A day in the city with the boys

Last week the boys and I caught the train into the city to do what my mum and I did a few weeks ago on another day out with the girls.  We went to visit Gabby in the bookshop on George st, she was very busy but we managed to spend a long time choosing some books.  My idea for the day was for the boys to choose a book each and then they would have something to occupy those spare moments in the day with.

They each spent ages choosing a book.  The only way I could decide which book they wanted was by observing them and seeing which book they sat on the floor with the longest.  By the time we left the book shop I think Sam and Ethan had already read through half of their chosen books.

We managed to dash across the road from Dymocks into Morris and Sons wool shop, the boys were happy to sit down and read while I soaked in the atmosphere of woolliness.  I didn't buy anything again as they were out of the wool that I had been coveting and their supply truck was arriving with some the next day so I ended up ordering it through their website.  Our tummies started rumbling so we off we went to Le Pain Quotidien for some Belgian hot chocolates.

I love to be able to see the city yet not hear the traffic and noise while relaxing with a hot chocolate.  They also have a large communal table in the middle of the cafe if you feel like sharing your day with everyone else.  I still preferred the window seats.

The boys mixed their own hot chocolates from a jug of warm ganache and a jug of hot frothed milk into a bowl, they were soooo delicious.

 

I like being able to share some of the lovely things in life with my boys and they love experiencing it too.  They just seemed very settled and happy for the day, I think partly knowing they had a book to look forward to at the end of the day and knowing that it was quite a treat filled day.

We even tried recreating our own ganache hot chocolates later in the week.  Equal parts dark chocolate and cream melted together.  Then add to hot milk, frothed if possible.  I sometimes use the slender blender to froth up the milk as we don't have a milk frother.  It's a bit more work than your average hot chocolate, but so worth it for the decadence.