main bits of a salad in restaurants are all on the top. However, on digging deeper there were just tons of olives, slices of parmesan and chicken, along with a boiled egg and pitta bread. This is up there with one of the best Caesar salads I’ve had in a while (and I’ve had a lot!). My friend had a crayfish and avocado salad which also looked very tasty. Very reasonably priced as well (around £7 for the salad and a drink).

We then did some more walking (and shopping). We also found Jane Austen’s house which I’ve never seen before, despite going to Winchester many times…

Jane Austen's house

And we went on the hunt for cake of course. My friend chose a banoffee cheesecake slice to take home to share with her son, which I thought was immensely saintly and selfless of her – I however do not share cakes. I found the last slice of simnel cake in a little cafe and was over the moon because not only have I not had this cake before but because it was the last slice I got all the crumbs from the platter too!

Simnel cake It was pretty much like Christmas cake but without icing and perhaps not as dense. It was delicious! Big fat juicy bits of dried fruit, marzipan topping, moist sponge…oh it was delicious and I very much enjoyed gobbling this all as I sat watching Masterchef that evening at home.

At the end of the day I couldn’t believe how many steps I’d done! And my legs definitely felt it. I had that pleasant drained feeling of a very busy but good day.

42500 steps This included a walk with Alfie when I got back from Winchester but I was truly shocked at how far I’d gone even knowing I’d run 14 miles. For the day of the Berlin marathon I ran/walked 55k steps!

And guess what I was doing Monday? More walking!! I met up with a bunch of friends to enjoy the Queen Elizabeth Country Park with Alfie. One of the couple’s brought their whippet, Willow, and I think Alfie felt a bit chunky alongside her 😉

6.04.15 QECP walk (6) Willow bounced along so daintily and was incredibly fast. Alfie was a little apprehensive (he’s a friendly but shy dog) and kept looking back to make sure I was there, bless him.

6.04.15 QECP walk (7)

The walk was lovely – though tough at times for my friends who brought along their little baby boy in a pram. We all took turns to push the pram and I got nominated for the hilly sections because I “run lots”. I’ll accept that weird compliment I think!

The views were fantastic and the weather superb. I even took my coat off and walked in my T-shirt! I have every intention of going there again soon as it’s not far from me at all and Alfie loved it.6.04.15 QECP walk (3)And what a day for it! I even think I caught the sun! Beautiful 😀

Not as many steps as the day before (I think it was 25k which isn’t bad!) but Alfie was well and truly pooped. We settled down for the evening with The Imitation Game and though I really thought it was going to be dull and not my thing, I was hooked instantly. The acting was superb and the story was fascinating but tragic. It made me so angry about the way Alan Turing was treated, though I felt woefully ignorant to what had happened. I learnt about the Turing test during university when I studied psychology but knew nothing about his life. I also found out that Alan Turing achieved a 2:43 marathon time – how incredible is that?? Brains and speed!

Do you enjoy walking?

What’s your favourite salad?

If you have a pedometer, what’s the highest number of steps you’ve achieved in a day?

9 Replies to “Easter fun – part 2”

  1. I have just looked at my Garmin and one day (I did a 20 mile run) I did just over 45,000 steps (I think I must have had a walk in the afternoon too). I think my average is only about 13000 though so not that high. Although is it meant to be 10000? But then I have a short stride as the steps counter seems quite accurate, but the mileage generally adds about 1/3 onto what I have done, so perhaps I should do more steps as otherwise I am not walking as far? Hmm.
    Yum to the simnel cake- I made one for the first time this year- it is a fruit cake but a bit lighter than Christmas cake- less eggs and no treacle or anything. The one I made had pistachio nuts as well as dried fruit, and balls of marzipan baked into the cake mixture too- mm mmmm 🙂
    I love going on walks- that park looks beautiful. We tend to just walk around the housing estate and fields near where we live as we don’t have anywhere that close, plus a lot of the car parks near the lakes are expensive and it seems silly to drive somewhere when we can just walk especially in the evenings.
    Maria @ runningcupcake recently posted…Now and thenMy Profile

    1. I have a short stride too – even though I walk the same miles as someone I still walk more steps than them! Weird.
      Your simnel cake looked fabulous! I’m a big fan now.
      I agree that going somewhere far just to walk seems silly. But this park is gorgeous and only £3 to park all day so is perfect. It has a HUGE hill which I’m going to walk up soon I’ve decided!
      AnnaTheApple recently posted…Paranoid, insecure runner alertMy Profile

  2. Oh no, theres no cake sharing in my house either! We’ve tried it before and it did NOT end well. SO I’m with you on the no cake sharing business 😉 Sounds like an awesome Easter! We took a stroll down Disney walk after church with the in-laws. It was fun to sip on Starbucks and people watch!
    KAT recently posted…[WIAW] Candy binges galoreMy Profile

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