Party party

Last time we’d walked though this corner of the city we stopped and enjoyed a drink at the bar here at Aquavit, thinking that next time we’d stay and have dinner too. So that’s what we did. Still stretching out my birthday celebrations, it was the perfect reason to enjoy a Scandi dinner a deux.

Saturday morning, perched on stools in the window of the Pret near our hotel, we admired the building opposite. We’d had breakfast over there at Villandry before, but now it’s all closed up and a new Chinese restaurant is under construction over the road. Such is the ever-changing scene. It was only as I came to edit my photo that I spotted the carriage there in the picture!

We were on our way to the next party, enjoying a brisk walk through St James and admiring the angels in Jermyn Street which will soon be lit for Christmas.

Perhaps I ought to have saved this picture for a post starting “I went swimming this morning…”?

Instead I’ll continue to admire the street scene along Regent Street and admit that yes, now my birthday is over, Christmas is on the radar. Still some way to go in my mindset, but I’ll allow a bit of it to sneak in here and there.

We were heading for the next party, another fifteen minutes or so walk from here, but with plenty of time to spare I couldn’t resist a quick look in Anthropologie.

Whilst my Hero took my shopping back to the hotel to save carrying it all day (!) I enjoyed a quick mooch in Liberty and did a bit of people watching on the street corner.

I’d already leaned on that lamppost and been surprised as it wobbled (looking closely at the base, you can see it’s just a loose cover at the bottom…not that I noticed that when I leaned…) But next came these two Liberty staff who simply lifted two of those bollards out of the ground and placed them in the roadway. If I hadn’t seen them move the things, I’d have felt sure my mind was playing tricks on me.

The angels are up there in Regent Street as well, ready for the big switch on of the lights, which must surely be soon? We had a party to go to though!

Meeting old friends in a room overlooking the BBC was a grand way to begin.

Edward and Amy were there too, so we had fun on this crystal clear morning, picking out landmarks and looking for their apartment building which always seemed to be just around the corner. We were awaiting the arrival of a rather special vehicle to take us on a Magical Mystery Tour, finishing at our lunch venue but sadly, in spite of the number of public transport professionals in the room, a broken down Routemaster bus was not going to make it. Alternative plans were made then, ranging from hailing a taxi, arranging an Uber, catching the #23 to good old Shanks Pony and half an hour later, we were all comfortably settled.

The Savoy is a relatively recent discovery for us and the experience is always elegant and refined. In our little private eyrie overlooking the courtyard, we could see all the comings and goings, though I was pleased I hadn’t spotted the bullet stuck in the window where someone had taken a pot shot!

Good food, excellent company and a couple of surprises later, the party drew to a close. It was late afternoon by then; thankfully just time for us to walk back to the hotel and put our feet up for half an hour before another night out..

Edward and Amy were joining us for dinner.

Keep up at the back, won’t you!