Social Sunday

When we checked the weather forecast for Sunday, sadly we didn't see anything good on the horizon. Grey, cold and rain throughout the whole day. We therefore decided to relax at home. However, we still managed to have a quite busy and social Sunday. Right after breakfast we Skyped with our friends in Italy Ilaria, Cristian and baby Tommaso. Both kids were in such a cheerful mood and kept smiling and "talking" to each other. It was a very sweet way to start the day. Then, Rob and Emilia got ready to run their regular Sunday activities: take the rubbish down, go to the local store to buy the Sunday paper and pay a visit to the robot in Shad Thames! That's baby and papa's time, mummy stays home; I only have the job to dress Emilia.

 

 

 

 

The afternoon was a flurry of conversations. First we received a Facetime call by Emilia's godparents, Lorenzo and Federica and Federica's brother, Marco. The call couldn't happen at a better time since Emilia was being quite difficult and naughty and seeing them on the phone distracted her from all the rest. Lory and Fede are coming to visit us in just one week and we can't wait to spend some good time with them. We hang up and Rich, Rob's brother, called. And while Rob was still on the phone, the door bell rang, it was Ryan, Rob's friend from Baltimore who is in town for a few days and popped by to say hi. Emilia met Ryan last Summer when he was in London with his family for over two months. I didn't know whether she would recognise him or not but she was certainly happy to hang out with a fellow Americano! 

Ryan left around 19.30 which is the time we usually put Emilia to bed. However, she was having such a good time with us that we waited for Ryan to leave before we even started cooking her dinner. So, I started cooking rice and salmon for Emilia while Rob changed her as soon as Ryan left. And guessed what happened while Rob was in the bathroom changing Emilia? We received another Facetime call!! This time from MaryJo, Rob's aunt, who wanted to see if Emilia was up for a chat with her and great grandmum Mary. Well, of course she was! In fact, she was super euphoric. She smiled, she talked, and she showed them how she can walk. It was a long day and she went to bed at 21.00, way after her bed time. But no big deal. It was a very full and nice day, with lots of chats and lots of love. We are far from most of our friends and family but we feel very loved. Thank you!

Children's Festival - Imagine

Remember a little while ago I wrote about Imagine? Imagine is a children's festival that has been hosted by the Southbank Centre and is running until next Sunday. We originally planned to go on Valentine's Day but the weather wasn't great so we postponed the visit to today. And today the weather was absolutely glorious. The Southbank Centre is not that far from us so this morning we got ourselves ready and walked along the riverside sun-kissed. The southbank area is always beautiful but when the sun is shining it is even better. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The closer we got to the Southbank Centre the bigger the amount of strollers that were bustling around. The Centre was full of kids and babies, some were dancing, others were singing, more were playing instruments, reading, colouring, playing with stamps, cardboard, time machines, and especially the girls were having their faces painted. The Southbank Centre was transformed into a magical place to welcome the little guests and the columns in the ground floor were even covered with paper so that kids could colour in and leave their mark. Four floors were open to host the festival and each floor had something different going on. Emilia was perhaps a bit too young to appreciate what was happening but she seemed to enjoy the buzz around her.

 

 

 

 

And to make the day even better, we lunched at Nandos and bought cupcakes at Borough Market. Best Sunday ever! :)

 

Pizza East

Following my previous post...if you, like me, live in London and can't really justify to spend a night in the Rough Luxe Hotel, that perhaps is just a couple of tube stops from your own flat, then here is a suggestion for something you can definitely do in London, in fact, you should do it!

I had lunch at Pizza East today and simply loved it! The atmosphere is fantastic, the industrial interiors simply amazing and the food just delicious! Go there for a Sunday brunch or lunch after a quick shopping at the nearby Spitafields Market.

Must try it soon! You' ll love it, I promise!