An indulgent day in the capital

An appointment in Harley Street

Sophie had an appointment with Dr Bawa at 12.30pm today and, as usual, we decided to make a real day of it. We had originally planned to take Keith to L'Entrecote, but with the holiday planned for next week, we decided to reign it in a bit, and Keith said he'd sit this visit out.

We booked lunch at Cote Brasserie, just off Marylebone High Street, and we were looking forward to a day out. My past few Wednesdays have been dull and boring, so I was determined to make up for all the chores I'd been doing lately!

We caught the 9.18am train and managed to get a seat where we finished our coffees. As we set off, we started to discuss France, and the man opposite grinned at us and said he lived in France and was back in the UK for a short visit. We had a chat, but I think he was afraid of butting in on our conversation, so he wished us a happy trip next week and went back to his phone. It would have been great to have chatted a while longer, as I had so many questions to ask him!

Refreshments and shopping

At Euston, we took a black cab to Marylebone High Street and made straight for 31 Below where we had a cup of tea, a hot chocolate and a shared plate of toast. No interesting eavesdropping today; the men next to us were talking about football! Yawn!

After our refreshments, we crossed the road to Daunt Books and spent a pleasurable half-hour wandering around and looking at all the tomes available. Sophie bought herself a new book and treated herself to a canvas bag. From Daunt's, we went to Bayley and Sage, and salivated over the food and drink!

Pumpkins and Autumn leaves featured heavily! I bought some sweets for Sara (she'd given me a cat deckchair) and a box of crackers, while Sophie treated us to a hunk of 24-month, matured Comté and a hazelnut sausage. We could easily have spent a fortune in there! Our next stop was the Oxfam charity shop and Sophie bought a quirky tee-shirt and two books, one of which was for Keith, who can read it on holiday. 

Why did the pigeon cross the road?

It was almost 12pm now, so we decided to have a glass of Prosecco and some nibbles at a corner Italian brasserie. We sat outside and asked the waitress if we could just have a glass of fizz and a bowl of Zucchini fritters and she was more than happy to oblige.

A heavenly combination!

A dark grey pigeon started strutting about so Sophie threw him some crumbs which he gratefully gobbled up! He was like a bird version of Mooney! He kept coming back for more until we had eaten all the delicious, crispy Zucchini fries. He then took himself off across the road, using the pedestrian crossing to get to the other side. A woman walked across at the same time and we doubled up with laughter, as it was so comical! He then strutted off down the High Street, on the lookout for more morsels, no doubt!

Worried about Dr Bawa

At 12.30pm we were sitting in the waiting room of the Phi clinic. Dr Bawa came out to greet us and we were both shocked by how thin he looked. He had definitely lost weight since we'd seen him back in May. He gave Sophie a little more Botox but said she wouldn't need filler until next year. He showed us photos of when she first came for a consultation and her nose is definitely straighter! Although he was as chatty as ever, we were both a little concerned as he said he'd been working constantly over the summer, even going to a conference in Orlando, Florida, where he was one of the speakers.

Lunchtime people watching!

We had an hour to spare before our lunchtime booking, so we paid a visit to Inn 1888. I enjoyed an Aperol Spritz while Sophie chose a glass of Pinot Noir. We sat and chatted and relaxed for an hour. The pub was empty, as it always is, but the landlord was putting Reserved signs on most of the tables so there might have been something going on later.

We'd debated sitting outside for lunch, but when we emerged from the pub, it was cloudy again. We chose a table right by the window and it was great for me to look out onto the street, while Sophie had a great view of the other diners.

We chose the prix fixe menu - I started with a gorgeous bacon salad, while Sophie chose the charcuterie plate and sourdough bread. We both opted for the minute steak and frites for our mains and for dessert, I indulged in a crepe, while Sophie enjoyed a classic chocolate mousse.

I was fascinated with a huge, black Mercedes parked outside. I was dying to see who was going to get in as the driver was obviously waiting for someone. He got out and rather than the uniformed chauffeur I'd expected to see, it was a young man dressed in denim, the back of his jacket covered in what looked like Japanese symbols. He was smoking a cigarette, so definitely not a proper chauffeur! A little later two women dressed in Burkas arrived, got into the car, and they sped off! How the other half live!

Our meal was delicious and very reasonably priced. We had a carafe of the house red, and a bottle of water and the bill was £91, including service.

Truly indulgent!

I'd suggested, as a real treat, a visit to The Hansom bar at the Renaissance Hotel in St Pancras, so Sophie had booked a table for drinks and snacks (not that we'd be having them) for 4pm. We took another black cab and arrived at the ornate entrance a short while later. One of the doormen opened the door for us and we went inside one of my favourite places in the world!

We took a seat in the beautiful lounge bar and studied the cocktail menu. 

There were a lot of business types barking into mobile phones, and most people were drinking tea or coffee. Not us, though! Oh no! I ordered two Normandy cocktails - Calvados, Laurent Perrier Champagne, Angostura Bitters and sugar syrup. This was a thank you from me to Sophie for all she'd done to help me over the last few weeks. The drinks were delicious and came with a thin slice of apple.

It was bliss to relax and take in the gorgeous surroundings. Sophie was people-watching again and was fascinated by a group of men who were talking French further down the lounge. She was convinced one of them was a footballer!

Heaven on earth...

Sophie wasn't content to leave after our cocktail. She wanted to go into The Booking Office, next door to The Hansom. We should have visited in April, for her birthday, so I agreed. By now it was almost 5pm, but we went over to the entrance and asked if there was a table free for drinks. The maitre d' said we could sit at a long bench for a drink and that there'd shortly be a talk about the hotel and a free punch tasting! Wow!

We took our seats at a long wooden table and ordered a Negroni each. It was a good job we'd had a big lunch as I think I'd have fallen over by now! I cannot describe how beautiful The Booking Office is. Sophie was beaming from ear to ear and said she'd never been anywhere so opulent in her life. I had to agree!

We could see the Eurostar platform from the windows so it felt utterly decadent. We both agreed to come back next year, stay the night, have cocktails and dinner, and then take the train to Paris the next morning. We'd save up for it and enjoy it!

At 5.05pm, one of the staff stood up to give a talk about the hotel, and he explained that the ritual of making and drinking punch was a celebration of the day ending and the evening beginning. I'll go for that! He passed around a box of old documents dating from the 1800s and showed us how to make the rum punch, giving everyone sitting around the table a glass.

The waiter who had served us was Italian, and his name was Rosario, and I think he took a little liking to both of us as we'd ordered Negronis! He came over and chatted every now and again and made sure we were well-supplied with glasses of rum punch!

One of the pages of the wine list - Californian Opus One £1000!

Back to reality

We lingered in the bar for an hour, not wanting to leave but knowing we soon had to get the train home and return to reality! Keith called as we were gathering our things to go, and Sophie said we'd be catching a train home at about 6.30pm. Rosario hugged us and said goodbye (he was from the Amalfi coast), and we reluctantly made our way outside where one of the doormen hailed us a black cab.

The short journey to Euston was over all too soon, and we were back in the meleé of the station. Luckily, we were able to get on a train straightaway and found a seat. We had a lovely conversation with a woman sitting opposite that lasted all the way until she left the train at Wolverton. All the other passengers were engrossed with their phones! Look up from those screens and interact with others!

It was pouring with rain when we arrived back at Northampton, and Keith was waiting for us. We sloshed home and relaxed for the rest of the evening, after doing the dreaded evening chores!