You know you're in a big city when...

I read today that London has a bookshop that specialises in cookbooks. It's aptly named Books for Cooks and can be found in Notting Hill. The store even has a small cafe out back that offers a set lunch every day comprising recipes from books in stock. You know you're in a big city when a bookstore can make a living focused on such a niche.

This isn't the only specialist book store in London. There are stores that specialise in socialist books for the city's left-wing residents, stores for maps, atlases and travel guides, architecture and even the occult. I'm sure Sydney had several bookstores with similar specialities although I can only recall a store in Hunter Street selling maps and travel guides.

The number of speciality stores in London is fascinating. The city has a store dedicated to just about any quirk that takes your fancy. I've blogged before about SANZA, the store selling food and memorabila from the Antipodes. However, I've also seen shops that focus on items for left-handed people, Elvis Presley memorabilia (it's next door to the shop selling Beatles memorabilia) and kites. There's even a store dedicated to Tintin, the famous Belgian cartoon character.