LOVELY LEWES

On Saturday, my wonderful mum and I went to Lewes for the day. I've only ever been to Lewes twice and got no further than Bill's both times. Don't get me wrong, there are worse things than going to Lewes and only going to Bill's, but it has so much more to offer that I just had no idea about. My mum has raved about Lewes for years and I should have trusted her, she does have impeccable taste. 

As you'll know if you've been reading here lately, I've been feeling a little blue of late, so mum suggested we have a day out, just her and I, and it was just what I needed. 

One of the first things I saw was this sign, and it sums up the vibe of Lewes pretty well. Quirky, outspoken, artisanal...it made me and mum chuckle

Go Matt!

Now, I've already mentioned Bill's, and obviously no trip to Lewes is complete without a little visit, so we stopped in for brunch and for the second time, I had their  a m a z i n g  eggs royale. It's poached eggs on sourdough toast, with smoked salmon, hollondaise sauce and they sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top. It is hands down, my favourite brunch, ever. The first time I had it was when Beau was really young, maybe 5 months old or something, and I was still breast feeding. Here's the thing about going to a popular cafe for brunch while you're breastfeeding: you're going to have to breastfeed at the table and people will stare. Not that I would have really considered it anyway, but the toilets in Bill's aren't as nice as they could be (well they weren't at the time at least, maybe they've improved) so there was absolutely no way I was going to give my son his lunch in there. I was a semi pro at it by that point and more than capable of feeding him without anyone having to catch a glimpse of my nips, but people still stared in shock/disgust/awe. It's hard to tell which. But anyway, back to mine & mum's day in Lewes...

How sweet is my mum? She is the most colour coordinated person on earth, and she had this gorgeous orange straw basket with her to match her tunic, and you should have seen how flattered she was when two separate people asked her where she had got it from. Turns out she bought it a few years ago from a garden show...and now it's the height of fashion. Always two steps ahead of the game is that Rozbot (her name is Roz, we added the bot). 

Anyway, after brunch we had a slow wander up the hill and saw at least half a dozen other places we wanted to eat in, so it has been decided we need to go back again soon to try them all out :o) This place is high on the list, the food looked to die for

As well as nice little eateries, Lewes is packed to the rafters with unique little boutiques. Some super pricey, some super reasonable. We made the mistake of going into one of the more pricey ones called The Laurels, where mum fell in love with this beautiful Marimekko dress but it was almost £200 so she had to walk away. The photo at the top of the page is taken in one of my favourite shops we stumbled upon, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was called. How useless am I??

Gorgeous old houses, a castle, quaint little side streets...Lewes has it all

Mum was so excited when we found these finger puppets in a little shop in The Needlemakers. She looks after Beau and Ivy for a day and a half each week and thought these would be great for making up little stories with them. Secretly I think she's a lot more into them than the babies will be at this stage, but she's so sweet, I just let her go with it :o)

The Needlemakers is this little old building with a nice cafe and a few little shops in it. If you're in Lewes, you must visit. The antique/junk shop at the bottom is the best I've ever been in. It is such a mess of stuff but the man who owns it obviously knows exactly what he has in there and where it all is. He had a couple of 1950's issues of Good Home magazine which mum and I were so tempted to buy. If you're looking for an old edition of a popular book, go and check out his shop. It won't disappoint.

Just look at all his stuff he has for sale! It was an Aladdin's cave and we could have spent all day in there, thumbing through all the gems. 

Mary's sweet shop is also in The Needlemakers and is the coolest sweet shop I've ever been in. Mum and I came away with a score of some pineapple cubes, some lemon bon bons and a bar of peanut butter chocolate. Winner.

Mum also bought be a bar of chai tea chocolate from another little boutique which I can't remember the name of, and it is quite possibly the nicest chocolate I've ever had. I love me some chai tea anyway, but put it in chocolate and you just can't go wrong. 

We finished our day back in Bill's for afternoon tea, which was pleasant enough but we should have tried out one of the other cafes. Bill's is opening up a branch in Tunbridge Wells next week and you can't imagine my excitement...eggs royale dates on the regular I think.

Until next time...

xo