fancy tea house

Planning an event before the day it actually happens would be a good thing for once.
So we decided to throw our plans overboard and go do something completely different!

Last sunday we spent the entire morning discussing on whatsapp what we were going to do. Our original plan was going to an indoor swimming pool, but we didn't really feel up to it and had to figure out what else there was. In the end, we went to the Horniman museum which filled with anything animal-related the owner collected on his trips around the world. There was also a small exhibition about Africa and it's history. But not only the museum itself is very nice - though you can't spent a lot of time in there, it's too small; the garden outside and the little pavilion you can  book for private events are worth a look, too.

After that we went to a little traditional tea house called La Chandelier and got, well, tea and pastries. I got a green flowerish tea, which is one of those flowers that open in the hot water. Combine that with a chocolate tartlet with raspberry inside and you have the perfect treat.
The tea house is very cute, with mismatching interior, a lot of flowers and small details that you don't immediately  pick up on. The tarts, tartlets and studels all looked very delicious. I would definitely recommand it.

Lumiere London

Last Saturday was a really, really cold day. Warmer than right now, but cold nevertheless. So when I met up with some of my friends at the Old Spitalsfield Market in the East End, I was really happy to grap a coffee before doing anything else. Not to forget the three nice girls giving out 'free hugs' with big smiles on their faces.
Even though I've been here for just about five months now (puh...) I've only been to the East End once before. I was there a few times in 2013, but that was two and a half years ago! It's quite far from my part of the city, so I never really bothered.

Now, I'm happy I was there again. Old Spitalsfield market is not the most interesting, but the food is so much the better. One thing I can really recommand is the Beef and Vegan Combo Mix from Habesha Ethiopian & Eritrean Kitchen, which is a bit on the spicy side and is a mix of everything you could want in a meal.

When you leave the market and go past the Ten Bells pub and then turn left, you will find youself in a street with great shops and restaurants and will soon arive at a market hall. Sadly, we were too late and everything was already removed, but I got my watch there two years ago and they have a lot of delicious food stands, too. One shop you should definitely visit is Blitz, you just haave to turn right into Hanbury Street. It's a vintage shop with a coffee shop within. I almost got myself green Doc Martens, but because they were too big I went for black leather converse - for 5 pound! They were on sale, don't expect everything to be that cheap, but it's worth a try.

Lumiere London is a small events over the course of a weekend that features several light shows all over the Central city. Starting at 6:30pm you can walk around from one point to the other - fight your way through the mass more likely - and see big floating fishes at Regent Street, a light garden illuminating Leichester Square, light-stickman making a show out of robbing a store and many more. It's not as wonderful as we all were led to expect by the posters, but it's worth a shot. Definitely avoid the most famous places like Leichester Square and Picadilly Circus of you can't handle too many people, but other than that you just have to be patient.

A Day in... Edinburgh (2)

Day 3

After waking up to my third day in Scotland, I went out to have a proper Full Scottish Breakfast (which is basically an Full English Breakfast with Haggis and black pudding). I even asked the guy at the front desk which place he recommands. Sadly it turned out the one he referred me to wouldn't open for another half an hour, so I went to City Dinner instead, an American Restaurant with good prizes. And let me tell you, I'm happy I only got the small portion! I was honestly not able to eat anything for lunch, but that's perfectly normal after a breakfast like that.

Next stop was the Edinburgh Castle. I can be expensive if you are on a small budget but totally worth it. There are different museums, for example for the Crown Jewels, the Royal Guard, an old war prison, the World Wars as well as a memorial for fallen soldiers and the medieval dining hall (right before Christmas even with a small presentation of Victorian Christmas traditions).
And don't forget the canon going off at 1pm that once signaled the time to every ship owner!
I spent just about four hours here and even though you get tired and easily distracted after a bit I think it's a wonderful place to spent your day.
Tip for the grown ups: just before I left I went to the Whiskey shop where a Whiskey testing takes place and got two small bottles of really good Whiskey for my au pair parents.

