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.