As my long time readers will know, I love a good adventure or day out.
Any excuse to hop on a train and see friends, the sights or go to an event and I take it, after all you only have one life to live which is very much still the case, with the current situation dragging on far longer than anyone expected.
This was cemented when the Prime Minister announced a series of changes and restrictions due to the increase in COVID cases.
My blogging bestie Boo and I had a holiday to Athens booked for the 4th December which was a couple of days after the announcement.
Out went the trip to Athens and in came a day out in London together.
We might not have been able to have our holiday but there was no reason we couldn’t meet up and have a good day together.
So it was on a bright but chilly Thursday morning that I hopped onto a train bound for St Pancras.
On My Way
We were meeting up around 1140 and heading straight to Camden.
Due to the fact that my knee is still badly compromised, walking becomes difficult and exceptionally painful when I overdo it.
Boo had suggested making the most of Ubers instead of the Tube as this would help both with my mobility and also reduce the amount of people we came into contact with.
The reason we were heading to Camden was to go straight for lunch at The Cheese Bar.
Yummy!
Now I had visited The Cheese Bar once before, several years ago and had a marvellous time eating as many Cheese products as I could.
However Boo and I had never been together though and we were about to rectify that first thing,
The Uber took about 12 minutes to get there and we were warmly welcomed into the small restaurant. Apart from one large group table, the rest of the seating is based around the large rectangular bar and this is where we were seated.
Selfie Time
Our waitress doubled up as a bartender and gave us the drink and food menus and we eagerly dived in.
The menu had changed a little but it still had a few of the items that I had enjoyed previously including their epic Mozzarella Sticks, which I definitely had to choose.
Ready…. Get Set….
Absolutely massive in portion, the breadcrumb like covering was both crispy and light. Served with a tomato dip, the gooey, stretchy, tasty mozzarella really hit the spot.
Boo recommended the Cheese puffs which came in three portion sizes. We ordered ten of those with the plan to share them out. I fancied the five cheese macaroni and Boo wanted some truffled cheese fries.
Mozzarella Sticks
This is when we decided to be a little sensible and order those items, see how full we got and then order other items if needed.
Two starters, a main and a portion of fries seemed like a good start, so we put in our order.
The Cheese Bar does explain that the food won’t necessarily all come out together. This is due to the fact that if you have ordered a lot of food which all arrives at the same time, some of the cheese will start to cool down or solidify if left.
Cheesy Puffs
Basically they will deliver dishes as they are ready and cooked, whilst making sure they are at their best quality.
Firstly our drinks arrived. I had ordered a non-alcoholic Mojito, which was just like the real thing without the Rum! It was flavoursome, minty and very thirst-quenching.
Mocktail Mojito
We spent the time waiting for the food to arrive, chatting and catching up. It was so lovely to see Boo and as it had been quite awhile, we had an awful lot to catch up on.
The first two dishes arrived and they were the Mozzarella Sticks and Cheese Puffs.
Round One
As previously mentioned are large in size; similar in length as a decent sausage but not quite as round. The cheese was hot and melty, the outside was crisp and just divine. The ketchup was thick and tangy and complimented the cheese so well.
The Cheese Puffs weren’t quite what I expected. I assumed they would be some sort of cheese filled delight, a bit like a profiterole.
Perfectly Puffy
I was pleasantly surprised to find out they were a cheese flavoured kind of dough ball. They came with a large bowl of melted cheese sauce which was SO good!
We had ordered ten of the puffs so we could share five each. You get three mozzarella sticks in a portion but they are long compared to normal versions though, so we had one and a half each.
The next dish to arrive was the Macaroni with five cheese, which was cooked in a small cast iron skillet. Covered with a crumb topping, the skillet was full to bursting with large macaroni and unlike most that have a mix of cheese and cream/milk, this one seemed to be made entirely of melted cheese.
Marvellous Mac n Cheese
It was absolutely stunning.
Partly through the Macaroni, the truffled cheese fries arrived and they were extremely tasty. Served in a large metal dish, it was full to brimming and super cheesy.
All I can say is that it was a good job we didn’t order lots more food as what we had before us was absolutely huge and possibly a bit more than we intended!
Nevertheless we ate every single mouthful and ended up with full tummies.
Now was the time to start walking some of it off. Firstly though we caught an Uber over to Somerset House to see the Ice Rink and all the lights. Boo and I had never been there before, so it would be a first for both of us.
Tree Time
Arriving at Somerset House, we could see the lights and the trees but sadly it was still the middle of the day and we couldn’t get the full effect. However the tree was epic and I couldn’t resist a photo in front of it.
