Sometimes, I connect elements to recreate favourite memories.

Soho. Saturday Morning. Before the chaos. There is something so relaxing about walking alone in an empty area which is usually very busy. It feels great, empowering.
I noticed a stone relief of a sailboat. For us, that is Liguria, looking out the window on a sunny day on the weekend and seeing the sailboats out.
Nostalgia, Italian fever. I am in the middle of Soho and if I fancy that Ligurian feeling I have my secret ways:

An urban garden, hidden between Tottenham Court Road, Covent Garden and Soho, transports me to an imaginary Italian garden. Phoenix Garden, a real London gem: 21 Stacey St, London WC2H 8DG. The majority of the plants are actually Mediterranean. Without going into the real global warming issue, it feels special.

Somehow the city noises disappear and I AM SURROUNDED BY PEACE.

Nearby I can see Central St Giles by Renzo Piano, the most famous Ligurian architect. I like these buildings. The bright colours remind me of the facades of our typical seafront houses.

To feel I AM IN ITALY I need to see some art. This sculpture by Gilbert Bayes for what was the Saville Theatre shows a procession of the history of Theatre. Odeon Cinema 135 Shaftesbury Ave.

It includes Bacchanalia, Roman Gladiators and Commedia dell’Arte through to musical revues of the 20th century. Have a look at the detail. The little puppet near the barker with the big drum. You forget it is made of stone

The next Italian vibe is at Foyles Bookshop, 107 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DT. On the 1st floor you’ll find a great selection of Italian books. That area even smells like an Italian bookstore! I wonder if they use a special ink to achieve that smell of paper and oil paint.

For a snack get to the 5th floor: a buzzy cake store with a spacious area for reading, working, meeting or just people watching (which is actually my favourite).

Back in Soho I spotted an Italian record in a window: “Tra Scienza e Fantascienza, Piero Umiliani”.

Umiliani was a composer who wrote film-scores throughout the 1960s and 70s. He was ahead of his time in building completely new sounds. In the late Seventies. “Tra Scienza E Fantascienza” finds his alter ego Moggi experimenting with futuristic soundscapes.

SOHO LARIA