We sleep in late and then head over to Gails. We start the day off right with our favourite baked goods: Gabi has a cinnamon roll and I have a blueberry and custard brioche. It’s delicious. The weather is good too – at least it’s not raining. We walk to Forbidden Planet, where there are even more Funko Pop! figures on offer on the ground floor. On the way there, we discover an abandoned cinema where Secret Cinema hosts Lost Nights with cinema, dancing, concerts and performances.

On the way back, we meet Paddington: the bear is promoting his new collaboration in front of Lush and handing out samples of marmalade shower gel. What a great combination!

After a brief stop back at the hotel, we meet our friend from Taunton, who is visiting for the weekend. The three of us enjoy afternoon tea at the venerable Fortnum & Mason department store. It is simply wonderful, with three tiers of sandwiches, scones and sweets, although I order the savoury version. We spend many pleasant hours being pampered. Our waiter does a truly wonderful job.

Afterwards, we browse around the department store for a while. We enjoy the peace and quiet on the upper floors and admire the new double spiral staircase in the round light well. It has been so artfully designed that it is hard to believe it was only recently installed.

With Gabi’s favourite chocolates and souvenirs in our bags, we finally head to Piccadilly Circus. Our friend knows a great French restaurant here that we’ve never noticed before. But that’s no surprise: the ground floor only houses the entrance, which leads through a rather small café. The restaurant itself is located in the basement and is very impressive. Brasserie Zédel is over 100 years old and, with its Art Deco interior, feels like a relic from a bygone era.

Gabi and I share a French onion soup for starters, which is incredibly authentic and hearty. Then the waiter brings Gabi a minced meat patty with French Fries and me a beef bourguignon with mashed potatoes, which I really enjoy. Apart from the delicious food, however, it’s quite a contrast to lunch. The waiter is only as friendly as necessary – very French, in other words – and the large dining room is so noisy that my watch triggers a volume warning. And that’s before the live band even starts playing.

We chat for a long time in our hotel before it’s slowly time for bed.