Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner

So, after a half-hearted blogging attempt over the holidays, I'm back on track with some London fun for those of you who live in the capital or who are hopping across the channel for a city break. A French friend came to visit me, and we split our tourist trail over several days, managing to get in nearly all the sights that London has to offer! It was a whirl-wind tour, so hop aboard for the ride...

1. First stop, Charing Cross. Whilst you're here, take the opportunity to wander around the fountains & climb one of the famous lions around Nelson's Column, see the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery (for free!). Take in a free lunch-time concert in St. Martin's in the Fields, and stroll along towards Leicester Sq, Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden, which are all only a few minutes away.

2. Hop along the train towards Waterloo - or walk, it's not far! Enjoy a stroll along by the river: see if you can spot The London Eye, Westminster, The Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, the Hayward Gallery & skatepark and The Royal Festival Hall.

3. Our gloomy day brightened up as we crossed the Thames. Keep an eye out for the 'walkie-talkie' and the 'cheese-grater' new skyscrapers, as well as Blackfriars Bridge just by the Globe Theatre. Cross the Millennium Bridge to see St. Paul's & its famous 'Whispering Gallery'. HMS Belfast (the camouflaged boat you can see below), Thames River Boat tours.

4. If you continue along the river, you'll end up passing by Sir Francis Drake's ship: 'The Golden Hind', and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Once you're nearing London Bridge, head to Borough Market on a market day for loads of free tasters (see Southwark Cathedral below) & buy a yummy lunch for not many of your Great British Pounds. 

  5. Instead of paying £25.00 to climb the Shard, why don't you head across London Bridge to Monument? It's only a short walk to the famous tower built by Christopher Wren, the celebrated English architect who designed St. Paul's Cathedral. It's £3.00 for adults, £2.00 for students and just £1.00 for children, and after huffing & puffing your way up 311 steps you get a lovely view of London. The story behind the design of Monument, built in memory of the tragedy of the Great Fire of London of 1666, which started in a bakery in the nearby Pudding Lane, is fascinating.

6. After a long day of sight-seeing, crash in a traditional British pub, my favourites are The Station Hotel in Hither Green, The Princess of Wales in Blackheath, The Sylvan Post in Forest Hill or The Horniman at Hays Galleria.

Many more walking tours of London to come...

À Bientôt !

x

New Year Catch-up!

This post is a collection of random snapshots from January rather than a polished narrative of what I've been up to. I've been all over the place - up to London a lot, to a couple of shows at the theatre, to Cambridge for a day and Cardiff for a week-end. Instead of the quiet time I had planned at home to gather my thoughts & prepare for Paris in February, it's been hectic, non-stop, but a lot of fun!

The amazing set of Matilda the Musical - a must-see! 

Psst, here's a little secret - if you are aged 16-25 and willing to queue early then head to the theatre at Seven Dials in London to get your £5.00 student ticket. 16 are given out at each performance and you have more of a chance at getting hold of one if you go on a day when there is both a matinee and an evening show. Check on the website for details! 

A blustery walk in Greenwich park, overshadowed by imposing skies!

   

Gloomy but beautiful trip to Cardiff bay in Wales

Warming up with smoked salmon & spinach lasagne :)

Over the next couple of days I've got a friend staying so expect some posts exploring my favourite London haunts, a tutorial on how to make macarons & possibly the photos I've taken on my film camera over the past few months, as well as a return to the city of lights, Paris!

À Bientôt !

x

Foodie London

Despite everyone in France falling over each other to tell me how terrible the cuisine  is in Britain, I remain proud of the foodie delights in our capital city. I'd only been home a few days & I'd already headed up to Borough Market at London Bridge.

Malgré le fait que tout le monde en France adore me dire que la cuisine en Grande Bretagne est terrible, je reste fière de ce qu'on peut manger dans notre capitale. J'étais chez moi depuis quelques jours seulement, et je suis allée déjà à Borough Market  à London Bridge.

It's one of London's best food markets and claims to have existed since 1014! That's 1,000 years! Apart from being in a beautiful location, right by the Golden Hind and before Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the market has such a nice atmosphere & enough free tasters that you can practically get a whole free lunch from just wandering around.

C'est un des meilleurs marchés à Londres et on prétend qu'il a existé depuis 1014 - ça fait presque 1.000 ans ! Il se trouve dans un lieux très beaux, près du clipper historique 'The Golden Hind' et le théâtre de Shakespeare, 'The Globe Theatre. Il y a un très bon atmosphère et avec les échantillons gratuits on peut presque manger un repas entier juste en se promenant dans le marché! 

Cinnamon star biscuits :)

Other than a cup of coffee in a cute French cafe and the free tasters, I came away with a piece of Bakewell tart. 

On an entirely separate occasion, my sister & I made an impromptu visit to The Breakfast Club. My sister got the Full American breakfast along with pancakes, bacon, potato chips, sausages, maple syrup and poached eggs. 

C'était une autre journée que ma soeur et moi sont allées à 'The Breakfast Club'. My soeur a commandé le petit-déjeuner: 'The Full American' avec des crêpes, du bacon, des frites, une saucisse, du sirop d'érable et des oeufs pochés.

  

I got Huevos al Benny, which is two muffins, with poached eggs, red pepper, chillies  chorizo and a side of spinach. It's quite spicy, as you can see I picked my chilli off! The great thing about The Breakfast Club is that the food tastes ace, it serves my favourite meal of the day all day, the staff are friendly and isn't expensive. You might have to queue a little outside the Soho branch because it's really popular!

J'ai commandé les 'Huevos al Benny', qui compte deux muffins, des oeufs pochés, des poivrons rouges, et des épinards comme petite salade. The Breakfast Club serve de la nourriture très délicieuse, surtout les petits-déjeuners pendant toute la journée. Les serveurs sont gentils, et les prix ne sont pas trop chers. De temps en temps on doit faire la queue dehors le restaurant qui se trouve en Soho car c'est très populaire !

 

 À Bientôt !

x

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I can't believe it's 2014 already...I hope you had a lovely time celebrating wherever you were. Thank you for following the blog so far if you've been dropping in regularly to see what I've been up to - or if you're just reading for the first time then I hope that you join me for my adventures this coming year :) I did write that I'd share some of my Christmas presents, so here's my delivery as promised!

Bonne année ! Je ne peux pas croire que c'est 2014 déjà...j'espère que vous avez passé une très bonne vacance en fêtant chez soi. Merci pour avoir suivi mon blog jusqu'à maintenant, ou si c'est la première fois j'espère que vous me joignez pour mes aventures cette année. J'ai écrit que je vais partager ce que j'ai reçu comme cadeaux de Noël, donc, voilà - je tiens ma promesse !

Here's the haul!

I was so lucky to get some cute mittens from my sister which are clever enough to contain special fibres so you can use your iPhone, and some notecards from my Grandma. From a friend, I got a tickets to see 'The Woman in Black'. With another friend, we managed to snap up £5.00 tickets to see 'Matilda the Musical' - Christmas really is the most magical time to head to London's West End and see a show! From my parents I got a shirt from Zara, and a drawing of where I live in Paris!

I also got a macaron making kit, a knitted jumper from my friend and I bought myself 'Brideshead Revisited' by Evelyn Waugh with some Christmas money. 

I hope you got some lovely gifts too!

À Bientôt !

x