I set off Friday morning and it wasn't the best send off i'll admit, much to my upset. It was only the second time i'd ever left Indi & the first time i'd left her where she was actually aware of what was happening. Dexy and Flo had been great and had happily gone to school no problem so with that in mind i said goodbye to India... Imagine me there, doing my big fat animated "BYE BYE INDIA *waves like Mr Tumble* BYE BYE....MUMMIES GOING NOW INDI.... BYEEEEEEEEEEE" when mid-tumblewave it hit me it & I realised that I never say bye to this little one. She's always with me saying goodbye to other people, not the other way around. Yep, i really messed that one up & as my train was on time & I uncharacteristically was not, i had to go. That was the opposite of fun.
So, not a good start but i set about trying to relax & knowing all 3 kiddos would be totally fine with daddy & grandma, i got on the train. Sometimes i do love the certain air of pretentiousness that goes with a train journey, don't you? You know what I'm talking about - carrying a magazine you're a little too old to read, sipping a coffee way too hot to hold let alone drink and trying to keep in a pair of pissy headphones that just will not fit in your sodding ears. It's a timeless look, I've been rocking it since at least '98.
Finally, with burnt lips, confused eyes & painful ears I got to London just in time to head to the city to meet up with my old uni-mate-turned-nearly-lawyer for lunch & some much missed chitter chatter. After I'd gobbled down a 'super salad' which consisted of 6 spinach leaves, 1 cube of butternut squash and 3 pomegranate seeds (wtf?) I headed across town to meet up with some more of my loveliest peeps and we set about finding me some Wahaca! Of course we did, I came to London to EAT and so far a low-fat granola bar, a skinny latte and a very un-super salad had done nothing but get my back up.
Errrr, in a word NO, rather annoyingly. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't awful by a long shot. The service was awesome, the atmosphere was OK and the cocktails were good but my food was mega meh. Admittedly my fellow diners did good & the cactus tacos looked & tasted a little bit lovely. I guess what i'm saying is it's wasn't a total write off but if I go again, I'll not be getting the grilled chicken with green rice - lets just put it that way. Don't feel bad for me though - I took it as a sign to order more margaritas which as nice as they are they don't beat dining out with old mates.
... ... ...
After waking up on Saturday morning sounding like I was in drag (thanks cold virus) it was time to hit Notting Hill with one of my besties Soraya, who along with her chap Steve was kind enough to put me up & share their beautiful & welcoming home for the weekend. By lunch we were looking for somewhere (anywhere) that didn't serve every dish with either meat/cheese or drenched in oil. It was then we stumbled across El Camino which was one of the best street food places I've ever been to. Obviously it was Mexican (this is Lia eats London) and regardless of what the Evening Standard seem to think, this place had more personality, flavour & aunthenticity than Wahaca. And the margaritas were better ;) I orderd the grilled fish tacos, which were so so good...
So, what next? Whole Foods, that's was next! If you're not keen on hearing people ramble on about what is essentially a pimped up Waitrose or if you're not big on pictures of spices, macaroon cupcakes (seriously, what's wrong with you?) or eggs, then look away now!
Whole Foods? WOW! I loved it! I loved it so much, I spent 2 hours in there soaking it up.
The best bit? Too many... the veg? A whole stand devoted to Kale? Spices you can just willy nilly scoop up yourself? Nut butter you can MAKE? Abode (yeah, not adobe!) chilli's in chipotle sauce by the bucket load? Kale chips?! Un-identified Portuguese beans that were amazing, but even more amazing when you figure out you should remove the shells before eating (nice one Tom). Lord have mercy on my soul - Whole Foods is where I wanna shop forever. I just need to win the lottery...
After we had shopped ourselves inside out, we headed back to the manor and Soraya laid on an amazing spread of butternut squash risotto, courgette salad with chill & lime, fennel & chicory dressed in lemon juice, and some cavalo nero with chilli.... heaven. We were joined by some good friends, drank some good wine & had even better giggles! Perfection.
In a nutshell? London, I still bloody love you.
Before I go, take a look some snippets from my friends home. It is amaze balls (it's OK, she totally enjoys that word as much as me)...
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