After that I just walked through the city, but the weather was so annoying that I went to the Black Medicine Coffee Company (one stop on the Harry Potter trail from day 1) to get something warm to drink and then back to the hostel rather quickly to just sit down with my copy of A Game of Thrones. This was really important to me: a hostel where I would feel comfortable enough to spent some time in. No use in saving money if you feel umcomfortable after all.

Day 4

On my last day I went on a little hike. And with a little I mean that the hike was ok, it is the destiny that was a surprise.

Arthur's Seat has nothing to do with King Arthur - I checked - it is merely the highest mountain around Edinburgh. It's very easy to get there, just walk down the Royal Mile until you get to the end where the Scottish Parliament is, turn right and there it is. A lot of people were there with me considering that is was rather muddy and windy, but I guess nothing can stop a tourist who arrived with the knowleadge what the weather would be like.
So I made my way up. it's actually a wonderful place for pictures, there is just one problem. As soon as you get close to the top, the wind gets terrible. I had to pack away my camera as well as my hat because I was afraid it would be blown away. And I was not the only one. On top of Arthur's Seat - which is actually just a stone, nothing special - everybody sat down when it got too bad and tried to not fall off. That's why I don't have any good pictures from up there, sadly.
But it's the experience that counts, so whatever. I even had a little conversation with an Asian man who thought I had trouble when I was actually just sliding over to make some room for him. Really nice guy.

When I got down I still had a few hours to kill, so I went to the National Gallery, a Forbidden Planet store I found on my first day as well as a smaller shop where I got a croptop from Hell Bunny and a black wood belly button piercing After that I went back to the hostel where I watched some more TV and waited. Btw, you can keep your luggage in the luggage room even when you already gave back your key. And you can't get in there without asking at the front desk, so everything should be safe.
Another thing I saw before leaving is a Christmas special again. A light show at the Royal Mile with christmas music playing. I only stayed a few minutes as I was already on my way to th coach station with my backpacking rucksack and smaller bag and wanted to get there as soon as possible.

The drive back was about as 'wonderful' as the first one, but that's the downside of a coach drive you just have to deal with.
The thing is, if you like to be quick and comfortable, you just either take your own car or a train. The coach is good because it actually takes all night to get to Scotland and this way, you get there in the morning and it is way cheaper. So it really depends on your financial situation as well as the destination.

New Years Eve

This is going to be a really short entry because honestly, there isn't much different from what I am used to at New Years Eve. I went into Central London with an au pair friend of mine and went home when it was over.

First of all, remember to BUY TICKETS!
Very important if you want to go into Central London and have a good view of the fireworks around London Eye. This started last year apparently and is meant to regulate the number of people to prevent riots, hysteria and people camping outside to get a good spot. It's not expensive, only 10 pound, and the money goes to UNICEF, so you are even doing something good!

The City Centre is divided into different zones, each of them has a limited number of tickets. Because we didn't know that early enough we didn't get into the zones that were sold first, but we got tickets for the pink area - which means Waterloo Bridge.
It was really well organized, it didn't get long to get inside, there was a quick bag check (to sort out glas bottles and private firecracker) and then we were finished. Only three hours to wait....
Honestly, it was ok. Sure it was cold, but we moved a bit, there was music to dance to and the Nero at the end of the street was open to provide is with hot drinks and food as the food stands were way too expensive. Also, you had a lot of space, so don't worry about getting a good spot.

The countdown was projected onto a large building and the shouting started in the last ten seconds. The firework itself was amazing, different shapes and colours, some of which looked like they were exploding in slow motion. The smoke went with the wind so you had a more or less good view of the spectacle and the London Eye all the time.

After that we went to the nearest tub station (Charing Cross was closed so we went to Embarkment) which took some time obviously but nobody was too drunk or pushed. Also, we went into a direction that wasn't very crowded, others were less lucky. A nice bonus was that all public transport was free between midnight and 6am.

And that was it. Like I mentioned, nothing too interesting. I'm sure you can find a cool, edgy party somewhere and have a crazy night, but we just wanted to see the firework and get back into our beds.