After the trip, the shopping!

It’s a grey cloudy day today and quite chilly (14°C) compared with the heat of the last few weeks. I am trying not to grumble about it m, though, as I remember how I longed for cooler weather only a few days ago.

Jusaka

We started with a visit to Jusaka and a cup of coffee to give us courage.

We took a 38 bus to St Giles’s Church and from there walked through to Tottenham Court Road. On the way, we passed by this famous – or notorious – tall building.

Centre Point

It has had quite a chequered career so far (see its history here) and I don’t know quite what is happening to it now. Some would like to see it torn down but I think that very unlikely. In its defence, I would say it’s not as unsightly as some of the other modern buildings in the area.

Neon artwork

Inside, we could see what looked look a neon explosion. It is presumably an artwork but more than that I cannot say. The photo doesn’t do it justice because of the reflections on the windows and because these are too narrow to allow a view of the whole thing.

Tottenham Court Road

When we reached Tottenham Court Road itself, we found that there were people about but not as many as we would have expected pre-Covid-19, especially on a Saturday. From a selfish point of view, this was all to the good as it made movement easier and more pleasant. (Did I mention that I hate crowds?)

Crêpes, Coffee & Chai

Our first stop was at this eatery where we paused for an early lunch. They offer crêpes, omelettes and something called “galettes”. To the French, who invented it, after all, a galette can any one of various things, both sweet and savoury. So what were these “galettes”? We ordered a “Veggie Galette” each to see what it was.

Interior

It turned out to be mushrooms and other vegetables in melted Emmenthal cheese, wrapped in a lacey wrapper, rather like a thin, crispy crêpe.

Veggie Galette

If the food was delicious, eating it was rather a trial because the supplied knife and fork were made of wood and cutting with the knife was next to impossible. If I come here again, I’ll bring my own utensils.

Inside Lidl

We then walked almost the whole length of Tottenham Court Road to reach the Lidl supermarket. We usually shop nearer home at Sainsbury’s but Tigger likes to visit Lidl from time to time. It has a reputation for cheapness but as I haven’t compared prices I can’t comment on that.

The bus for home

Having totted up our bill at a self-service till (which was very easy to use) we were free to drag our shopping trolley home. I was quite glad when the number 73 hove in sight to carry us back to the Angel.

I rather think that that’s the sum of our activity today and that we shall spend the rest of it relaxing at home.