Bristol Beer Gardens

Today was a day of pints in the various beer gardens of Bristol. We had a lovely day relaxing in the sun, drinking pints of cider (me) and various beer (Chris) We met our cousins friends who I have to say are all very lovely and friendly. I shared my little travel 30+ sun cream around the group, who were all a little surprised to see that an Aussie was carrying one around, but I think in the end they were happy to know that I was as it held off some serious burn.

Chris and Jen in our Bristol beer garden tour

A long explanation ensued as to why I, as an Aussie was not tall, tanned and blonde, obviously I was letting down the Australian reputation. We also gave a lengthy description of what exactly a Tasmanian Devil is and no, it really doesn’t spin in crazy circles and yell incoherently, and no, it doesn’t have horns or a pitch fork… it’s actually quite amazing how many Brits have asked us about the Tassie Devil now, I wish I’d brought a photo or two. We moved pubs quite a few times, each one had a lovely atmosphere, the only prerequisite the group had was “does it have a garden?” If the answer was yes then it was a go-er. I had to laugh though, there beer gardens here are all cement, no grass or trees to be seen really.

Bristol suspension bridge, as seen from the beer garden. Not a bad view really!

They were all lovely little pubs though and it was nice to see them with a group of bubbly, inviting locals. We only had one hiccup for the day and that was when I ordered lunch, consisting of Nachos and some sour cream and guacamole. Now, what do you imagine when I say Nachos? Are you thinking corn chips, salsa, cheese with an option of meat? Yep, me too. This one particular pub didn’t though. We were the first to order and that last to be served and when my ‘nachos’ came out it was a side of corn chips, a dollop of sour cream and a dollop of guacamole. That was it. I looked at it, I ate a chip or two and then I realized “hang on, I’ve just paid $11 for a handful of chips and dip…” so, with group consensus that we’d been ripped off, we asked to see the manager who was a very rude man to say the least. We were firm in telling him these were “NOT nachos, that they can’t call them Nachos and that I’m not happy with this meal, I’d like my money back please” He was a very rude young man, very annoyed that someone would dare question the nacho option, and curtly refunded my money. I did not wish to try my luck there again, so I took my money and in place of food, had another cider elsewhere. We had a lovely day out in the sun, with Jen and with some of the locals, had a great laugh and a great relax.

for the record, we made it home sober and coherent. This is not because British beer is less potent, rather because we can’t afford to ‘throw them back’ here as we do in Australia, we have to sip them in Britain, thus making it a warm beer. Shouting a round is a very expensive offer almost rendering you to tears…*

Bristol Beer Gardens

Bristol, United Kingdom