Mummy Diaries | Mummy & Alfie day in London

Saturday 6 April 2019

A few weeks ago now, Alfie and I had a day in London and as my brother was free, we met up with him too! He lives and works in London and we decided to meet at Victoria. I love days in the city and always have – there’s so much to do and see, so many wonderful restaurants, bars and hotels to frequent and it’s surprisingly easy with a toddler-in-tow! As Alfie gets bigger and can do more things, I know we will visit more.

We met just after midday and went straight for lunch (I hadn’t had breakfast and Alfie was getting hungry). We settled on Wagamama as it’s quick, reasonably priced and child-friendly. Had I been on my own, we would have certainly gone to Timmy Green. It was Alfie’s first time at Waga’s and they actually have a really good children’s menu, although we had to ask for it. He loves curry, so I ordered the mini chicken katsu with curry sauce. He loved the panko-coated chicken and dipped the pieces in the katsu sauce; while I tried mixing it with the rice and spoon-feeding him. Unsurprisingly, the sweetcorn and carrot/cucumber noodles were left untouched. The portion was definitely too big for a 19-month-old, but there wasn’t actually that much left!

I always order something different when I go to Wagamama and for once, I really struggled to make a decision. I eventually settled on the chicken & prawn pad thai. It was okay, but I’ve had better. I was also hoping to have my favourite, the chilli squid (I always order that or the bang bang cauliflower as a side) but they didn’t have any. Instead, Robert and I shared a portion of the crispy chicken steamed buns. They were so light and fluffy, but packed full of flavour – the sriracha mayo is to die for! I’ve now tried all of the steamed buns and the crispy chicken is by far, my favourite.

After eating, we took the tube to South Kensington, to visit the Science Museum. I’d not been since I was a teenager, but it wasn’t really how I remembered it and while we didn’t see enough, I was still a bit disappointed. Entry to the museum is free, although donations are suggested. There are, however, entrance fees for some of the exhibits, but we didn’t visit any of those – and truth be told, I think we spent most of the time waiting for the lift, which was so slow and always busy.

We began on the first floor, where we looked at the Challenge of Materials exhibit, which was so interesting. We saw items of clothing and footwear made from all kinds of materials, including a dress made from carbonated drinks cans and shoes made from Astroturf. But the main focal point was the incredible art installation: Materials House, which combined over 200 materials in a sculpture weighing over seven tonnes. It was so fascinating. Along the far side of the room, there were a selection of labelled materials, which could be touched – and these ranged from acrylic to synthetic carpet and from treated wood to marble. It was such a sensory experience and would have been perfect for Alfie, had he not been asleep in the pushchair.

We then went to the ground floor and the Exploring Space gallery, which of course, was all about space. Alfie was still asleep by this point, so missed all of the planets and colours and the super-cool full-sized replica of Eagle. In the Making the Modern World gallery, we only really stopped to look at the old-fashioned transport, but there was so much else we missed. I particularly loved the planes hanging from the ceiling, which reminded me of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford (somewhere else to take Alfie when he’s bigger).

Alfie woke up in time to go to the basement floor and The Garden: an interactive area aimed at children 3-6 years old. We left the pushchair and let him roam around. Alfie was totally in his element – loving the lights, sounds, materials and things to play with. Unfortunately, he wanted to play with the water table but refused to put a waterproof jacket on and cue tantrum! Thankfully it didn’t last and he went back to playing with the springs, before finding a den full of stuffed toys. We could have easily spent longer in this area, but it was quite busy and a lot of the children were unsupervised.

We ended our day with a trip to Rob’s house, which is a 10-minute walk from Stockwell. We met his housemates Liv and Hannah, as well as Goose the pug. Alfie absolutely loved him, and constantly chased him around the downstairs. It was the first time we’d gone to Rob’s house, so we had a tour – and it looked even lovelier than the photos he showed us before he moved. I was even able to relax with a coffee, with so many hands (and paws) on hand to look after Alfie!

After getting the tube back to Euston and the train to MK, we returned home at 7:30pm, but it was a really nice day – and something we will have to do more.

Love, Lucy xx

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