As I waited for my friend to meet me at Waterloo station, Alfie was admired by lots of fellow travellers – and a kindly Arab gentleman shared some of his cake and took his photo. Whilst most of the coffee chains don’t allow dogs inside, I managed to get a coffee at the Caffe Nero kiosk.
It was cold but bright as we set off onto the South Bank. My friend and I browsed the stalls at the Real Food Festival while Alfie alternated between chasing the pigeons and receiving hugs from a number of passing little girls.
I wanted to take a look at what was happening in the Royal Festival Hall but alas dogs are not permitted. So special big thanks to the lovely security guard who turned a blind eye to Alfie as we collected promotional leaflets and took a sneaky look at the goods in the shop there. Outside, we looked up to peer at Le Roi des Belges (A Room for London) – the one-year-only boat shaped holiday let on the roof – how great would it be to hire that for the family? Bet they don’t allow dogs though.
Walking by the river, there were lots of construction works on the pavement which narrowed the walkway quite a bit. We stopped and watched a street entertainer juggle with fire batons. Alfie was still eyeing up the pigeons. Then we looked down at a guy making sand sculptures and Alfie switched his attention to the enormous sea gulls. Gulp.
At Garbriel’s Wharf we wondered round the shops admiring the jewellery and lovely hats. Alfie played on the wood sculptures but stayed away from the gaze of the shaped lions. We were all hungry and I remembered a while back having a lovely time at The Founders Arms pub with my friend and his lovely Staffie Buster.
Dogs are not allowed inside at The Founder Arms but there is a fabulous space outside with tables and chairs and benches with comfortable cushions. There are ample wall heaters too to keep out the chill. What’s more, they thoughtfully provide rugs to tuck in around your knees and no one seemed to mind when I wrapped Alfie in one of those rugs.
I ordered a large glass of Montepuliciano (£5.80) and placed our food order at the bar inside which was absolutely packed. My friend tucked into some warming broccoli and Stilton soup whilst I devoured a burger and fries (£11). Alfie managed to squeeze down a few morsals of the burger to help me clean my plate. How thoughtful!
The view from our seats across the river was marvellous – the Millennium Bridge, St Paul’s (whose bells were rather delightful) and the City one way and the work on the bridge the other.
Reluctantly we left our lunch spot and grabbed a coffee from Starbucks (more to warm our hands than for the caffeine content) which is just behind the pub. My friend headed off to her home in Borough and Alfie and I wandered back along the roads running parallel with the river. Yet more construction works here – it is going to look so good for the Olympics! We raced around the grass in Bernie Spain gardens and met a huge but friendly Rottweiler who was enjoying his Sunday stroll there.
Walking past the ITV studios we noticed that there was another new development – this one for the Ballet Rambert – an exciting addition to all the numerous arts venues there.
