London 2012: Day 2

Day two in the English capital turned out to be a great day. The weather was amazing, with a slight breeze but plenty of sunshine making it perfect weather for walking. And walk I did. I set off from my hotel around 9 AM. My first stop was the Twinings tea shop on The Strand. It’s the only official Twinings-only shop in the world and they have many varieties that aren’t available in Holland. Argyll Square – View from my hotel room

Houses on Argyll Square

Tudor style houses near Chancery Lane

Clock of the Royal Court of Justice

After picking up nearly 10 different teas including a ‘vintage’ Darjeeling I walk about for a bit as I wanted to go to Temple Church but it wouldn’t open until an hour later. I found myself walking along the River Thames and found a bench bathing in sunlight. I sat there people and boat watching while listening to music and waited until I could go to Temple Church.

Chestnut tree (?) on Victoria Embankment

Fierce looking dragon near Middle Temple lane

I had heard that Temple Church would be difficult to find and while trying to find it, I figured why. The church is surrounded by other buildings that are part residential area and part offices. It is completely encased and I found it by walking into a narrow alleyway. If I hadn’t I would have most likely walked passed it. Temple Church is quite a strange place. It’s only a stone’s throw away from the heavy traffic of Fleet Street/ The Strand, but yet it’s so quiet and peaceful when you walk into the courtyard. It doesn’t even feel like you’re in the middle of London.

Temple Church

The interior of the Church

Effigies of the Knights Templar

Temple Church is famous for being round on one end rather than having the shape of a cross. In the round part of the church you will find the famous effigies of the Knights Templar as featured in The Da Vinci Code. The ones you see in the picture above are actually plaster casts of the original which are on the other end of the room. The casts were made during the Victorian era for the World Exhibition and placed in the church after the originals were badly damaged during The Blitz in WWII. The Church is still active which is why it is only open at specific times a day.

Original entrance door of Temple Church

The reason why Temple Church is hard to find: courtyards and narrow alleys

Fountain with National Gallery

After the Church I walked via The Strand to Trafalgar Square and had a pit stop at Starbucks and Superdrug where I picked up some make up by brands that aren’t available in The Netherlands. I then went to the National Gallery where I walked around for a few hours viewing mainly Impressionist and Dutch 17th century art. The museum houses art from the 1200s till 1900 and since it is huge I picked two categories to go and see because I didn’t want to spend such a lovely day indoors all day.

The National Gallery is definitely worth a visit. If art isn’t your thing you should just step inside to see the interior. It is hands down one of the most majestic buildings I’ve ever been in, without it being preposterous. It’s a beautifully designed museum, especially the room called Central Hall and the rooms directly adjacent to it. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside the museum so you’ll just have to believe me or go there yourself. The museum is free so just stop by and pop in to have a look whenever you’re near it.

After viewing Monets, Renoirs, Rembrandts and the like I felt hungry and had lunch outside in the sunshine with a delicious salad. With it only being 3 PM and having gone through my plans for the day already, I set off towards Leicester Square to see if I could catch a West End musical. Unfortunately nothing struck me as remotely interesting and there aren’t many movies out right now that I think are worth visiting so I decided to take a beeline toward Covent Garden. There I found the most amazing shoe store on Floral Street called United Nude. It was too pricey for me, but nevertheless these shoes are eyecandy in its purest form. The shoes seem to be a combination of design and architecture and seem impossible to walk in.

I had quite a browse around Coven Garden, bought a few things here and there and headed west again along Shaftesbury Avenue towards Piccadilly Circus. There’s a Waterstone’s nearby as well as an HMV (I like their book section there too) and plenty of food places. So I bought some books and quite exhausted found a table at TGI Friday’s as I was craving a burger. I finished my meal with an Oreo sundae icecream and took the Underground back to the hotel. My feet were killing me after walking around for nearly 12 hours, but that’s how I like London best: by foot.

Stay tuned for more blogs about my London trip later this week!

How is your week coming along?

London 2012: Day 1

On Sunday I left for London and here’s what I did on day one. I woke up early and left well on time to catch a train to the airport. I had checked whether trains were going and all seemed well, until I got to the train station. There had been a fire in the train station tunnel and no trains were going for a while. I got on the first train that left and after an uneventful journey I arrived at the airport well in time.

After a slightly delayed flight and another train into the city I arrived at my hotel around 1.30 PM. I freshened up and got reorganized in my room and set out into town right away. I took the underground to Liverpool Street Station where I grabbed a bite to eat and started walking towards Spital Fields Market and the Old Truman Brewery in East London (near Brick Lane). I knew there would be some markets there and Rough Trade East is located there as well so I was hoping to hit up all those places while walking around.

Livepool Street Station

Detail of Liverpool Street Station construction

The weather was luckily perfect for walking and browsing around. It got a bit cold at times, but plenty of the markets aren’t exactly outside. Most of the markets are in these big halls so there is a roof over your head and it only got cold when I got anywhere near the exit.

