There’s a certain type of person – the alumni of British public schools, mainly – to whom London just happens. The same way A-levels, and university just happen. In fact, for the world’s most exciting and cosmopolitan city, the story of how so many of its most upwardly mobile natives arrived can sound surprisingly dull: A-levels, university, London. It seems, when a native Londoner travels along this well trodden path, very little time is spent looking around - either at alternative routes or just at the luck and the privileges that line the way (perhaps they are just too busy re-living Freshers' week, week in, week out for the ninth year running).

Of course we can’t, and shouldn’t, all leap from our beds every day to go about the daily grind of living wide-eyed at the staggering, centuries’-long achievement that went into the creation of London. To do so would be to be carted off to become a gameshow host. But I feel we could all give thanks a bit more, and just look up from time to time and take it in. Not just because it is magnificent, but because the magnificence is the point of being here; why else would we suffer the weather, the Circle Line, the pigeons?

And to embrace a tourist attraction rather than just bemoan the crowds it pulls, and instead see it with the fresh and appreciative eyes that the aforementioned crowd do, is to experience a far sunnier side of city life. So, this week, I spent a day in Trafalgar Square. I watched children clamber over the lions, families mesmerised by the street performers, and the Olympic timer count down. The scene was far from the drudgery we get accustomed to.

I didn’t go on my own, of course. BB is abroad and so I took a persistent out-of-towner. After strolling though the square, he and I took a little corner table at Vista, the refurbished rooftop bar at the Trafalgar Hotel that has a vibe similar to what one finds in the Med but with views as breathtaking as any in London. He was agog at the majesty of it all, and I will admit, in my softened state, I felt the allure of his wonder.

And there’s something fun, too, about dazzling a bumpkin. We become so sophisticated, perhaps, here in the metropolis, we forget not everyone has Champagne cocktails at lunchtime. My companion came over all wide-eyed and incredulous as I ordered ours – a Garden’s Pleasure and a Venus (£16 each) – and two plates of skewers (chicken and beef), and some fresh, plump scallops that were tantalizingly and deliciously wrapped in salty pancetta. Luckily, Bumpkin was too distracted to notice I ate the last one.

“You can see where the bombs must have dropped from up here,” I said over the top of the tunes that atmospherically pulsated from the speakers. He moved close to rest his cheek against mine to see exactly where I was pointing. As his skin (which was so soft it felt pre-pubescent, unlike BB’s manly stubble) touched mine, my momentarily inflated bubble of attraction, burst. I pulled away. He seemed not to notice and announced loudly: “Well, who’d have thought I’d be perched beneath Nelson’s massive column, sucking scallops.” His guffaw would have shamed a donkey.

I ordered the bill. Sophistication, it seems, is not for everyone.

I took him home. City life, I considered, is littered with contrasts: the wonder of civilisation against the tedium of the quotidian; the splendour of the Mall and the awfulness of the rush hour. In London, you take the rough with the smooth.

And God help me, I do love a bit of rough.

THE ESSENTIALS

Vista, with a capacity of 200 people (following a recent refurb and expansion) is London’s biggest rooftop destination bar, and is located atop The Trafalgar Hotel, in the heart of Trafalgar Square. Sleek and exclusive, the venue offers Londoners an oasis of tranquillity among the chaos of the capital, with unparalleled views over Trafalgar Square and other iconic London landmarks such as Big Ben and the London Eye. It is the perfect place to take out-of-towners or to go to for an after-work date. Vista is open Monday to Saturday from 12pm to 1am and Sunday 12pm to 12am, with a £5 entry fee.