The last few weeks have been quite eventful and exciting with London calling (as the Clash put it).  There has been a trip to see Ghost, meal at Gilgamesh and stay at The Grosvenor Hotel – hence the title of this blog being 3G (as in 3 places beginning with ‘G’) with a play on words with the phone technology.  I, my Mum, cousin and Aunt went to see Ghost the musical at The Piccadilly theatre.  After the greatly acclaimed 1990 film starring the late Patrick Swayze, could the musical compare I asked myself.  Well the answer was a very loud yes.  This is an outstanding show and if you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it; it’s probably the only musical in which I have seen people in the audience crying.  The special effects were out of this world.  In a film you take them for granted but on a stage where they can’t cut and paste bits together, they really were something else.  Afterwards I hailed a taxi – I was not walking in my high heels, and we went to Brown’s for a meal which as always never disappoints and I’m not just talking about the food and magnificent cocktails – our waiter was a lovely piece of eye candy! 

Last weekend my other half and I spent a night in London at the Grosvenor Hotel to celebrate 3 years together.  The hotel opened in 1862 and has recently been refurbished, maintaining many original Victorian features and was a great choice for me given my fascination with the Victorian era.  The hotel was a very luxurious 4*.  We went for a meal at Gilgamesh in Camden, which I chose after it appeared on Masterchef.  The restaurant is named after the Epic of Gilgamesh which is believed to be one of the earliest surviving works of literature dating from around 18^th century BC.  Gilgamesh was King of Uruk and was part human, part God.  He suppressed his people so they asked for the Gods help.  The Gods sent Enkidu who was part man and part animal to distract Gilgamesh.  They fight but then become friends and then seek to gain recognition by killing a demi God.  The pair also kill the bull of heaven.  As punishment the Gods decide that one of the pair must die and it ends up being Enkidu because Gilgamesh is part God.  Gilgamesh then seeks Urshanabi who has been granted immortality to try and find out the secret of eternal life.  The walls of the restaurant depict this story.  Head Chef Ian Pengelley creates dishes inspired by South East Asia, China and Japan.  The duck spring rolls were to die for (I abstained from my no red meat rule for these).  I also had a stunning Thai green curry which was a little hot for me but I want my palette to become accustomed to more spicy food.  All of this was washed down with a Cosmopolitan and a bottle of rose Prosecco which my other half and I toasted our anniversary over.  What really excites you about this restaurant however is the wonderful, lavish decoration that strikes you as soon as you get to the top of the escalator that leads you into this eastern inspired haven.  Attention has been paid to every detail, with the intricate carvings of the chairs, not to mention the bar and the soft mood lighting. 

 

 

The service is fantastic with your glass constantly being topped up.  We then went into the Babylon bar (part of Gilgamesh) which was equally as beautifully decorated and then were directed to the so called club.  This is where the special feeling of occasion left us as we were sharply reminded of our class.  Every table was reserved and apparently to reserve a table you had to have a minimum spend of £500.  Very elitist I felt and rather put a dampener on the evening.  On looking on their website after though I see that this may have simply have been the VIP bar and there may have been a studio club above the restaurant.  We left after this however, with my feet aching in new heels (the price I pay for gorgeous shoes) and found ourselves in a much less extravagant Camden bar, drinking Sol beers and listening to music from films.  We then made our way back to the hotel where we ended up in the Reunion bar drinking wine and then purchased a white Prosecco to take up to the room.  That final bottle was a mistake though and we hardly touched it before both dropping off to sleep.  We both certainly knew our extravagance in the morning when we woke with thumping headaches!  It was enjoyable but for the money it cost, I think we would have been better off going abroad as we have done the last two years.  When I compare Buddakan in New York where we went last year, with Gilgamesh, Buddakan wins for me, despite some of the excellent features of Gilgamesh.  Buddakan serves modern Asian cuisine with a distinctly Chinese feel whereas Gilgamesh encompasses much more of Asia’s speciality foods.  Buddakan felt welcoming from the start with the dim lighting and the wonderful painting behind the bar where Carrie had her last single girl kiss in the first Sex and the City movie.  There are beautiful chandeliers, offering a regal palace feel to the place.  Buddakan felt more exclusive than Gilgamesh as we were not so crammed in and it was quieter, rather than everyone shouting over each other, not to mention the woman with the hyena laugh we had to put up with whilst we ate at Gilgamesh.  The bar also had plenty of unreserved seating.  We were allowed to spend as much time as we wanted at the table rather than at Gilgamesh where we were reminded of a 2 hour limit.

