Just the 2 of Us...

On Saturday, Dee arranged for MeiLing and Andy to babysit Danielle for a coupla hours while he brought me out for a night about town. T'was part 2 of his anniversary surprise... :)

It was my 1st time in 4 months out alone with Dee. That is, without Danielle in tow. But I have to say, it felt kinda weird... and almost wrong?!!

The ever-accommodating Lanes came over at about 2pm and whisked Danielle off to the Battersea Park Children's Zoo (fabulous idea on Andy's part!). I was completely floored, if not a little bruised, when Danielle simply waved goodbye to me and bounded into their car. Talk about cutting loose! So quickly!!???

Hmph! *rolley eyes*

Dee's initial idea was to bring me for a musical but I baulked at the prices and declared myself 'unhappy to go' if he was going to spend that kind of money! So we opted for a nice, quiet dinner somewhere.

We ended up at Leicester Square, in case I changed my mind and if we could grab cheap tickets at the box-office stands. But I didn't.

At first, we thought of revisting the National Gallery to catch up on the paintings we'd missed the last time. In the end, we decided to go in search of Cafe Vergnano, an Italian coffee joint reputed for serving the best espresso in London. Not that we've turned into coffee connoisseurs since coming here, but we figured if 4 people we know have given it '5 out of 5 star' reviews, we might as well check it out since we were round the corner.

Despite Reuben's directions, we still managed to get lost! After traversing between Charing Cross and Leicester Sq, we located it, took a quick peak and some snapshots, then decided to come back after dinner.









Since I was given the mind-boggling task of deciding what to eat for dinner, I opted for Italian. Then choosing the restuarant came down to 2 impt criteria - menu without cut-throat prices, and availability of Insalata Caprese - my all-time favourite italian salad! Delizioso!

We decided to try Ristorante Lulivo. Unfortunately, the food wasn't great, but I still enjoyed my caprese. I reckon it's hard to go wrong with bufala mozarella, sliced tomatoes and basil, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, no?

Dessert was ice-cream @Baskin Robbins. This was certainly a walk down memory lane for us. During our uni days in Australia, we loved to pop into the Baskin Robbins outlet(now closed) on Queen's St Mall to get a sugar-fix of Jamoca Almond Choc. Although the outlet didn't end up having our all-time fav, we settled for Butter Pecan and some custardy-flavoured ice-cream with a forgettable name. Cheers!

Next, Cafe Vergnano. Felt the cafe could do with a bit more 'warmth'? Think it's coz the decor was a bit too pristine for my liking. Nevertheless, was impressed by the skills of the coffee baristas, who obviously took pride in their craft. But then again, I guess anyone would take pride in their job when using the 'mother' of all espresso machines - the Elektra Belle Epoque Q1-C (see left). It's truly an impressive looking machine! I liked the way the espresso did a slow drizzle down the filter into those cute espresso cups. Drats, should've caught in on camera! We both ordered espressos - one with hazelnut syrup, the other with amaretto. JH would've enjoyed it, I think. :)

I certainly enjoyed sharing 'cafe intimacy' with Dee. Chatting over coffee, catching up with our lives. You know, we NEVER do this in Singapore! So I'm glad we can do it here, at least once. I recommend this to all couples. Take time to catch up with each other over coffee or a meal. Never for a moment think you know your partner through and through. I think you'd be pleasantly surprised...

Our last stops before heading home were a 'Murders and Mysteries' bookshop along Charing Cross, followed by a walk through the rather dodgy SOHO. The latter locale is the infamous gay strip of London and although we deliberately looked out for gay pubs to peer into; instead, we found ourselves faced with shop after shop of 'Bargain Books' - a lame front for adult publications, sex toys and porn flicks offered downstairs. Don't get me wrong, they did sell 'normal' books on the ground level, but the basement revealed items that would make Pamela Anderson look like a prissy schoolgirl! V distasteful indeed! After meandering through SOHO for about an hour or so, we finally headed back at 7ish.

Thankfully, Danielle had been on her best behaviour the whole day. Phew! Andy and Meiling said they enjoyed babysitting her. Both Dee and I are so glad she's comfortable with the Lanes. Missed my little one so smothered her with kisses when I saw her, all nice-smelling & squeaky clean from her bath. Meiling is so adept with kids, she should have her own soon! Eh, Meiling? Heehee! :)