Brasserie Blanc

So, for our anniversary lunch last Sunday we had a lovely meal out at Brasserie Blanc in Jericho. It is part of Raymond Blanc's chain of restaurants which can be found all over the country. This one, in Oxford, is his 'local'. He was there having his lunch, but we didn't talk to him. Shame - he probably would have enjoyed a conversation in his native language!

Obviously eating at Brasserie Blanc isn't in quite the same league as Raymond's other Oxfordshire offering, Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, but it was still really good. There was the option of a Sunday roast for £13.80, plus an additional £2.45 for a starter or dessert. We saw some good-sized portions coming out of the kitchen. One to put on our 'to eat' list. This time, we both ordered from the main menu: steak for Nick, rack of lamb for me. Mine came with a side of lovely smooth puy lentils with smoked bacon. We were both happy with our choices. Nick declared himself stuffed afterwards, a rare occurrence. It didn't stop him from having a triple-chocolate sundae-type thing for dessert though (I had a cherry almond tart).

Sophie was a little star throughout, which may be partially explained by her love of people-watching (it was really busy, lots of people to observe), and partially by the friendly and welcoming staff. They offer carrot puree for babies, but since we declined that, they brought some cucumber sticks instead. Sophie was delighted. She also tried some of my lamb and some of the lovely fresh bread. And some of the paper tablecloth.

The baby-change facilities were really good, as was the highchair (unlike some restaurants, where it takes two Oxford-educated brains to work out which way up the baby should go).

This little family out-and-about in Oxford highly recommends Brasserie Blanc!

Baby destination inspiration

It's Tuesday, it's half term, and it's wet. Urgh. In half term, almost all baby and toddler activities are cancelled. So this morning (after getting Sophie weighed - she is now a hefty 8.4kg or 18lb 8oz!) I met with some other mummies and babies at the Central Library. The babies had a great time exploring all the books and generally creating havoc, but it was lacking something for the mummies - something hot, energising, and decadent... coffee! One of the other mummies commented that it's a shame there aren't many baby-friendly places to go in the city centre. Sure, there are plenty of cafes, but hardly any of them have enough room for a herd of giant prams and the associated rabble of noisy, crawling, teething babies. Funnily enough, at the clinic this morning the Children's Centre manager and I were talking about the exact same problem, and I joked that I should set up a children's cafe in the city. Maybe not such a funny idea? Mummies could come with their babies and toddlers to a safe place with toys, good changing facilities, baby-friendly food, and lots of coffee (and cake, of course!). Food for thought for me, as I prepare for life as a stay-at-home-mum. (Which, by the way, I'm really excited about - though I haven't yet told my employer and that will be a difficult conversation!)

Just imagine a whole cafe filled with faces like this one:

We'd need a lot of baby wipes!

In other news...

In other news...

We went to watch 'The Merchant of Venice' at the Said Business School's rooftop amphitheatre yesterday evening. It was a real treat. The production was very good, had some very funny and some very poignant moments, and we enjoyed a hot chocolate and a brownie in the interval. Plus, the company (my lovely husband) was superb.

I've also been enjoying watching 'The Great British Bake Off' on iPlayer. It's inspired me to want to do some baking, having not really done any since becoming pregnant. Since the coming Bank Holiday weekend is set to be rainy, and since I don't really have the energy for more active pursuits, I hope to do some cake-making very soon!

Walk in the park

Here are some pictures I took on a lunch time walk in the Oxford University Parks today.

The cricket pavilion under blue skies. It was a bit breezy though, and not that warm.

These daffodils were in full bloom...

but these ones haven't woken up yet!