On August 9th my brother, four younger cousins, my cousin's boyfriend, and I went to the centre of Nottingham. To save time in getting there we took a bus ride to the Broadmarsh shopping centre, as walking would have taken us at least half an hour. Not that I minded taking a bus as it give me my first-ever "proper" bus ride since returning to the United Kingdom (the one we rode in when we left the airport in Manchester was a minibus).
The day was essentially a shopping trip; initially our group separated for the three gals to shop for clothing while the guys went to do something else. My cousin's boyfriend needed a new wallet, the cousin we were with needed a new hat, and we all wanted to go the HMV, so rather than wander aimlessly around the various stores we knew want we wanted and went directly for it. We did have to check out a few places, but before long a suitable wallet and hat had each been purchased and we made it to HMV and then another CD/DVD store named That's Entertainment. I did well in HMV...remember Kimbra? I purchased her debut album, Vows, in that store!
We met up with the gals once we guys finished our shopping goals for the day and then the re-united group went to Yo Yo Noodles, a Chinese restaurant, for lunch. Although the facility was primarily a take-away it did have a dining area, and we chose to eat in there instead of carry our food around Nottingham. I was glad, too...the meal was hot, and as it was a hot day it was good to eat it in a cool room rather than in the sun!
After the meal, it turned out that my cousin's boyfriend still had a piece of shopping to do, though not of his own volition: we were having dinner at an expensive restaurant that night, and extremely decent clothing was required. As such, my cousin dragged her boyfriend to a nearby clothing store to find him a good shirt for the evening; they were back a few minutes later, so then we had a look around a few more stores before returning to the bus stop outside the Broadmarsh.
It was around 5:00pm when we arrived back at my aunt and uncle's house. I was pleased to see that one of my two older cousins was waiting there and would be coming with everyone to dinner that evening; while my only younger male cousin and I caught up with him the girls went upstairs and spent much of next two hours getting themselves ready. I will admit that I was shocked to see all three of my female cousins wearing dresses, heavy make up, and high heels; it wasn't unexpected, of course, but it was still a surprise.
Before 7:30 (the time booked for the restaurant), everybody was ready and people from my grandparents' house was now over at my aunt and uncle's. The group now consisted of my brother, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle from Nottingham, my aunt and uncle from the East of England, five of my six cousins, my cousin's boyfriend, and me. The location for the night's dinner was a place called Signature Steakhouse.
Signature Steakhouse is easily one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. The portions were just the right size and the food was delicious - naturally, I had a steak, but they served other meats, such as lamb and chicken. The service was excellent, not at all rushed as to try to get you out the door in favour of the next customers. Not surprisingly, the meal was very expensive, but that was expected considering the quality of the restaurant, and worth it given that nearly the entire family was present and everyone had an outstanding time.
I think I speak for everyone there when I say now that it was a lovely evening - the type you hope would go on indefinitely and not ever come to a close. When the meal concluded we returned to our respective houses for the night, ending a spectacular day.
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