The first stop was Old Spital Fields Market. It is a market where you can buy some edgier items than at your average highstreet store. You could compare it to a festival fair or a goods market. I already knew it wouldn’t be packing many vintage stores as the vintage scene moved a bit further east, but I thought it would be worth having a browse. Around the market there are some other regular stores and there are also food stalls in case you get hungry. After buying the most delicious donut ever (covered in icing with coconut sprinkles and filled with jam)  and browsing all the stalls I set off towards Old Truman Brewery.

Quaint store near Spital Fields Market

East London is littered with old vacant factory buildings and it is here that you will find a lively community of vintage and edgy clothes, mingled with the occasional places selling music and food. Old Truman Brewery is one of those vacant factory buildings and on Sundays there is a large market with a good section of vintage to go around as well. It was quite busy, but the vibe was really cool. There was music playing and tons of young people going about trying on sunglasses or the odd sweater. Where Spital Fields was littered with tourists I felt Old Truman Brewery had much more of a local feel to it. Me likes!

I browsed around for a bit and bought a great navy blue woolen sweater. I then set out around the back of the store and quickly found what I came for: Rough Trade East. It was busy but it’s a cool place. If you like your music on vinyl then this is your place to be. Unfortunately for me, one album I really wanted had sold out and the other artist they had never heard of so I think I’ll have to hit up HMV afterall. It is still a cool store though with many in store live performances happening and they are stocking tons of artists and music styles that are not main stream so it was interesting to see.

Rough Trade East store front

Since I had now seen the things I came to see I decided to just walk around and see what I found. I quickly walked into Hanbury Street where I found some amazing vintage clothing shops. One was called Absolute Vintage which was exactly like what you would expect from a vintage store: walls lined with shoes, everything organized somewhat by color and that musty smell that comes with most vintage stores. I didn’t end up buying anything but it is still a great shop to have a look at when you’re there.

I then walked out and was handed a pamphlet for another vintage shop called Blitz. And OMG: it’s the BEST vintage shop ever. It is very well organized. It actually looks like a very comfortable store with soft lighting and all the items look pristine and the prices aren’t too high. They even had a sale going on in the downstairs area and I picked up a few things from there. I will make a shoplog once I get home so I will show you what I got later.

By this time I was quite hungry and I went into an Indian curry house and had real Indian curry for the first time in forever. Last time I had any Indian food was when I was at William and Mary and that was 2005. It was really good and after feeling full and content I headed back to my hotel and watched some TV before going to bed.

All in all, I think the first day was a good one. East London is definitely a place I can recommend to anyone interested in fashion/ clothes and just overall quirky items. The minute you cross Commercial Street the scene becomes more local and less touristy and that adds to a great vibe plus there are plenty of food places to keep you well fed.

My Perfect Sunday

Today is the last day of my vacation and so it’s the final day of doing absolutely nothing. Well, nothing, I will be attending a b-day later today, so in that sense today is NOT the perfect Sunday. My perfect Sunday usually entails doing nothing in particular. It’s my self-pronounced lazy day and I make the most of it whenever I can. Here is what my perfect Sunday looks like:

Source: weheartit.com

1. Sleep in

I think I’ve mentioned my love for sleeping before. That is why the number one activity on my perfect Sunday involves lots of it. On Sundays I won’t get up before 11 AM, and usually that becomes well past noon.

2. Big breakfast

Since I have plenty of time to make breakfast that is what I’ll do. I’ll make a cooked breakfast involving things like omelets, french toast, fresh bake off bread, croissants, freshly squeezed juice and the like. Not all in one go though!

3. Listen to music

This activity isn’t limited to just Sundays. I listen to music every day, but Sunday tends to be the day on which I listen to new things, go looking for new music and aimlessly skip through my playlist.

4. Watch movies & TV series

Preferably with some freshly brewed tea and some snacks to accompany me, I will lounge on my couch on Sunday afternoons watching my fave TV series or I’ll watch a movie that I haven’t seen before.

5. PJ-day

On Sundays I usually refuse to get dressed unless I have to. It PJ-day! The perfect way of expressing your laziness to me is to just lounge around in my comfy PJ pants paired with a baggy sweater and oversize warm fuzzy socks.

6. The Cow on Sunday

My one reason to get dressed (but sometimes I don’t even bother) is when I go to the Cow. The what? The Cow, or Café De Bonte Koe, is my favorite hang out in Leiden. I meet up with some friends and we catch up with each other while having a few beers. I usually go home rather early, since Monday is another work day.

That’s it! My perfect Sunday. Occasionally I will check my work e-mail on Sunday to catch up before Monday morning and make it less busy, or I’ll have a few chores to do like washing dishes and a bit of cleaning. However, I try to get those things done on Saturday.

Q: What does your perfect Sunday look like?