Now while I am on the subject of Sex and the City, I am so excited to hear about the filming of the new Sex and the City Prequel, based on Candace Bushnell’s books ‘The Carrie Diaries.’  These books follow Carrie in her teenage years.  AnnaSophia Robb has been cast as Carrie – you may remember her as Violet Beauregarde in the version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which had Johnny Depp cast as a somewhat scary Mr Wonka.  Some people think the Sex and the City brand has had its day, however as a die hard fan I can’t wait for this series and sincerely hope that the rumours of a third Sex and the City film soon become a reality.

 

In true Carrie style, let’s now turn to fashion.  I couldn’t resist these David and Goliath pyjamas.

 

David and Goliath was founded in 2000 by Todd Goldman whose doodles have now made their way onto T-shirts, Pyjamas, key rings etc.  His aim is to make us laugh.  I already own a pair of their pyjamas with the slogan ‘Happiness is Expensive.’  Now I love my pyjamas and happily stay in them all day if I am not going out.  They are so comfortable and this company makes you look stylish too.   Why not give an edge to your pyjamas when lounging round the house and sling on a pair of pearls, like Carrie in the Sex and the City movie or style up a cute nightshirt with knee high white socks with a cute little bow on the side (I bought these last season and can’t wait to wear with my Daisy Duck nightie when the weather is warmer).

 

The word Pyjamas comes from a Persian word meaning leg garment.  It originally referred to loose trousers tied around the waist.  During the British Raj, this word was introduced to the English language.  In India, pyjamas were worn as lounge wear by the rich who didn’t need to work.  Now despite being a fan of pyjamas, I’m unsure on the latest trend of pyjama style outerwear shown on the spring catwalks by Stella McCartney to name one designer. 

 

Admittedly I enjoy the comfort of wearing out my harem pants, palazzo pants and may even consider these geisha pants from Fashion Union but is a matching pyjama style suit a step too far?

 

Now whilst we are on controversial trends – are dungarees a do or a don’t?  It takes me back to my floral dungaree shorts that I loved as a 9 year old.   Jean-Paul Gaultier has a dungaree dress in his new collection as seen below.

 

 Alexia Chung has been spotted wearing them in a New York club.

 

I have decided to embrace the trend for this item of clothing, which was originally created as a protective form of clothing for workers; with women first wearing them in factories during the First World War and an item that has had brief revivals in the fashion trends in 60s, 70s and more recently 2010.  I have purchased this dungaree dress from River Island and intend to wear it with floaty blouses and perhaps as an easy item to put on over my bikini on holiday.

 

Now I will leave you with an amusing story that a lady at work told me.  She was with a girl whose shoe fell onto the track at an underground station.  This girl hopped up steps to find a member of staff in order to get them to rescue her very expensive shoe and in doing so had a train held outside the station.  Numerous commuters were giving her death stares for causing a delay for the sake of a shoe but my heart goes out to this woman.  Any self respecting shoe lover including myself would have done the same!  Am I addicted to shoes?  Probably, my boyfriend was certainly nodding his head in amusement at a girl addicted to shoes who was featured on ‘My Strange Obsession last week’ and giving me a knowing look.  Perhaps I better still keep a few pairs at my parent’s house try and resist anymore purchases for a while!  Who am I kidding; I already have my eye on numerous pairs!