somewhere yonder

Michelin star dining with a baby - Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, London

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Last Sunday I celebrated my first Mothers Day as a Mum! It was a surreal feeling being on 'the other side of the fence' so to speak and I wanted to mark the occasion by pushing the boat out and doing something with our family that normally I might be a bit nervous about with a small baby.

So when a friend who also has a baby suggested catching up over lunch at Ametsa with Arzak Instruction (just round the corner from Mayfair and Knightsbridge) I said yes. It was the perfect way to celebrate Mothers Day weekend - taking little LJ to her first Michelin Star restaurant!!

Baby LJ at her first Michelin Star restaurant - Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, London

How to: Michelin star dining with a baby...

Choose your Michelin Star restaurant carefully. Think accessible for a buggy, not too loud and visually stimulating for the little one. Ametsa with Arzak Instruction is a lovely light restaurant, with lots of mirrors and a very cool ceiling. It ticked all the boxes.
Go for lunch, not dinner. Generally people are a little more relaxed at lunch time. If your bubba does have an unfortunate meltdown most diners will hopefully laugh it off and not give you a hard time.
Get your timing right. Baby LJ and I have a pretty good routine going these days, which includes feeds at 11am and 3pm. Our reservation was for 1:30pm, which gave me enough time to give her a nice long feed before leaving the house and just over an hour when we first arrived of peace while she napped between feeds.
Bring toys. Even when baby LJ woke up we had a good time as I had packed a few goodies in my bag to keep her entertained and she just loved sitting on my lap and gazing around the restaurant.
Have an escape route planned. If it all goes horribly wrong have your plan B ready. In the lobby just outside Ametsa with Arzak Instruction there was a small, quiet area with couches. This is where I planned to go if LJ needed some feeding and settling away from the hustle and bustle.
Enjoy, eat and be merry. You just survived a very sophisticated outing with a small child! Big pat on the back.

The fish course - Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, London

We went for the £52 lunch tasting menu that comprised of seven delicious courses, my favourites being Lubina con… Apio? (Sea Bass with Celery Illusion) and Canicas de Chocolate y Fruta (Chocolate and Fruit Marbles).

It's been a while since I've had the chance to go out and taste truly good food and the tasting menu was excellent value with a range of courses that complemented each other well. We left, bellies full and everyone very happy.

Dessert - Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, London

Even baby LJ left the restaurant feeling satisfied... Big big thanks to Ametsa with Arzak Instruction for making us feel so welcome.

Michelin star dining with a baby - Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, London

And here is the Mothers Day card I got from baby LJ. Lots of warm fuzzies going round in our family at the moment.

How did you spend Mothers Day weekend?

Australia

life is one big adventure

Saturday, March 05, 2016

Life if you want it to be is one big adventure.

Up until recently I've always counted my big adventures as the big momentous travel moments in my life...

1. The USA - and my first big solo trip trip abroad when I was just out of University. Five months on my own, scraping together whatever money I could earn along the way - San Francisco, New Orleans, LA, Vegas, Texas, New York, Washington, Florida... I learnt a lot about myself, as well as how to navigate a foreign country with no one close by to lean on.

2. Melbourne, Australia. I actually only spent a weekend here, but it was on my second date with my now hubby when we randomly decided to fly to Australia together on a whim. Over ten years later I'm pretty sure that was a great decision!

3. Japan - the country that had a big part in shaping who I am today. In 2006 I took a leap of faith and moved to this wondrous county where I couldn't speak a word of the language and with no idea what I was in for.

4. India - the country and travel that has challenged me the most so far. If you haven't been there go. You will emerge humbled, inspired and thankful.

5. Central America. Six months backpacking with only a start and end point (Mexico to Peru) with the love of my life. We climbed aboard chicken buses, learned to surf, climbed mountains, hiked canyons, studied Spanish, drunk Cuba Libres till the early hours of the morning, slept in hammocks and got very used to cold showers along the way.

Until finally...

6. We arrived in London seven years ago. In the last seven years I've had career highs and lows, travelled through most corners of Europe, got engaged, got married (swoon!), bought a house and just three months ago had a baby.

What's next? Doing it all again, this time with my daughter in tow.

Many thanks to Emma, Jessi, Angie and Andrea for getting me out of the baby fog and inspiring this blog post. If you'd like to share you greatest adventure link up with them too. You have until Monday.