We had a lovely day in South Kensington today.  I suspected, correctly, that lunch would be late so we had a substantial breakfast to keep us going.  I stir fried some onion, yellow pepper, mushrooms and spinach in coconut oil.

Tipped in 4 eggs (to serve 2 people) and cooked it through. I like my eggs and veggies with Cholula, a hot pepper sauce.  Harvey used to like his with ketchup but since we no longer have ketchup in the house, he just eats it as it is. We went to the Science Museum with James’ sister Anne and her family and booked to see the special exhibition about the Hadron Collider.  I will put my hand up at this point and state I am not very knowledgeable about science.  I happily gave up science after O’-Levels.  However, I know the Higgs boson is a big deal, I don’t really understand it and was keen to discover more.

I am reluctant to be negative in case it put someone off visiting who would get a lot from it but to be honest, I was very disappointed by this exhibition.  Myself and my children, who went in there with very little or no knowledge of the Hadron Collider and the Higgs boson, came out with only a little bit more.  James who is ‘sciencey’ didn’t come away knowing much more either.  So that was a shame. However, the Science Museum is great and we enjoyed pottering around it and I loved being in this incredible building.  It has been too long since I visited a London museum and I will go back soon.  Our museums are fantastic places.  They are free if you can’t afford to pay but they recommend a £5 donation which is excellent value for money.  The next one on my list is the Natural History museum for the Wildlife photographer of the year exhibition. Lunch time 🙂

We went to a fantastic Tapas restaurant near the museums – Casa Brindisa.  I have visited the Borough Market restaurant owned by the same company previously and this was on a par with that one.

I am not a sherry drinker.  I associate it with my beloved Nana and traditional trifles.  I would never choose it as an aperitif.  But, my sister-in-law chose one so I did too.  I really enjoyed it and it seemed appropriate since we were in a Spanish restaurant.
If you have not been before, tapas is very sociable.  The portions tend to be small but they are quite rich and are made to be picked at, passed around and shared which is a very sociable and friendly way of eating.  While we read the menu we nibbled olives, almonds and some delicious chicken liver pate. I did pass on the octopus leg! The cheeseboard was good.  The thin slices of sharp apple and sweet quince jelly with Manchego were delicious. Potato tortilla. Chicken breast stuffed with goats cheese. My favourite was the lightly warmed spinach with pine nuts and sultanas eaten with ….. this spectacular goats cheese with honey and beetroot crisps.  I have eaten this before and it is amazing.  The combination of salty chalky goats cheese, crisp beetroot and the earthiness of the spinach make a fabulous mouthful.  It was so good we ordered it twice. We all enjoyed the food and the fun way of sharing so many little dishes.  We had others too but I did not photograph it all.

Cute cousins. More cute cousins. Siblings. Thank you Casa Brindisa, that was great fun. We strolled around South Ken’ as we were looking for somewhere to go for a dessert and a coffee.  We stuck to savouries at the Tapas restaurant. This is such a beautiful part of London. We eventually found a space at Le Pain Quotidien which I am a fan of.  We sat at their large “Sharing Table” which is perfect for groups.  The younger members of our party had hot chocolate which is presented with the hot milk in a bowl and the chocolate served separately in a little jug. 4 thumbs up to this beverage. There was a lot to catch up on. The largest cookie the little fella has ever had. This delicious fruit crumble may have been mine but I may not want to confess that!

So an interesting and fab foodie day out with the family.  Lovely.