London Adventures continued....

The other day one of my friends asked me whether I would prefer to live in London or in Sydney. Easy question. But for a moment I was stumped. You see I have really enjoyed going up to London at every opportunity over these past few weeks. I have managed to meet up with quite a few friends and see some wonderful sites. In the end, I decided that the beaches of Sydney made it my winner ahead of London, but I can certainly see the appeal of London.

The Globe Theatre, London

In London there are fantastic art galleries with free exhibitions, such as the V & A, the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Tate and Tate Modern. There is the incredible Globe Theatre on Southbank - which I visited last week but unfortunately did not go inside.Then there is amazing shopping all over London, as well as this fabulous old-world culture to London; for example on Jermyn Street or on Pall Mall where the shops date back hundreds of years and the service is impeccable. London also offers wonderful markets and vintage shops near Spittlefields and Brick Lane, as well as Portobello Markets and Covent Garden. London is full of activities. So much room for activities.

When I went to London on Saturday I met up with my cousins and we went for brunch near Green Park. We had delicious poached eggs and mushrooms and great coffee - it was fuel for our shopping adventures which were to follow. After breaky we then headed along to South Audley Street to look at the Purdey Shop - we saw shot guns that were £100,000 or more. Incredible. Coming from a family with great interest in shooting, this was a very necessary stop on our shopping tour. Next we went to Selfridges where there is literally a 'Shoe Hall'. It is full of the most fantastic shoes - Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Chanel and a great british brand I like called Kurt Geiger. I was very controlled and managed to purchase not one thing throughout. I'm at the stage where anything I do purchase becomes an extra thing to stuff into my suitcase, or means I will have to leave another thing behind, so I try not to buy anything if I don't absolutely need it.

Liberty's of London

After Selfridges we went to Liberty's, which is a department store in the Tudor style - it was very pretty and quaint and a great experience to see inside it. We also walked by Carnaby Street and that area was really cool - people are dressed as you would see in the magazines, and their hair is outrageous. Another coffee shop stop, where my male cousin insisted on smoking a pretty fantastic cuban cigar before we headed off to Gap and Zara to find appropriate clothing for our dinner appointment. And I found a shirt from Thomas Pink. It wasn't supposed to happen, but when you find a nice shirt and it is reduced that much, you can't really resist.

Above I mentioned the old-world culture of London and the club where we were going for drinks did not permit any demin, nor casual clothing. Consequently we had to make sure we were appropriately dressed by buying what we could on the High Street to save us having to go home. At the club, men are expected to wear a jacket, long-sleeved shirt and a tie. Women cannot wear jeans. No mobile phones are permitted inside and there is a ladies washroom very separate to the men's area, as women were not always allowed in this gentlemen's club. The club of which I speak is called the Oxford and Cambridge Social Club. It is very difficult to get membership to this club; just because you have matriculated from either Oxford or Cambridge, does not mean you automatically qualify. Fortunately my cousin's boyfriend was a member and so we enjoyed the amazing privelege of champagne at one of the most exclusive clubs in London.

The decor was beautiful. The ceilings were high and had gold guilding, the walls were decorated with beautiful wallpaper and leather chairs and tables were set out so as to make use of the 10,000 book library. There were card tables, bridge tables and chess boards too. Neatly ordered piles of the latest magazines were available for perusal and a bell stood in the corner of the room, should you require assistance or a champagne top-up. A terrace was upstairs though because of the rain we were unable to use it. A dining room was also available to guests and my cousins had dinner there. Unfortunately living outside of London I had to make a move for home and therefore couldn't stay for dinner. Given the kinds of interesting people that are members of the club, I would loved to have stayed and to have met more people - I have no doubt they would have been very interesting to talk to. As a member of this club you are able to arrange accommodation and any time, 24 hours a day, you can make use of the club's facilities. I wish we had this kind of thing in Sydney. I particularly liked seeing the writing desks in one area of the club, with real old-fashioned ink wells and quills, and Oxford or Cambridge stationery - depending on which university you had attended.

The street I used to live on

It was a really lovely day in London and I only hope that at some point I have the opportunity to live in London, albeit for 12 months, just to really experience what it is like truly being a Londoner. I was born in London and, during a recent visit, I walked by my old house in Wandsworth Common. Considering I was only one or two years old when I lived at my home, I honestly didn't remember it, but it was nice to come back to somewhere I had lived and to better understand my roots.