Somerset House In All Its Glory
We decided to walk up to Covent Garden as it wasn’t too far. Talking a very slow walk, we peered into shops and admired the architecture of the buildings all around us.
Inside Covent Garden
Arriving at Covent Garden was a real treat. Everywhere you looked, decorations abounded. Little wooden huts were dotted around where you could sit and have a drink. There were also some that had Christmas gifts and treats.
Stunning Covent Garden
Boo had never visited this area before so we had a good look around and I couldn’t resist popping into the Laduree shop to get some of my favourite macarons; salted caramel.
Tree-tastic
We also walked around a fun Lego installation with a huge snowman and Santa. There was also a carousel with several displays of Lego and it was very cool.
Merry Christmas!
As time was ticking on, we took a slow walk down through Leicester Square which again was beautifully decorated. There was also a Christmas village which was so joyful and a real delight.
Rolling with the Gnomies!
We carried on walking as our destination was Fortnum and Masons, down on Piccadilly. Again, Boo had never been there and had read that the windows were fantastic.
Piccadilly
She was not wrong!
The whole of the outside of the building was decorated like a huge Advent calendar. The dates that had passed even had open windows with all the remaining windows still to open.
A Dream….
What was even better were the bottom windows were had a very clever theme. Each one was dedicated to a specific animal who was fast asleep. From their heads came dream bubbles with the biggest one containing their wildest dreams.
…Or Two!
There were Badgers, Rabbits, Squirrels and more. I have to admit, it was utterly delightful and really got me in the festive spirit.
A Badgers Bedtime
Boo had never been into F&M before so we went inside to have a look as well as grab a tin of my favourite tea-bags; Countess Grey. I may have even convinced Boo to get some tea for her tea loving dad.
Sweet Dreams for a Hedgehog
We left the shop and walk diagonally across to Burlington Arcade as I knew it usually had beautiful decorations AND led to New Bond Street where you have high-end shops such as Tiffany, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Bvlgari and Asprey.
Stunning and Sparkly
They also have some of the most amazing decorations; peacock feathers and massive chandeliers. Boo wandered off down New Bond Street and I was really grateful to see a large Christmas tree which had seats all around the base, which I had a rest on.
The lights looked absolutely magnificent now that the evening had settled in. They were so sparkly, yet simple; no flashing garish lights, just classy designs.
Marvellous Murals
We caught another Uber to take us to Carnaby street, which technically was only a 15 minute walk. I just couldn’t walk that distance; my knee was screaming at me and even with my cane I had to admit defeat.
When I say defeat, we had been walking around since 1140 and it was now nearly 1800. Six hours and the walk from Somerset House to Tiffany & Co was a mile and a half, let alone all the walking around the individual areas when we were there.
Kingly Court
Hitting Carnaby Street, it started to rain a little and so we popped into a few shops before heading into Kingly Court which houses dozens of restaurants set on three floors around a central atrium.
We wanted to get a drink so went towards a restaurant which seemed to have tables available. Called The Good Egg, we were seated and give menus.
Final Selfie
Explaining we only wanted drinks, the lovely waitress happily told us that it was no problem. Boo went with a standard diet coke and I opted to get their House Ice Tea.
We sat for a pleasant half hour, again chatting about all and sundry. Sadly time was ticking on and we wanted to have a mooch about before getting our respective trains.
Lots of Choice
Popping into a couple of shops, we made our way up to Libertys where we planned on getting our last couple of presents before departing.
I have to say, being served in Libertys, whilst amazing was also a bit like the Rowan Atkinson and Alan Rickman scene in ‘Love Actually’ The assistant took so long to gift wrap the items of the customer in front of us, I half expected her to get out the gardening gloves and secateurs to snip some holly for the customer.
Fat Art
We eventually got our items and again, she lovingly wrapped them up (whether we wanted it or not) I managed to get a Christmas present for someone and I pretty much was done.
Walking outside, Boo asked if I wanted to walk up towards Oxford Street and I was all for the idea. Then I time checked my phone to see that there was only 30 minutes left until my train left, so I had to say goodbye.
Carnaby Street
Boo ordered me an Uber and waited till it had arrived, before heading to her tube station.
Thankfully the Uber dropped me off at the entrance near to the Eurostar desk, which meant I only had a short walk via the escalators to the platforms. My train was already there and everyone was getting on board, so I joined the queue.
On My train Back
An hour later and I got off the train to find it throwing down with rain. Getting into my car and turning up the heaters, I soon made my way back to my house.
A little damp, but thoroughly happy and with my mental health revived after a day with Boo.
Till next time,
SPSG xxx