I *love* London :-)

Having a friend over to come and visit is always a treat (especially when it's a dear friend like MW), 'cause it makes me feel like a tourist in my own city, and I rediscover how much I love London. I spent the last few days chatting and catching up, drinking copious amounts of tea, walking through London, visiting Westminster Abbey (see left, it's my own photo), taking pictures (both of us are avid photographers) and doing lots and lots of shopping. We had a blast, and it felt like I was on a mini-holiday too, like my friend.

Here's a list of our favourite shopping places:

* Borough Market. Add a few cute guys, some nice books and this is my idea of heaven. The food stalls sell the most amazing things here, it's a foodie's heaven. We bought cookies at Konditor and Cook, tasted so many wonderful cheeses, olive oils, almonds, chocolate that my taste buds are still jumping up and down for joy and lunched on German Bratwurst with Curry Gewurz Ketchup (if you've never had it, you're missing a great culinary experience). If you love food, this is a definite must and I can highly recommend it;

* Muji, a Japanese chain of stores selling everything from stationary, bags, clothes to cooking utensils, all in minimalist design (branches on Oxford Street, Long Acre (in Covent Garden) and Tottenham Court Road) and I just want to buy it all. The coolest buy are fold up cardboard speakers for your MP3 player;

* Fortnum and Mason. If you're serious about your groceries (especially tea, coffee and chocolates), this is a great place to shop. It's quaint, quintessentially English, an institution in London and another foodie must;

* Bureau, on Great Newport Street in Covent Garden. This is a stationary store extraordinaire and I could spend hours in this place. Great place to get notebooks, pens, diaries, greeting cards. I saw something called PaperPC there, a digital pen combined with digital paper... it looked fab and I would've bought it then and there (my big dream is having a tablet Mac) if I'd had the money.

For all of you that like taking Cosmo-style quizzes, this might be interesting (and no, I didn't rig the result, I actually do belong in London!):

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique woman like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?