Today London was at its best. It was a clear crisp day, the sun lending a golden halo to all the people and buildings it touched. It was the perfect day for my best friend to visit me.
We met at Tottenham Court Road just before lunch and started looking for a restaurant. For those of you who are not familiar with London, Tottenham Court Road sits just at the end of Oxford Street with Soho to its side. We meandered through Soho Square where a small statue of Charles II sits, and down Greek Street, taking a left until we reached Covent Garden. We saw a few places on the way but none jumped out at us.
Eventually we ended up in a pub just by Covent Garden. The interior was nice and the wine good but I must say the food was terrible. If only I could remeber the pub's name! It was the Marquess of something. Either way, I would not recommend it.
Not allowing the food to spoil our mood, we wove away through Covent Garden, looking in a few shops along the way. The square was relatively quiet although the usual street performers acted to an audience largely made of school boys.
We continued to Trafalgar Square and accross and up to Picadilly Circus. Finally, we reached Fortnum & Mason. I don't know if you have ever been in there but I could easily spend a whole day.
We began by browsing the tea & coffee, swanning between the strong 'Breakfast Blend' and the pleasant loose leaf tea. We admired biscuits, sighed at the jam and definitely avoided Christmas chocolate reindeer left overs! Downstairs we spied the Champagne and upstairs gazed in envy and awe at the beautifully painted tea pots and elegant china.
Upstairs we also found 'The Parlour'. We made a bee line for the window-seat with a view over Picadilly as the sun was just starting to set. Soon, the waitress came over with a menu. The speciality was ice cream and I promptly ordered two scoops: ginger & honey and straberries & shortbread on a cone. My friend ordered hers in a bowl and we both ordered coffee.
Of course, we were not having coffee and ice cream in any ordinary establishment. As if to prove this point, three rectangular silver trays appeared and were placed in front of us. A tea spoon sat neatly on one. Next, the coffee arrived richly steaming in two blue cups with saucers. These were each placed on a tray each. The tea spoon seemed a little lonely, especially as we had our own spoons with the coffee. The finale, of course, was the ice cream. My friend's arrived in a huge glass goblet. Placed next to me was a silver holder with two holes in. In each hole stood a separate cone, each topped with one of my chosen flavours. "I've got TWO ice creams!" I squealed to my friend. "Yes," she agreed, " It looks like a challenge to me!" (Take a look at the photo to the right which shows three ice cream cones. I had two but in the same fashion!) Never have I been so glad to have eaten so little lunch.
We finished our trip with a walk up Oxford Circus to the bus stop. My friend had to get back home and the evening was upon us. For once, it arrived on time and we parted. I was sad to see her go but it was such a perfect day and one I am sure we will repeat soon.
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