A lunchtime treat

I've added two more chores to my never-ending "To Do" list - break up and dispose of the garden seating, as it's old and looking horrible. I must admit to not looking after the "love seat" in the gravel garden or the bench, but they are beyond repair and need replacing in the summer. Keith started on the bench today and attacked it with a hammer and screwdriver!

After a relaxed morning, Sophie and I drove to Woburn at midday. Sophie had booked a table at an Italian restaurant called Fratelli's for 2.15pm, so we hoped to get to Woburn a little earlier and mooch about. We had a good run down the M1 and parked easily in the free car park.

We decided to look in the antiques shop first, and we couldn't believe how much stock they had, crammed into every nook and cranny over two extensive floors. I fell in love with an oil painting until I saw the price tag - £925!

We went downstairs and almost lost one another in the labyrinth of rooms. I saw a painting by the artist Michael Matthews that I coveted as well, but there was no price tag on it. I love the snowy scene and the colours in the sky. It reminded me of a Dutch painting. The photo I took doesn't do it justice:

From the antiques emporium, we popped into a wine shop close by but I was put off by the high prices: £26 for a bottle of Vouvray! The man running the shop didn't seem to have a lot of stock, but I did see a 1966 bottle of Sauternes for £250! However, the wine looked almost orange and the bottle was standing upright, which I think was wrong as the cork wasn't in contact with the wine.

Deciding it was time for a glass of wine, we walked across the road and came across a new wine bar/art gallery called Woburn Mosaic. It looked interesting so we went in and asked if we could just have a glass of wine. The man running the place was friendly and hospitable and said of course! We found a little table and sat down to look at the wine menu, eventually choosing a white wine from Georgia! It was made from the rkatsiteli grape, which I'd never heard of before!

It was enjoyable to sit and sip our wine in such lovely surroundings. We had a good natter, paid the bill and walked the short distance to Fratelli's. It's housed in a lovely old building (former coaching house maybe?) and the restaurant was buzzing with lunchtime diners.

We were seated at a table by the window and next to the bar and had a good look at the menu, choosing dough balls and chicken croquettes to start, followed by a Calabrese pizza to share with courgette fritte as a side dish. The food was delicious and the pizza was huge and tasty.

Amazingly, we managed to find room for dessert, and I just had to have the chocolate fondant to do the Masterchef test! Sophie chose tiramisu but couldn't finish it so it came home with us in a foil box!

The chocolate fondant had a bit of melt in the middle, but it didn't ooze out properly, It was still delicious!

Reluctantly, we paid the bill and walked back to the car. The previously sunny morning had given way to cloudy skies, and we decided to go and see if we could find any deer in the grounds of Woburn Abbey. As soon as we came to wide open parkland we saw a herd of them in the distance. There were hundreds of them!

We turned around and drove back and Sophie took some photos. I think we more than made up for the disappointing trip when we were still in the grip of covid on Sophie's birthday and saw none at all! Just after we moved off, some deer decided to cross the road and held up a line of cars!

We drove back home and relaxed for the rest of the evening. Neither of us could face any more food and we only had a couple of glasses of wine each. I suspect the dough balls had expanded in our tummies and soaked up the rest of the food we'd eaten!

* I emailed the antiques shop asking how much the Michael Matthews painting was selling for... £1100!