Another visit to jolly ol’ London is never a bad idea. Here are a few more prime spots:

• Cherry Court Hotel: a budget hotel with a great location close to Buckingham palace and public transport. A single room will run you 65 pounds, including ensuite bathroom, shower, WiFi and a fruit/biscuit basket in the morning. The rooms are positively miniscule and the WiFi connection was a little intermittent, but overall I was happy with the hotel.
• Sign of the Times: a consignment shop on Elystan street known for its high end used designer goods at great prices.
• A stroll along the river

RESTAURANTS

• Jamie’s Italian: a chain started up by Jamie Oliver. While I steer clear of chains as a rule, I adore Jamie Oliver. The menu offered higher-end options at decent prices, and it’s heads and shoulders above most of the awful Italian chains I can think of.
• The Botanist (Sloane Square) for breakfast: Perfect Eggs Florentine and a good strong Americano.
• Borough market: It’s a mob scene, with clueless tourists and boisterous Saturday shoppers elbowing their way through the hoards of people to the various stalls. It’s essentially a HUGE farmers market, with the typical veggie, fruit, meat, and fish purveyors and then an endless assortment of other things – I nudged past bakers with cookies the size of my head and mouthwatering cheesecakes, Turkish kebabs, steaming cauldrons of Paella, red-faced butchers behind smoking grills handing out sandwiches, ice cream stands, oyster stalls, Indonesian Coconut pancakes . . . you name it, they got it.

Lemonade at Borough Market

• Pix Pinxtos: a tapas bar – where a variety of little bites are laid out on the bar for the taking. Long toothpicks will set you back 2.95, and short 1.95. I will concede it’s definitely pricey to eat this way – 2.95 per item adds up quickly (especially if you convert from British pounds to your own currency)! But it’s delish – marinated artichoke, manchego, and spicy tomato jam on crusty bread, Chorizo and manchego skewers, and four cheese fritters to name a few.