A Bonfire of the Vanities.: LONDON

Yesterday my dad and I travelled to London to watch Liverpool (VICTORIOUSLY, I hasten to add) play Chelsea. We arrived a few hours early, yet couldn't stray far from the football ground, so we had a little look around the Fulham Road/Kings Road area. But of course, my stomach self harmed until I paid any attention, so food was priority. My dad had heard of a restaurant called Bibendum from a friend, so we pursued this recommendation after another stab of pain from my stomach.

The building was amazing. As you can see from the big MICHELIN sign (wise reader) and a stained glass Michelin Man window, this was the british headquarters for the company, commissioned in 1909. Bibendum is actually the proper name for the Michelin Man, the building being filled with pictures, stained glass windows and mosaic tiles of the character. We ate in the downstairs oyster bar, upstairs being the more formal restaurant (not that we ate oysters, I wasn't that daring). I strongly strongly strongly recommend it. The food was brilliant, but it was worth a visit if only for the building. I tried to take a picture of inside, but my dad said that "we'd look like tourists!". Which, of course, we were, as opposed to whatever illusion he was under. There were enormous cyan doors, mosaic tiles, black and white photographs covering the walls, all finished with art deco detail. There's also a café open on every day but Sunday, so we didn't see it, but if the restaurant is anything to go by it'll be a treat.

So we finished our meal, and the restaurant being a Conran restaurant (as in the Conran Shop), the restaurant lead on to a small bookshop. There were amazing original poster prints from The Thomas Crown Affair and The Godfather (albeit costing thousands!), and various art and design books, and of course cookery books. I then noticed the shop continued, and I went on to discover one of the biggest, hugest furniture shops (emporium would do it justice) I've ever seen. Every cool piece of furniture you've ever seen? They had three of them. And not only furniture, stationary, kitchen stuff, luggage, bags. It was, and I mean it, one of the best shops I've ever been too. The sheer size was astounding. We were a bit pushed for time, so couldn't enjoy it properly, but I urge you to visit it whenever you're in the city. I took a picture, but I forgot my camera so it was taken from my dad's phone, so the quality isn't great. Excuse the lamppost too.

We then had a general scan of the area before proceeding to the stadium (where we won, did I mention that?), and here are a few photos I took, again apologies for the quality.