Day One. We arrived at 8pm on a Saturday. The London airport was possibly the dirtiest airport I have ever seen, picked up our luggage and hailed a black cab (I just love those cabbies, they ride like your very own personal bomb shelter ) to the Four Seasons London near Hyde Park. Checking in was a breeze, we spoke with concierge about securing a table at Nobu (part of the Metropolitan Hotel), which we happened to spy as we drove in from the airport as our next door neighbor. It was 10:15 and they had a 10:45 cancellation, which gave us just enough time to take in our beautiful suite overlooking Hyde Park, shower and head out.

Paparazzi were lined up outside, it was ‘hot’ inside crawling with British model-types, but no celeb sightings to report. We ate an amazing Nobu dinner, nothing new on the menu…just thick smoke, cramped tables and that lovely British accent. Our waitress mentioned a couple spots that were open late and we headed next door to Windows at Hilton on Park Lane. I was a skeptic as I don’t usually hang out at American chain hotels or bars, but she promised it was worth it. As it turns out, the Hyatt is 28 floors, the highest hotel built in all of London (The Queen does not want anyone peering into her Queendom) It was suppose to be taller, but she nixed those plans and thus 28 floors was the limit. The smoke-filled room was a swanky scene with blues and jazz sounds, candlelit tables, 70’s decor and the most beautiful view of Hyde Park.

Day Two. Woke up just in time for Lunch at Maze, a Gordon Ramsey institution. We chose the four course tasting menu with a wine pairing and loved every minute of it. The sommelier was incredibly knowledgeable and took us on a beautiful journey through each course. We started with a chilled roasted pepper and tomato Soup topped with Cornish crab followed by a delightful Anjou pigeon carpaccio with cured foie gras, the main entree was a fabulous roast sirloin of beef with Yorkshire pudding horseradish pomme puree and red wine and finally a tiramisu with coffee granite and chocolate croquant. The staff was completely on point and now I see why Gordon is the way he is on his reality TV show.

After lunch we decided to walk it off with a little power shopping on the lively Oxford Street. We headed back to Hyde Park and caught the last double decker bus of the day to take in the sights, since our 48 hours was almost up. London is a very spread out city and if you do want see everything I certainly recommend the tour. We got off the bus a little early at Knightsbridge and walked along the beautiful streets filled with classy brownstone buildings. To finish our evening we stopped off at The Berkeley hotel for a specialty cocktail and delightful tapas in the very chic Blue Bar.

Day Three. A morning jog through Hyde Park was refreshing before packing and heading to the airport for Paris. We had a lovely time, however we won’t miss the pound one bit.

THE BLACK BOOK

Stay: Four Season Hotel (Traditional Elegance) Park Lane +44.20.7493.1895
Eat: Nobu 19 Old Park Lane +44.207.447.4747
Maze 10-13 Grosvenor Square +44.020.7107.0000

Nightlife: Funky Buddha (Hip & Happening) 15 Berkeley Street Mayfair +44.0207.495.2596