Birthdays in December are difficult. Sharing your special day with the holidays can mean less presents and less attention, so I am always careful to give John the best on his special day. With the baby on the way, this meant a surprise trip out of town.

I forgot the camera so this tale will be told via Instagram, with little to no consistency in filter use (sorry, but it’s my new toy…yup, late to the game).

We started with a quick bite at Nadège, and then we popped by to see Georgia at her gallery. There’s a special piece straight from Japan she was holding for us to see.

We hit the road, with John expressing worry over the direction we were heading (north on Keele, for starters). Destination: Cambridge. Soundtrack: our friend’s band Tearjerker.

We stopped at the Cambridge Mill to grab lunch. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. We were sat in a dark tucked away spot in the lounge and then neglected, while happy diners lunched away in a bright, riverside room. We don’t usually walk out as we like to give the benefit of doubt (maybe they were super busy) but it was stressful and as such, we knew we wouldn’t enjoy eating a meal and then paying for it after. We took in the river view on the outside.

We stopped by friend of the store Reid’s Chocolates, which was bustling with holiday shoppers. We said hello to owner Carrie and got our chocolate fix with mint chocolates and milk totoise (aka Turtles, but better). Carrie suggested we pop over to the Melville Cafe, which is located in the architecture school. This was definitely more our speed! We even ran into a Studio Junction intern while we were there. Pizza with a view of the river. $14 versus $60, with lovely service on the side.

Cambridge is a crazy little town, so typical of the state of Ontario towns. The approach from the highway is long and full of mini malls, garish signs, and big box stores and restaurants. It’s such a shame that this is what consumers want, because when you get to Galt (Cambridge), you are faced with a downtown that is full of beautiful old buildings. The area should be bustling with boutiques, cafes and restaurants, and yet, there is nothing really to note. It’s such a let down. We really hope that people start to demand better of their cities.

A quick dizzying stop at Southworks Antique Market.

Our ultimate destination: Langdon Hall.

We stayed in the Cloister Rooms which were so luxurious: giant king sized feather bed, wood burning fire place, beautiful marble bathroom. We miss the fireplace at the cottage and can’t wait until our reno is done so we can have a fireplace all the time, so we promptly got this puppy going.

Dinner was at 7 in the dining hall. They already knew it was John’s birthday and that I am pregnant, so I didn’t have to worry about anything. This is the first restaurant to feature a unique mocktail list, which was much appreciated.

There are three dining options. A la carte, prix fixe and We Cook For You (using seasonal ingredients). We figured, why not do it up so we went for option 3!

Nine courses of surprise dishes. The first 5 or so were seafood based. The picture on the left is of a smoked white fish in veal/chicken/bone marrow jus which was phenomenal, as was the quail egg, brussel sprout and stuffed pheasant (on right).

On the left was dessert #1, which they called “milk jam”. It was unlike anything we’ve ever had – foam, and then crushed ice, caramel, apple? and I don’t know what. And you can never have enough chocolate…

Apparently you can never have too much dessert either…

A cozy night!

In the morning, we enjoyed breakfast in the restaurant and then a Nespresso and newspaper back at the room before reluctantly checking out. John’s breakfast on the right was the real winner – Lobster and Cider Nage with Poached Eggs, Baby Leeks, Double Smoked Bacon.

We can honestly say that Langdon Hall was the best hotel experience we’ve ever had. Everything was top notch, so much so that we are already anticipating another visit.