'Cause you were there for me, too

I love relaxing to an episode of Friends after a long day, reclining on the sofa and letting the characters put a smile on my face. Perhaps it's because to some extent, we all know a Rachel or a Ross, have met a Chandler or two, gone to school with a Phoebe, or are good friends with a Monica or a Joey. I know I find myself chuckling at the situations they get themselves into simply because they remind me so much of the crazy things we've gotten ourselves into.

Central Perk
67 Broadwick Street

While it's not really a real eatery, I just had to write about the fictional coffee shop that became such an icon. When Central Perk opened for two weeks in London to celebrate the series' 15th anniversary, we decided that we had to pay it a visit. Of course, we had to pick the absolute last day to do so, when the queue was so long that it had to be separated into three sections. There was a sort of childish excitement in the air despite the queue and the miserable weather.

This was one coffee shop in which no one was actually interested in the coffee. In fact, the free coffee was a bit of a bonus, a doorgift to enjoy while you snap your photos and reminisce about your favourite scenes.

The coffee shop looked very much like the one our favourite friends frequented, with the addition of television screens playing episodes of the series and a display of props used on the set.

Who doesn't love a good parody?

The coveted Geller cup

Phoebe's masterpiece

It's pretty amazing how everything still seems so fresh and everyone so excited despite Friends having ended its run 5 years ago. I suppose quite like real friends, it's never going to go out of fashion.