Roll up roll up..

Today’s plans needed revision due to my poor attention to detail about what was open and closed on which days. The revised plan included a trek to a highly reviewed breakfast restaurant in Neil’s yard. Google maps was not playing nice so there was a fair bit of wandering around the narrow cobbled streets. Despite an unprepossessing start (the waitress told me to stand in a corner outside and wait two minutes till they were open) it was a great choice. I opted for 5 grain porridge with banana, tahini, honey, cinnamon, sesame seeds & cacao nibs. Next level. I spent the rest of the day wandering through a few different shopping locations including Bond Street, Fortnum and Mason, some gorgeous covered walkways and the cute streets in Covent Garden. 

The great disappointment of the day was Harrods. A confusing maze of brands each in their own little sections. No natural daylight, over the top decor, confusing lift and escalator locations and a general crass, overcommercialised feel. Like a casino for shopping not gambling. I had to ask directions three times to find the way out. 

The highlight today was the dinner experience. I asked the doorman (Rob) to call a cab to take me to dinner, and he instead offered the “House car”, a Rolls Royce. The driver, Victor,  was lovely and took a roundabout route to the restaurant to extend the experience. He said that he’s instructed to exclusively play classical music unless the passenger asks for something different. I asked for rap and had him giggling, but he stuck with the classical. I arrived in style at Lina Stores for a wonderful Italian dinner. It’s a very small local restaurant in Soho with excellent prices and even better food.  I walked back to the hotel via Covent garden which was feeling very festive with an event to turn on the Christmas lights.