December Buckt Booklet

I was kindly gifted the December Buckt booklets. The booklets make brilliant gifts and it sure is a way you can save your pennies especially with the January Blues.

As well as many other benefits, Buckt have minimum restrictions (if any) on the timings of the activities/visits. This was true for December too.  All you need to do is make the booking as per the Buckt instructions with your preferences a few days in advance.  How often do you get a good deal/voucher only to check the fine print that says it is not valid on Weekends or busy time periods? Not with Buckt.

Two vouchers I used from my December booklet were for the Magical Lantern Festival and Afternoon Tea at Pirlo’s . On their own these would have cost £14 and £12 per person  respectively (£52 for two people). With the Duo Buckt Booklet, this costs just £25 for two people. If you use the code MOSTLYFOODANDTRAVEL you can get your first Duo booklet for just £12.50.

Pirlo’s

Located near the City, Pirlo’s is a Dessert Lounge that serves afternoon tea too.

We walked in and the staff member told us to take a seat and he would come over. I mentioned that we needed a vegetarian afternoon tea and was told it would not be possible because the sandwiches were already made.

The service was slow and it was at least 10 minutes before the staff member came over to take our order.

We opted for a non alcoholic sparkling drink and a hot drink. You can have 2 hot drinks instead.

Our Afternoon Tea was delivered half and hour later (for something that was prepared earlier in the day I felt this was a long wait). It did look delicious. It was well presented and had a good selection of sandwiches and cakes.

The macarons were nice and so were the strawberries drizzled with chocolates. The plain scones were warm and enjoyable.

Unfortunately the sandwiches were not filled and were pretty empty which was disappointing. The cakes were average with the mini Victoria sponge cakes having a rubber like consistency and look.

Overall Pirlo’s Afternoon Tea was nothing special and I would give it 6/10. Pirlo’s is probably better for its desserts and that is what all the other customers were having.

Would I recommend it? Based on my experience I wouldn’t go back for Afternoon Tea however many have enjoyed their desserts  and have had a better time so maybe I need to return for that.

Magic Lantern Festival

Located in Botanical Gardens, the lantern displays were spectacular especially on a cold December evening.

The variation of displays and the different hand sculpted figures made it exciting and fascinating. My favourite one was the animal set.

The Magic Lantern Festival is a spectacular fusion of art, heritage and culture. The pop of colour lit up the paths and made it magical. Some of the displays had movement in them too which was so creative.

In between the displays there were stalls for hot chocolate and food. We had eaten before we got there but some of the food stands looked inviting. They also had a stand where you could buy marshmallows and toast them.

Would I return? Yes I would as long as there was a different twist to it. A standard adult ticket costs £12.50 which I think is not that badly priced. The festival is between 5pm and 10pm. It is a great festival for the family and does get you in the festive mode.

You cannot park at the Botanical Gardens during the festival however there is a lot of on street parking that is not too far.

I look forward to sharing more of my Buckt experiences with you soon or perhaps you can subscribe to them and let me know what you enjoy about them.

Neha 

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