a 3 starred day with my 5 starred mum (& HRH)

alarm set for a Sunday. Off to Bray today, for lunch and an overnight stay at Alain Roux 3-starred Michelin restaurant, The Waterside Inn. was my Christmas pres for mum, combined with mine, Li and D's 70th birthday pres to see the Diamond Jubilee Pageant, at Windsor Castle, in the presence of HRH!

good drive down to Bray, in glorious sunshine. got there for noon, and the village of Bray was very quaint and picturesque. parked up at the Waterside, and the guy outside parked my car (never had that done before!). we checked in, rather nervously to be honest, think the immediate attention and total focus on service was a bit intimidating initially! (but we got used to it!). The Waterside sits on the Thames, and we sipped drinks in the sun watching the wealthy manoeuvre thier boats to avoid the slipstream.

quite exquisite food and service combined must make this the best place to eat in the UK. It's held it's 3 stars for 25 years, and as we sat outside in the sun after our meal, one of the worlds leading chefs Alain Roux stood in front of us, with his young son Paul. i have to say, the meal and the whole experience at the Waterside was spectacular, and mum loved every mouthful and every minute of it (even the birthday serenade and subesequent glass of champers....)

off to Windsor Castle then (taxi was taking us to the Windsor Castle Inn in Maidenhead, until we put him right!). saw the Queen and the DoE, and you'll see my pic is blurry. was difficult to capture from where we were, but wanted to include this as my blip (last time i was this close to HRH was July 1977, when i handed her a gift as she visited Mansfield).

an awesome event celebrating 60 years of her travels worldwide. as the sun dropped, so did the temperature, and at midnight we were back at our posh room with a double whisky, and divine pillows to sink into......