C A R B D A Y I S T H E B E S T D A Y
So, last weekend I decided to tackle London for the first time since I had Ottilie. It’d been such a long time since my last visit (back when I was 34 weeks pregnant, and looked like I’d swallowed a melon), and I missed the city with my whole heart!
It felt like a pretty huge deal, heading up into London by myself with an 11 week old baby. Ottie’s becoming pretty chilled these days and doesn’t tend to cry all that often, at least compared with the newborn days when she used to have a regular 7pm meltdown that meant Jason and I spent many an evening eating our dinners one handed whilst attempting to bounce a shrieking bundle with the other arm!
But still, the idea of trying to get us both organised and ready to catch our train on time, and keep Ottilie fed, cosy, dry, and happy all day long whilst moving around the city felt like a daunting one.
And yet it was a doddle! Ottilie cooed and smiled her way through both train journeys, took her naps snuggled in tight to my chest in the sling, and seemed to love looking around her as we travelled through the city.
The first stop on our travels was to meet Tania and Michael at Where The Pancakes Are, a sweet little brunch spot over near Borough Market that Tania had been wanting to try for a while. And I’m glad we did, because those pancakes were fantastic!
As soon as we got to the restaurant I passed Ottilie over the table to her Auntie Tania, and judging by the look on Ottilie’s face, she was pretty happy to see her!
We decided to share a couple of the dishes between us- the vegetarian pancakes with halloumi and roasted red pepper (delicious!) and the banana, chocolate and hazelnut pancakes (even better!!)!
The pancakes are made with buttermilk and are thick and fluffy, and that Nutella-esque spread was a dream. Ottilie spent brunch napping (with a belly full of milk that she’d enjoyed on the train) and all I could think of was how excited I am so begin introducing her to all my favourite foods in a couple of months time!
High on chocolate sauce, we moseyed our way along the river back towards Waterloo, in search of the South Bank Christmas market. I’ve been every year for the past three or so years (I’ve lost track…) and figured Ottilie might just stay awake long enough to see the Christmas lights!
As it happened though, the walk took us such a long time, with the crowds of tourists meandering along with us, that by the time we made it to the market she was snoozing contentedly on my chest in the wrap, whilst the rest of us had managed to work up enough of an appetite to be hungry for a pot of mac & cheese!
Two types of carbs in the space of less than three hours? Now that’s the way to spend a Saturday…
