Today we drive into the city centre to go shopping. We really enjoy the route into London. We see the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf, the Shard and the Walkie Talkie building, drive past Tower Bridge and the Tower of London and then along the Thames, with a beautiful view of the London Eye. We then go around the Admiral Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square and there we are.

We park behind the National Gallery, two streets south of Leicester Square. First we have a look around the Japan Centre and take lunch from here, which we eat at a table outside. Gabi loves their chicken katsu curry and I choose a nice sushi box.

Our strength regained, we head into the Lego flagship store. They have set up a small space area on the first floor. One of 15 Lego Space Bricks is also on display here! They are the result of a collaboration between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Lego Group to answer the question: Can a dwelling or infrastructure be built on the Moon from bricks created on site using a 3D printer with raw materials from the Moon? Dust from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite, whose composition is closest to that of moon rock, was used for this purpose. These are now on display at selected locations around the world.

Now we head towards Covent Garden. Gabi’s shopping list includes two Diptique perfumes that she wants to buy. And buys. Then we go to the market building to see the clouds that are currently hanging there as an installation. They’re really cute. I immediately get ideas for my Lego room.

Because we are so close, we pop into the Seven Dials Market and treat ourselves to two wheelcakes. The soft pastry cylinder is filled with a delicious filling – vanilla and chocolate pudding for me and vanilla and biscoff pudding for Gabi.

From here, we visit Forbidden Planet and are delighted with the larger selection of film and TV merchandise. Even if they have next to nothing from Back to the Future at the moment.

We return to the hotel in the evening. We drive almost the same route, and enjoy it again. The contrast in the buildings we pass could not be greater. We see modern tower blocks, grand old buildings, very simple and functional shops and restaurants next door to each other, and many new construction projects near the hotel.

We both agree on our plans for dinner: it should be Mexican food from Wahaca. We choose five nice dishes that are perfect for sharing. Pork and beef tacos, a deep-fried dough roll with a sweet potato filling, incredibly delicious marinated cauliflower and baked nacho chips. Wow, it really shouldn’t have been any bite more than that. Now we need a few hours until we have space for the Cinnabon again.