Yesterday evening, we booked train tickets, and we were hoping to get the 10.10am train down to Euston. We arrived with plenty of time, parked the car and bought a coffee before going down to the platform. There were a lot of people about, far more than I'd imagined on a Sunday, but I think a lot of them were going to a football match in north London.
We heard on the tannoy that our train was delayed, which wasn't good news. Then, a Birmingham-bound train arrived on our platform and, as this was due to depart at about 10.30am, we realised that there were definitely going to be problems! We saw another Euston train waiting on another platform so we hot-footed it over, along with masses of other people!
Luckily, we managed to get seats, but as the train carried on down to London, it became even busier, with passengers standing in the aisles. The driver kept saying to people getting on that there was another one following us, but they ignored him and the train was soon bursting at the seams!
At Euston, we went outside to get an Uber but the road was closed (we later found out there'd been a drive-by shooting further down the road), so we took a taxi to the V&A instead. It cost £26! The driver was very friendly and chatty though, and wished me happy birthday, so that was lovely!
Happily, the weather today was beautiful with blue skies and winter sunshine. We went into the museum by a different entrance and found the café where we enjoyed coffee and cake. I shared a scone with Keith, and I was amazed at the prices - £5 for a slice of cake and almost £4 for a coffee! I didn't mind, though, as visiting the museum is free.
We sat and discussed what we wanted to see - Islam, China and Japan, followed by medieval exhibits and then ceramics on the top floor. As we left the café, I spotted the actress who plays the mum in Outnumbered, Claire Skinner. She saw me looking, but I would never approach someone famous when they're out in public and she was sitting chatting with friends. She knew I knew, though!
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| The Three Graces |
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| Casts of medieval tombstones |
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| Large things (no idea what they are but they're reproductions) |
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| Not the real David... and Sophie |
It was lovely to wander about looking at all the gorgeous objects. The ceramics on the top floor were beautiful and the galleries were very quiet and peaceful. I'd never seen so much china crammed into one place, and I dread to think about the value of all the exhibits! We also had a quick look at the paintings and saw a couple by Turner and Constable. No Dali-esque ones today!
At about 2.30pm we left the museum and walked the short distance to the restaurant. I was a bit nervous about going in because as well as a restaurant, Ognisko is also a club. However, we needn't have worried. We were greeted warmly and our coats were taken, before we were shown to a table by the window. The restaurant was buzzing with people and the surroundings were beautiful - it reminded me of somewhere in Europe, which was apt seeing as it's Polish, and a lot of Polish people were sitting around us!
We were given menus and a bottle of sparkling water. Sophie and I debated about having a bottle of wine, but in the end, we went for a glass of the house wine, deciding to have a cocktail after the meal. Keith had a delicious Polish beer called Johannes.
We chose our starters - terrine for Keith, Polish dumplings filled with cheese and potato for Sophie and spicy Polish sausage and potato salad for me. For our main courses, I chose the pork schnitzel (it was like being back in Berlin), Sophie had the pork neck with a mushroom sauce, and Keith chose the cod.
The food was beautifully presented and delicious. The portions were also large and my starter would have been adequate for a main course!
My pork schnitzel was on a bed of roasted new potatoes and bacon chunks, topped with a fried egg. It was gorgeous and I did pass quite a bit on to Sophie and Keith to try! Sophie loved her pork neck - she said it was soft and tender and melt-in-the-mouth delicious!
As the afternoon wore on, the restaurant emptied out and the lights dimmed. It was truly a beautiful place and very relaxing. We had a fabulous time and the experience certainly lived up to our expectations.
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| Sophie with her dirty Martini |
After our main courses, Sophie and I chose the chocolate mousse for dessert, and we ordered cocktails. A vodka Martini for Sophie, and a Negroni for me. The bill came to a whopping £183 (with a service charge of 12.5% included) but it was a truly lovely meal and the surroundings were beautiful. I suspect a lot of the people there eat at the restaurant every week and the clientele looked well-heeled and stylish.
We summoned an Uber for the journey back to Euston and sat in the lovely hall while we waited. A couple of older ladies were also waiting for a car, but ours came first, a very smart MG SUV, which was immaculately clean.
We had a brilliant journey back to Euston, taking in Knightsbridge (we spotted Harvey Nichols), Leicester Square, the West End and its theatres, and Chinatown. The streets were crowded with people out enjoying the shops, bars and restaurants. No scenes from an Uber pics this evening, as it was too dark, but it was lovely to look out of the windows and people-watch!
Arriving back at Euston was a bump back down to earth. We managed to get on a train that was waiting on the platform, but we had to sit in separate seats. I sat opposite a huge man sprawled over two seats who was eating chocolate with his mouth open and watching football on his phone. His wife was on the seat next to me, and the couple hardly said a word to each other for the whole journey, as both were engrossed in their phones or eating sweets. Luckily, the woman next to Sophie departed at Leighton Buzzard, so I was able to sit next to my daughter for the rest of the journey!
We reclaimed the car, drove home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. I called my Mum and opened my cards, before reading the paper in the kitchen. It had been an immensely enjoyable day, but a tiring one! Work tomorrow... ugh!
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