Not buying things in London - Lunch at the Savoy Grill and three free things to do in London

Even before I started my year of not buying 'things' I had already started asking for experiences rather than having more things for my birthday. So earlier this year when my birthday came my husband promised me a day out to do something special. It sometimes takes us a while to get round to organising things, but seven months later we finally headed up to London for lunch at the Savoy Grill. 

Expensive! I hear you cry - well, yes it is, but not as expensive as you might think - set lunch of two courses is normally around £28 per head although at this time of year the set menu is three courses for £35. A quick look at the menu of Pizza Express round the corner shows that 3 courses could easily come to £25 or more. 

So what did we get for the extra? 

Lunch in a beautiful Art Deco room. The amber tortoiseshell walls almost appear to glow they are so highly polished, there are beautiful Art Deco style chandeliers and wall lights and mirrored surfaces reflecting the light. The service was exemplary, the food delicious, and for a couple of hours, we were following in the footsteps of some of the hotel's famous guests, Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe to name just a couple. A friend of mine went a couple of years ago to the Savoy Grill for lunch for her birthday and sat next to Robert Redford and his entourage as he was in London promoting his latest film. No celebrities appeared beside us, but a lovely lunch nevertheless.

The rest of the Savoy Hotel is also refurbished in a beautiful Art Deco style, so even if you haven't the time or money for lunch, come into the black and white marble foyer and venture down to the little shop in the centre of the hotel to admire the beautiful handmade chocolates and just take in the atmosphere.

So what else did we do in London that didn't involve spending money on 'things', or indeed spending money at all?

View of Tower Bridge from the Sky Garden

Firstly, we visited the Sky Garden on top of the 'walkie talkie' building or 20 Fenchurch Street as it is properly known. This amazing public space sits under a huge glass dome rising three stories from the 35th floor, and has an indoor garden and the most amazing 360° views of London. It was a grey day when we were there, but we could still see the Olympic park to the east, and Wembley stadium in the West. There is also a snack bar selling drinks and refreshments and plenty of seating, so you can sit and relax once you've taken in the view.

Entrance to the Sky Garden is free, but there are limited places and you have to reserve your ticket beforehand, so see the Sky Garden's website for more details.

Liberty's Christmas Window

Secondly, we went to Oxford Street to look at the lights and Christmas windows. Liberty and Selfridges are famous for their Christmas windows, so we went to check them out. 

I wasn't sure about Liberty's Windows. Richly decorated and alive with pattern, it was definitely a case of more is more! It rather reminded me of an upmarket version of how Charity shop windows used to look ... but worth a look anyway.

Scorpio - Selfridges' Christmas Window

 

My favourites were Selfridges' windows. Based on a zodiac theme of reaching for the stars, they were definitely out of this world.

Thirdly and lastly, to enjoy London at it's best, we did what I always love to do in London. Ditch the tube and get out and walk. Some of the best finds are down tiny side streets, and the more you walk, the more you see. A couple of years ago whilst walking from the British Museum towards Oxford street I came across one such gem. A tiny artist's shop called L.Cornelissen and Son reminded me of the description of Olivander's wand shop  in Harry Potter. A narrow creaking shop full of all types of artists materials crammed into wooden shelves and drawers, the shop was established in 1855 and obviously hasn't been changed since. The very friendly and helpful staff stand behind a lovely old fashioned wooden counter in front wooden numbered drawers topped with glass jars full of rainbow pigments. The next time I was passing, I took my daughter in to show her the shop. The shopkeeper came over and asked if we were looking for anything in particular. 

'No', I replied, 'I just wanted to show my daughter your beautiful shop.'

The shopkeeper lit up with a huge smile. There are some lovely warm and friendly people in London, you just have to know where to look.