I love Turkey Day...

Christmas Eve morning (not that I knew that of course), I was woken by the sound of howling wind and rain lashing at the window. I would have liked to have spent the day in bed but then I noticed the suitcase.  This big bag, on the floor of the study, had been gradually filling up over the last few days. 

Now it was zipped up and looked like it could burst at the seams. This could only mean one thing, it was finally holiday time.  Now that is worth getting out of bed for. 

Stage one of journey: Black Cab. Very exciting. I had a good look out of the windows, watching the streets of London whizz by.

Stage two of journey: The Train. I do like the gentle rocking motion of a train, it sends me to sleep quite quickly. 

Arrival in Yorkshire. Hurray! Back to the beautiful countryside and Christmas with my owner's parents. Time with my 'grand parents' is always good news for me. It means lots of playing and lots of treats. 

This specific holiday I hear was called Christmas Holiday. I soon learned that actually meant Turkey Holiday (yum) and Presents Holiday (fab).  

Opening presents on Christmas morning 

Just opened a new toy 

The present opening was pretty tiring 

Watching Kings College Choir on Christmas Eve. Very interesting but I couldn't spot any dogs. 

Time to snuggle in bed

Another present 

Turkey / Present Day is tiring 

Rock chick of the restaurant world....

Time for a weekend brunch in Holland Park. Holland Park is one of the most exclusive residential neighbourhoods in London. So, as one stylish pooch, I fit right in. 

We travelled by the (smelly) underground. Not a very stylish way to travel but the quickest way. Getting onto the Central (red) line and heading west 11 stops until we reached Holland Park. Quite a trek, but I didn't mind as it gave me c30mins to snooze in my bag. The gentle rocking of the tube carriage does send me to sleep.... (I just have to try not to sniff)

Once at Holland Park, we had a stroll through some nice streets. Lots of the houses were decorated for Halloween. I think lots of Americans live in this area - they're a lot more into Halloween than the Brits. 

We arrived at our destination; Julie's. An effortlessly stylish neighbourhood restaurant. Here I am, eager to get inside. 

A peek out into the little square from the entrance of Julie's. 

Described by the owners as "a magnet for over 40yrs from the hippie generation and now to the ultra-cool London set [i.e. me]. Julie's has been referred to as the rock chick of the restaurant world"

The restaurant was pretty cool and the food smelt totally yummy. How could my owners resist feeding me their scrambled egg? They know how much I love it. 

After a while I gave up trying to get some egg and decided to look around instead/snooze. 

Julie's is pretty cool. It oozes atmosphere and the waiter was soooo friendly and stroked my head a few times. He didn't bring me any scrambled egg though, despite me giving him the puppy dog look. Boo. I got a bowl of water instead. I took a few sips to be polite.

Me spying. 

The restaurant is made up of lots of different rooms, each with its own distinct style. Here's a few photos to give you an idea. 

 Ground floor. French cafe chic. 

This bit reminded me of a church... 

Cosy little dining area. 

Lounge/bar area on lower level/cellar. 

Light and airy. Conservatory feel. 

Outdoor terrace. Bit rainy and chilly to be outside today. 

By the time we got back home, I was totally exhausted and got tucked up in my big comfy bed. I was soon dreaming of eating scrambled eggs.  Zzzzzzzz

Julie's Restaurant & Champagne Bar

135 Portland Road

London

W11 4LW

www.juliesrestaurant.com 

Date of visit: Saturday, 26th October 2013.

Finding an Ibizan hippy vibe in Morocco...

My owners recently went on holiday without me. They went to Marrakech, Morocco.  It happens sometimes.  I don't really mind if I'm honest, as I go & stay at my grandparents house & they spoil me rotten. 

Yesterday I saw some photos of one of the hotels my owners stayed; Hotel by Beldi.  As the hotel is dog friendly & looked so lovely I just had to share the photos on my blog. 

The hotel, which is fairly new, has been built within the beautiful huge gardens of the renowned Beldi Country Club.  The Country Club is frequented by a very stylish French elite crowd & is owned by a French family.

The hotel itself has been designed in the style of a small traditional Moroccan village, apparently called 'douar'. 

It has small narrow winding streets which lead to the rooms & traditional materials have been used in its construction.

The beautiful huge grounds with olive groves, rose gardens, herb gardens & wild flowers look stunning.  I would just love to potter around, sniffing the flowers & laying in the sunshine for a snooze.

Beldi even has its own little Souk! You can shop for pottery, antiques, carpets & rugs....

Two of the three restaurants have large dog friendly terraces & the food looked so good that the eating options at Beldi deserves its own blog post...

The public areas all looked stunning to me too, especially the traditional Moroccan tea-house... 

The rooms seem quite 'shabby chic' (I sound quite a design connoisseur!)  So, basically the rooms are chic (with their own private roof terraces or little patios), but not luxurious for those who like the finer touches in life.

There was also a spa, which my owners didn't use apparently as they were too focused on soaking up the Moroccan winter sun . I don't blame them given the dire London weather this year.



Oh & to top it off, Beldi has a resident pooch called Bis, so you've got a little furry friend to play with too!

Beldi Country Club

Km6, Route de Barrage,

 Cherifia

 Marrakech

            http://www.beldicountryclub.com/en/

Date of stay: mid-March, 2013

Sheltering in the Village...

Yet another rainy day in London. Yucky. When is winter going to end? I really hate the rain and the cold. Luckily we were not outside too much today.  We hopped into the car & drove to Bermondsey Street.  This cool little street has transformed over the last few years, yet it still seems untouched by tourists, despite being close to Tower Bridge & London Bridge. 

This must be THE most doggie friendly street in all of London. So many cafe's, restaurants & nice little shops, including the collar couture shop - Holly & Lil (where I got my sparkly green collar).  I will be writing a lot about this street in my blog.  

Today we went to Village East.  We've been here a number of times & I do rather like it. 

It was already quite busy when we arrived (c11am), so we took a seat at the bar.  A great spot as I could watch the doorway & look at everyone coming in. It also meant a lot of people came over to pet me. I saw a pug come in too, but he didn't see me & he went into the back part of the restaurant with his owners.

The waiters were really friendly here & bought me a nice bowl of water without my owners needing to ask for one.  

My owners ate brunch. They said the scrambled eggs & eggs Benedict were the nicest eggs they've had in a long long time. The coffee must have been good too as they had a few cappuccino's & flat whites. Sitting at the bar & watching cocktails being mixed, they got tempted into drinking a couple of Bloody Mary's too.

My owners like the industrial &  "New York restaurant feel" to Village East. I've never been to America, so I don't really know what they mean, but this place feels pretty cool to me. 

Village East
171-173 Bermondsey Street
London
SE1 3UW


http://www.villageeast.co.uk/



Date of visit: Sunday 17th March, 2013.