Birthday!

Today was JR’s birthday, and I promised to take her to the Ritz. So after checking out the bus route (no. 19 all the way) we set off on the top deck, front seat. And we did go to the Ritz, had a photo taken at the door with the top- hatted doorman, and then went next door - nearly as good - The Wolseley - for brunch. 

The Wolseley has been a London tradition for us for many years, after chatting to a local in a pub one time, he gave us a couple of Top Tips - at opposite ends of the luxury spectrum, but both excellent.

We both had the spectacular French toast with fresh berries and maple syrup, with teas served in silver teapots. The toast was SO filling we couldn’t manage two little rum babas canelés with a ‘Happy Birthday’ message on them. But they’re for a snack later.

From there we walked past Buckie Palace, through St James’s Park, where the pelicans refused to actually do anything - they just sat snoozing in the sunshine. Then round by Westminster, past 10 Downing Street, past Parliament and down along the river. London is so walkable, really - even for me. (11,511 steps!) Though it was SO HOT.

For we were headed to our other Top Tip and regular London haunt -Gordon’s Wine Bar. It’s the total opposite of our breakfast venue - it’s very bohemian. It’s under the bridge, consisting of a series of caverns and tunnels, lit by candlelight. It’s the oldest wine bar in London, established in 1890. It was rather cool in there, so we were almost the only punters (they have sunny outdoor seating too). It’s a crazy place decorated with old old newspaper front pages, especially of the Royals. They do very nice sharing boards, and by that time our stomachs had almost forgotten that they’d been overloaded an hour or so earlier. 

We walked along the river, with all the boat trips doing great business, then back to Trafalgar Square - always a must visit. There were free art lessons taking place, which looked fun. There were dozens of people sitting sketching at proper easels, being tutored over their headphones, while even more dozens of folk were sitting all around the steps, with boards to lean on and big bits of paper, all sketching!

By this time even JR was getting a tad tired, so we found our Number 19 bus again and headed back. But as we came around some familiar streets, we spotted another old favourite - Caravan, set up by a Kiwi many years ago when getting a decent coffee was pretty hit or miss. So we jumped off and popped in for old times’ sake. The bus was rather crowded on the way home, with lots of folk not wearing masks…

What a great day out in London Town, and a fairly memorable birthday for JR.