Apparently being capable on staying on my own side of the bed last night, we both woke up feeling quite refreshed. AS Matthew starts work and makes calls to the office, I go on the hunt for coffee. The morning looks nothing like the crazy weather we had experienced yesterday, with the sky boasting a beautiful blue colour and the busy road outside buzzing with morning commuters and traffic.

There was a coffee shop that I took an interest in as we wandered around the area over the last couple of days. It is called The Department of Coffee and Social Affairs. I must say, being a federal public servant, and loving coffee and socialising, the name very much spoke to my soul. The staff are jovial and very busy as people file in and out for the morning cup of java to kick start their day. I roll in with my trackies and ugg boots, clearly out of place with the suits and dresses of the people around me, but my coffee is just as important to me as the next person, so I am grateful when they tell me my order is ready.

The morning time passes quickly as Matthew works and I blog. It was a long day to write about as I was already a 2 days behind, given my lazy day yesterday. I do love to blog about my adventures, but it can be a taxing task at times, because I always love to capture all the stories of my day, so it can take over an hour most times I sit to describe all the activities. Eventually I am nearly finished and then have a flash of brilliance as I realise my best friend would be available in Perth back home so I get a hold of her for a bit and video chat. It’s always so nice to talk to her, she is such a delicious human and always so excited to hear about my life and what I am up to. Tanneil is an absolute treasure. I miss that she doesn’t live close to me, but we always are able to pick up where we left off at any point. The sign of a very special friendship indeed.
Matthew pops in for a quick hello too, and it’s then that I realise that it is nearly time to get ready for our lunch reservation. Despite the fact that we’d planned a 2pm booking, the morning has flown.
Our Uber driver is a quietly spoken man from Ethiopia. I am always amazed at the knowledge Matthew has, demonstrating that his interest in the world is very vast. He chatted about Ethiopia with the driver as we weaved through back streets to get down to Covent Garden.
It wasn’t quite time just yet to head to the restaurant so we meander around Covent Garden and walk though a small antique market with very eclectic curiosities. I felt like I was walking into an episode of Antiques Roadshow. All around this small square are floral covered seats, and carts. The place is a buzz with tourists, business people and school groups.

The people surround a street performer that finishes his routine as we walk through the square. There is a pub that overlooks the square called Punch & Judy that we pop up to and watch the square below where another performer is setting up and warming up the crowd. They all have to be licensed to perform in the streets here, and it would appear that they will have booked a time slot to entertain and show their unique performances. We all get a great chuckle out of the simplicity of a bit of slapstick and silliness.
Unfortunately the rain forces us indoors and miss out on the remainder of the performance happening. Like any good performer ‘the show must go on’, despite not being able to see it we can hear the onlooker’s applause as he clearly finishes his performance. It’s now nearly 2pm and we head over to the restaurant, and as e open the door, a couple are reversing out it’s a pram and a gorgeous little girl rugged up inside. The man thanks us for holding the door open for them, and I realise he is an Aussie as I look into the pram and exchange smiles with the little girl. The dad says ‘it’s ok this lady’s safe, she’s an Aussie’.
We head inside and the beautiful restaurant Clos Maggiore is simply stunning. They take our jackets and scarves and we are shown to our seat which is tucked in the corner of the conservatory. The roof is covered in cherry blossoms and soft music creates an elegant atmosphere.

The multicultural staff cycle past our table offering us drinks, breads and help with the menu. We order a Prosecco to start while we peruse the beautiful options and eventually settle on our orders. We are surrounded by very different parties of people. From couples to a mother and daughter, and friends (both old and young). As our food arrives it not only looks incredible, but it smells amazing. It’s times like this I wish that as you were reading this I could send a scent through the screen for you to enjoy. My mouth is watering and with each bite I am just as impressed as the one before. All the elements on the plate are rich in flavour, while delicately complimenting each other.

We are approached by one of the waiters who is a sommelier, proudly sporting a badge with a bunch of grapes which Matthew notices and strikes up a conversation about. It seems that he has spent some time in Australia studying wines in Victoria, South Australia and NSW. He asks if we need a recommendation of a wine to have with our lunch. We settle on a Tokai from Hungary. I always love to try new things, and while I can be a creature of habit, I do enjoy something different from time to time.
We savour our meals and just sit in the peace of the restaurant before thanking our wait staff and heading out to have a little look around Covent Garden. I’d hoped to be able to find a new beanie, having lost mine on night one (insert face palm emoji here). So we farewell Clos Maggiore and head off to see what we can find. We also know that around the corner is a mobile phone provider that I need to get a SIM card from so I can stay connected while I am here.

The symmetry of the laneways here can be mesmerising, so I find myself looking around rather than where I am walking. Probably not a great idea in heels and on cobblestone streets. I do manage to navigate my way around, without incident as we pop into the mobile phone shop and get assisted quickly and easily, then venture into clothing stores to find a replacement beanie which we do eventually locate in an H&M store.
On our way to shopping, I’d spotted a pub I’d recognised from my trip into London with my dad a couple of years back, and so now we had completed our shopping tasks we headed back there and stood outside as we chatted away and watched the passers by. It is in a very cute lane way, tucked away from the busy street. I remember this pub because on it’s bar are plaques of people’s names. In order to get your name on the bar you have to have a drink there every single day for a year. Despite the fact that I’d be able to give it a good crack, not something that I think would be good for my liver.

We did end up striking up a conversation with the two gentleman in this picture above. It’s interesting that everyone over here is interested in the fires back home. It had been all over the news here, so it is quite heartwarming to hear their genuine interest and care for my country that was in such disaster.
It is time to head home, so we farewell our new friends and jump in an Uber which is a beautiful Mercedes. The driver is a petrol head, so Matthew and him talk cars the whole journey. Again, very impressed by the vast knowledge he had, and it was clear our driver was thoroughly enjoying talking to someone who had a love of cars as much as he did.
We get dropped nearby the apartment and stock up on a few important items. Mostly wine, but a couple of other bits and pieces. I fine it incredibly interesting to walk around supermarkets in other countries. Just to see what is the same and what is different. Matthew is laughing at me as I slowly take each aisle in, and stop to look at what would be considered fairly mundane things.
The temperature is starting to drop, but with my new beanie addition I am really quite comfortable. We walk the short distance and settle in for the night. Despite not really having done much we are both a bit weary, so we once again decide to order in, but this time we get some Indian food. Complete with naan bread of course.
We nibble away as we enjoy “The Terminal” movie, and marvel at the story that was actually based upon a true life situation much like it is depicted in the movie. Tom Hanks is truly a talented and diverse actor who I love, and we both enjoy it, but eventually opting to head to bed. We’ve made some loose plans for tomorrow, so I can’t wait to see what the day brings.