The wonders of Westfield

Since it opened late last year I have been desperate for a chance to have a wander round, and on Saturday I finally got lucky. I met my friend in Chiswick and we drove across to Shepherd's Bush in light traffic. I can't say the signposting was that good - but luckily she knew where she was going - and she was sat-nav free at the time.

The outside of the building isn't that impressive. It looks like it has been wrapped in uninspired birthday packaging - lots of grey boxes - maybe the architect was on sabbatical. And that logo is red but it is nasty! Anyway, we found the car park and in we drove - following the other cars as we had no idea where we were going. Maybe lilac has been proved to prevent car park rage - but it was the cleanest and most serene multi-storey car park I have ever visited. And has cute little red and green lights to show you which bays are free - nice!

Out of the car and seek - in vain - signs that tell you how to get to the shops. Follow other people who are equally lost. Finally see large expanse of glass and head off in that direction hopefully.

And this is where the wonder begins. It's like being in a rather posh hotel - large open spaces, designer curvy sofas and chairs and everything very new, new, new. Up escalators into yet more hotel foyer-like areas - past a concierge desk - and happy anticipation while feeling like you are somewhere really special.

Call it instinct, but we emerged from our escalator right outside Prada - how lucky is that! Even the security guard was cute. This was the largest collection of Prada stuff I have seen outside Milan. We looked - greedily - but we didn't buy. What self-control!

We were in the designer area which is called The Village. It has chandeliers. And Champagne bars. And large displays of orchids everywhere. Impressive. And just about every designer name you can think of - Tiffany, Gucci, Versace, Missoni, Miu Miu and a whole lot more. I didn't even notice the House of Fraser store tucked into the corner.

Having feasted our eyes we strolled along the not too busy corridor and emerged into what appeared to be an airport terminal and your more regular stores. A massive Apple store. Big screen ads. Top Shop. Marks & Spencer. Moving along a whole bunch of retailers I didn't know - Tous. Mimco. Morellato. Found a fabulous tights and sock shop. Popped in at Claire's.

Our attention was grabbed by music coming from Debenhams - they had a wedding event with proper fashion show type models. Check out that black sparkly floor!

Having feasted our eyes we looked for sustinance. We strolled out onto Southern Terrace. The green living wall is reminicent of the O2. Sadly what looks like a fabuolous huge water feature wasn't working. Food options were a bit predictable - Gourmet Burger, The Real Greek, Del Aziz (Morroccan?) - so we settled on international pizzas and mojitos at Fire and Stone.

Then we stepped out again. Time to test the technology. The touch screen keyboard wasn't quite working right but we finally typed in Habitat and it showed us not only where it was on the map but also gave us directions and a route to get there quickly. Found what we wanted in Habitat and browsed a while in The White Shop. After just over two hours we were ready to get into that West London traffic.

I used to be a BlueWater fan - but now I don't have to leave London! Happy. Happy. Happy.