delicacies and delights of London: part 1

i've just come back from a weekend in London with my mum, visiting my gorgeous cousin Millie, and her new husband Nick. i took a good number of snaps to share with you all... there's so many this'll be a two-part post (the second will have the photos of our delicious lunch at Vantra - a vegan and raw restaurant! sneak preview on my facebook page)

 ♥ we went on the train up to London (pre-booked via megatrain to save a few pennies), and we were blessed with gorgeous views of the lovely English countryside, along with many scenes covered in floods of course.

♥ i packed us a little lunch, leftover red lentil and sweet potato stew, topped with a little salad and some feta. my mum was very appreciative. and i was very appreciative of the delicious Honeybuns brownie she has brought with her to share!

♥ we met at Waterloo, and it was so exciting to see her! we had the afternoon to walk a bit round London and have a natter in a coffee house somewhere. firstly though we stopped by the Real Food Festival, sampling delicious falafel, coq au vin and beautiful breads - definitely recommended for any foodie, and perfect for lunch (we'll go there for falafel next time for sure!)

♥ we stopped by Le Pain Quotidien (the one by the South Bank Centre) - it serves chia and coconut milk pudding, quinoa scones, along with it's sugary French pastries and amazing hot chocolates :)

then we strolled along the Thames and took in the scenery...

♥ we went to  Borough Market, as my mum had never been before, and strolled around the different stalls. we bought a naughty German cake filled with custard, marvelled at the mountains of colourful tomatoes on offer and tasted a little bit of each stand.

♥ we stopped by a little German deli near to Neals Yard Dairy and Monmouth coffee, serving fresh pretzels, and all took our first ever bite of proper pretzel - deliciously salty!

♥ we ended the day back at my cousin's beautiful flat, only 20 mins on the train from the centre of London, and she made us a delicious sweet potato, chorizo and egg salad. yummy!

so that's part 1! looking forward to sharing my Vantra Vitao experience with you in part 2...

currently watching: Kevin McCloud's Man Made Home on 4OD - i wish i had my own little house in the woods, makes me think of the girl who married a bear (gorgeous blog, well worth a read!)