Italian and French theme night

Last night I met Dave and Luke in London for some food and a film. We met Luke at Bond Street and went to a little Italian in Mayfair (I can't remember the name - it was in a courtyard of small shops and restaurants opposite a tiny sushi place and just down from an interesting looking chocolate shop). The food was good and the service friendly, and after a very good tiramisu we had to dash off to the Curzon Mayfair to see a French film called The Beat That My Heart Skipped on the cinema's cosy Screen 2. It was an excellent film and I'd thoroughly recommend it (as I would the Curzon, probably my favourite London cinema).

After the film we took a stroll back to the tube past the American Embassy. I haven't walked past that since the whole terrorism panic took off so it was the first time I'd see the blocked roads, barriers, guns and whatnot. While it's not a very nice building anyway all of the barriers don't exactly make it look nicer. I don't really think that barricading themselves away like that makes a very good impression anyway - I also disapprove of all of the concrete and security around the Houses of Parliament. Of course it wouldn't be necessary if we didn't go and start pointless and nasty wars everywhere anyway. It makes it all worse somehow. Anyway, the Christmas lights on Oxford Street are very pretty this year so that cancelled-out the grimness of the embassy!