A Relaxing Weekend in the Steel City

Andy and I have been through the mill a bit recently. He has been preparing for interviews and teaching sessions, whilst I have been writing the latest chapter of my book and madly trying to get my experiments going in the lab. 

We have barely had a moment's rest for the last couple of weeks and weekends have largely blended into the rest of the days of the week. Andy, being the hero that he is, therefore decided to treat us both to a mini holiday. 

Instead of travelling away, we booked ourselves into a swanky hotel in the centre of Sheffield. We checked in early and checked out as late as we could. In between, we worked off the stress in the gym, swam in the pool and chilled out in the spa as well as drinking champagne and eating a delicious dinner and an inspiringly large breakfast! 

It was simply divine.

We spent this afternoon at the Kelham Island Museum: a museum of the steel industry in Sheffield. It was a fascinating insight into the history and personality of the city that we love.   

We rounded off the weekend with a three hour stint at Spa 1877: a rebuilt Victorian Hammam. We sweated away in saunas and steamrooms, plunged ourselves into pools of water so cold that we couldn't breathe and rubbed ice crystals into our skin until it tingled. It all felt very Roman and decadent. 

It was like being a proper grown-up. If I wasn't so relaxed, that might be quite a scary thought.