I’ve lived in London for long enough to know that the area around Oxford Street-Piccadilly Circus-Trafalgar Square is best avoided if you’re not a tourist. But I was wrong!

I found myself at 9am on Oxford Street on a Wednesday – and it was great! It was a cold January morning, and the crowds were nowhere to be seen: so I wandered around for a while just taking it all in.

I noticed the impressive architecture around Piccadilly Circus; took photos of the statues in Trafalgar Square; looked at the cool store fronts in Carnaby Street. Then I hopped on the tube to get to the Tate Modern just as it was opening, when art students sit on the floor with their sketchbooks.

Having my breakfast and looking at St Paul’s across the river, I felt so lucky to have had a moment of peace in this amazing city.