Remember the mention of Norman and Julie's new motorhome? Well, it is better known as "The Bobil". Why? Well, Norman pestered Julie for so long about getting one that she banned the "M-word" from their conversations. Not to be outsmarted, Norman started using Bobil, the Norwegian name for a motorhome and it kind of stuck.
Here is the proud owner who battled gamely with the lying bastard salesman from hell to finally obtain his rather swish new Bobil:
So, we actually had a road trip - they kindly invited us for a tour of Bute. Of course, as it is a small island that wasn't equivalent to doing Route 66. We stopped off at Mount Stuart (a taster - we will revisit for a look around later on), the south coast and Ettrick Bay.
After the big road trip, we clearly needed sustenance. The one "recommended" restaurant in Rothesay was full so we enjoyed one of the quirkiest dinner events we can remember. In Port Bannatyne there is the "Russian Tavern". (The one and only eatery.)
The crew popped up to see what was on the limited set menu and check it out, but found the door locked. Upon her return, we found that the place opened at 6pm. So, we walked up later, wandered in and the owner said "Hello can I help you, were you looking for anything" in a tone that said "are you trying to break into my home here?"
The crew's reply of "We wanted to look at the menu for dinner tonight", was met with "We open at 6pm".
The hesitant response of "But it is 6:15 already??" sealed the deal. "Oh, we must have been chatting and drinking for longer than I thought, where has the time gone, I thought it was 3pm". Not an auspicious start.
This didn't put us off though as the Tripadvisor reports had already warned us about what was to come:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Search?q=russian+tavern+bute&geo=&pid=3826&returnTo=http%253A__2F____2F__www__2E__tripadvisor__2E__co__2E__uk__2F__
It was an out of body experience with proper Russian food and a host, born in Scandinavia who had a slightly younger Russian wife (the chef). He joined in with our conversations, lurking behind a pillar to listen in and has opinions on pretty much everything. He was a BBC World Service presenter in a former life and a real caricature of the old style BBC staff. To quote the local marina mechanic man "he kind of modelled himself on Basil Fawlty".
We had a ball though with plenty of complimentary Russian speciality vodkas too. The herby / pear / elderflower /vanilla versions were really good. I guess the variety gives you a hint of the quantity that Norman and I had to sample too. A great fun evening. So much so that Norman and Julie needed the recliner chairs and a restorative glass of wine upon our return:
