Hi Yummies!

Writing this on a cold Sunday afternoon, the end to a hectic but lovely week. One of the highlights was definitely a delicious and creative Japanese Omakase tasting menu in Fitzrovia. I love Japanese food and it was a spectacular experience (I even enjoyed the sake, which I usually don’t). I also had another dinner at an Israeli restaurant – such a joyful cuisine (lots of bread and sharing – my type of food! I’ve wanted to go to Tel Aviv for the longest time to experience the cusine). I also (phew) managed to finally dine at Le Gavroche – a restaurant that has been on my bucket list for so many years (one of those ones you never get around to because there’s always something cooler or more interesting on the list). Anyway, I found the experience to be a bit of a let down! It’s probably one of those lessons about what happens when you leave things too long before getting round to them. So much anticipation, a girlfriend and I booked weeks in advance – only to leave wishing we’d stopped by Barrafina instead. I wonder if these restaurants will still exist in 50 years time; Le Gavroche seemed extremely tired (I love classic restaurants but this I felt was more stale than old school, and the service was very much on the “looking down on you” side). Onwards and upwards I guess – I’ll update my restaurant list soon as I’ve ticked off so many (with your help!) but have also added lots to the list. Since starting this blog I’ve also enjoyed Rules (Londons oldest restaurant, excellent for traditional British fare. Very grateful for this experience as I love this type of restaurant) and also Sketch (the 3* upstairs restaurant). Pierre Gagnaire is one of my favourite chefs and was actually cooking there and came over to say hello. In terrible, shaky French and with sweaty palms I told him how much I loved his restaurant in Paris and what an amazing chef I thought he was – I’m not sure if he understood a word I was saying but he seemed rather charmed regardless. I’ve a general rule that the best way of communicating is to open your mouth – either to smile, talk, or… 😉
The latter would have been somewhat inappropriate – albeit rather thrilling – in a fine dining restaurant, so I made do with the other two.

We are finally nearing Spring, my favourite season: the beginning of strappy sandals and outdoor dining, City breaks in the med and short summer dresses. The season of crab salads, warm evenings and optimism. In times like these optimism seems like it shouldn’t be possible, but if you know me you know despite the fact that I always always try to look to the future with optimism. I’m a firm believer of accepting the things you cannot change, but also that for the most part, things always work themselves out. Not wasting too much time stressing over other people’s decisions leaves a lot more head space for changing the things you actually have control over. I think a lot of people enjoy a feeling of control and I’d say for whatever reason I’m not one of those people. To the contrary I find more pleasure in giving up control! Its a complicated space being a woman who is outgoing(ish) but who also has submissive tendencies. Firstly, men won’t approach you because they are terrified. I think for some reason people judge (from looking) that I will be a stuck up person, or not veey frieny. Which couldn’t be further from the truth. I have a big heart and inside I’m just as uncertain as everyone else but people can’t see past appearances. How can I be intimidating? I’m 5ft 4 woman who enjoys cuddles, true crime documentaries, champagne, and shower sex (in that order!) I can’t remember where I was going with this… I suppose I was saying you can’t judge a book by its cover. The visually confident woman can also be the submissive woman (and often is!) The small effort can be appreciated greatly (and always is!) From the outside you can only see one face of somebody, or a situation, so it’s well worth diving in if you want to truly explore parts of a person, and of yourself, that you can’t see.

So anyway, here I am walking through life with my stilettos on and one eye on The News (honestly one of my favourite indulgences on holiday is simply not checking the news, which these days seems to consist entirely of telling us all that the world will be ending soon in one way or another – my money is on Putins own people getting rid of him then climate change getting rid of us all. I’m deciding not to linger for too long on either of these subjects not because I’m flippant or dont have opinions, but because this blog is a positive outlet). Yes I’ve managed to squeeze some more travels in – travel is one of my favourite passtimes. I find it hard to pick my favourite places because for one, I’ve never been to a city I don’t like and for two, I love variety and am no sooner lugging my Rimowa suitcase out of Heathrow (always over the weight limit), than I am thinking of where next I’d love to travel to. Travel is an area of life where one must be a true slut: the best way to travel is to enjoy it as often and with as much variety as you possibly can. Travel in a romantic context is an entirely different genre from all other travel. Waking up in a new city with someone you have chemistry with and really fancy, morning sex then continental breakfast, cannot be compared to travel with friends or with people who you secretly don’t like that much. It’s to easy to write: stop doing things you don’t want to do with people you don’t want to do them with, and start doing the things you want to do with people you want to do them with. And yet, many times I’ve seen people eating in silence in a restaurant, palpably miserable in each others company. Not me! Life is about enjoyment and indulgence. John Ruskin once said “Labour without joy is base” and I quite agree.

But anyway, after a week or so of floundering, I’m finally managing to get truly stuck into Les Mis, one of the most beautifully written books I’ve had the pleasure of reading. It’s one of those books which is physically imposing, but once you dive in, it’s incredibly gripping (another case of why you shouldnt judge a book by its cover – literally!). I’m about a third of the way through, and the other day I physically couldn’t put it down. I’ve not felt that way about a book in a long time. Having watched the musical I think in some ways knowing how it all ends makes the book more compelling. It’s like watching a murder mystery where you already know who did it but the true entertainment lies in how the director puts together the story. There are sections of writing that are so beautifully written that they genuinely made my heart beat faster. Writing is like music – there are only so many words in the same way there are only so many notes, and yet the gift some people have to put together words is something I’m in awe of. As a writer myself, I can’t help but feel almost jealous when reading books like this. What a talent! Difficult to carve out as much time as I’d wish to read but I’m trying to keep my brain as exercised as the rest of me!

What else is new? Here, I had actually written out a moan about how this year for the 4th year running I hadn’t managed to go skiing (by which I mean hadn’t been invited skiing). I don’t believe in “manifestation” (or maybe I do but I’m old school and I call it “hard work and discipline” 😂), but anyway so glad to just accept a ski invite for the end of the month. Trying (failing) to resist buying one of those sexy-ski-bunny one piece ski suits (I already have one but I’d like something new). Now to book a couple indoor ski lessons as the last time I went skiing you may remember I ended up having to get rescued. Traveling through France post-Brexit as an English person who’s French mostly stretches to names of foods and dirty talk is embarassing enough, I don’t need to add being a feeble skiier to the list of humiliations. It’s always exciting to travel to new places with an open mind and for me these adventures are the difference between living and dying. The mountains are of course very romantic – if you’ve never had sex on the floor next to an open fire you’re missing out (note to reader – most of my hair products read HIGHLY FLAMMABLE so don’t throw me around too much 😋😂).

Oops writing forever again – I sure you’ve got much better things to do than read my ramblings! I’m in London for the next few weeks so would be lovely to meet and/or catch up.

See you soon,

Kisses and licks!

Billie ❤xx