Valentine's Day Surprises

I love a  good surprise as much as the next person so when I heard the door bell ring and the post man handed me a package, I was struggling to remember if I had ordered something online. I certainly wasn't expecting any delivery. To my surprise the people at the Co-Operative Food had sent over a little Valentines Day breakfast package by way of their 'Love at First Light' gift box, which included that aromatic coffee, chocolate teddy, croissants and a few other sweets that never made it to the shoot below. Well let's just say none of these will make it to Valentines Day as they have been happily consumed between me and the boyfriend. Now, I have to come up with something else to do for Valentines Breakfast as I woofed that down almost as quickly as I opened it....there is still plenty more of that aromatic coffee for the gift box so I suppose we will be okay...

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Brunch At Victoria And Albert Museum

I forget just how beautiful London's architectures is sometimes. This is fast becoming a typical Sunday hang out spot as its literary next door to the church I go to. In order to avoid the rain when walking to and from Church from South Kensington Station, I usually have to take to the tunnels that led right into Victoria and Albert Musuem then a few steps into Church. This is one of the busiest museums in the capital but you can still find a little respite in the John Madejski Garden. Named so as £2 million was donated by John Madejski to the museum to design a stylish new courtyard for people to meet and provide a central point to explore the museum.

The beautiful garden leads to my little Sunday brunch spot. The Gamble and Poynter Rooms. This is where the cafe  is located, the original refreshment room which formed the first museum restaurant in the world. It's usually busy inside but when the sun is shinning you most likely want to be enjoying your meal out on the seats outside or spread across the lawn. It is simply beautiful whether you are dinning here during the day or night when its all lit up. You can spend the whole day here easily. Look at just how stunning the architecture is, let alone the art that  is within the walls all the museum.

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Sky Garden | Breakfast With A View in London's Sky Bar

This post is rather late or published way behind schedule, but where the hey... Having made plans to head out to Portsmouth for last year's Valentines and seeing those plans fumbled due to weather situations this year's Valentine's Day was a much low key affair due to a pending house move. You can read about last years belated Valentines Day celebrations while discovering the secrets of the Solent at the beautiful Spitbank Fort here. Instead of that we took a trip to the Sky Garden aka Sky Bar London

With a pending house, weekends were busy with sorting out what to pack, when to pack and what to get rid of so when Valentines Day approached it was really just an opportunity to chill out and get out of the flat and enjoy a moment of peace not thinking about the house move.  A great start to the Saturday too was a trip to none other than the newly opened exotic garden up high in one of London's stunning skyscraper decorating the city's square mile. The infamous building that made headlines last summer for burning anything in sight due to the heat that was generated or reflected off the Walkie Talkie building.

Breakfast was booked in the Sky Bar, London view on tap from the 35th floor. There are 2 more restaurants on offer on the 35th Floor of the building. All give you access to the Sky Garden with 360 degrees of views across London. You can circle round the entire floor to view Canary Wharf, Westend with the London Eye, south side of the Thames with the Shard and London beyond. 

There are two options to access the Sky Garden, via the free tickets on offer or by booking a table in one of the 3 restaurants. All of which are available for a week in advance to a month's waiting time. The free tickets currently have a 2-month waiting list so its best to book a table. The Sky Bar/Pod is reasonably priced and so are the other two for what is offered. In addition to the absolutely priceless views of the capital.

This is an absolute must if passing through London or if you are a Londoner yourself. Beautiful place to watch the sunset too as they turn into a little cocktail bar as the day wears on. Hence the names interchange especially when searching for it either under Sky Bar London or Sky Pod.

So have you been to London's Sky Garden yet?

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Pennethornes At Somerset House

Pennethornes cafe bar, if you are not in the know is a trendy hang out for youthful urbanites in the heart of the Westend's Somerset House. Somerset is well known for hosting the London Fashion Weeks, but its also a culture center for art exhibitions and events for the creatives. In the winter months it hosts the festive ice skating and in the summer months you can also see movies screened outdoors that are projected on the walls of the building all the while you chill with friends in picnic style on the grounds. So the new addition to Somerset House by way of Pennethorne's cafe is just befitting of this super cool venue just at the top of the Strand. 

The cafe is located in New Wing of Somerset House. A sleek cafe-bar setting serving up breakfast and dinner treats, together with everything in between. Their menu is said to bring flavours from the Grand Tour travels of France and Italy by Sir James Pennethorne, a 19th Century archecture, whose travels served as an inspired for the menu. Lunch dishes ranges from small platters to roast dishes with breakfast taking on a sweeter note of pastries as well as smoked salmon bagels that as washed down by flavourful coffees and selection of teas. While I was there, we sampled a few of the items on the menu and I have to say I am in Love with  the freshly baked breads(baked on site) with a side of the goat cheese. Just delicious!  With a wine collection to challenge even those that fancy themselves as wine buffs and cocktails that are infused with coffee liquor and martinis inspired by Italy's alchol-infused corretto it really is the new place to hang out on the River Thames. The surroundings are not bad on the eyes either.

I have already been a few times and its fast becoming my little hang out after my walks on the Southbank riverside. Below are some of my shots from my visits. Bare in mind that most of the time I have visited I have only had my phone to hand, so the pictures probably don't do enough justice to just how cute this place is.

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B Street Deli - London Cafe Gems

I am sure you have heard that old saying that someone drinking so much that they could put a brewery out of business. Well, Alcohol is not really my thing even though I love a glass of wine occasionally. When it comes to tea, I could certainly put Twinnings out of business. That’s how much I love my tea. My kitchen features teas from around the world. I have fresh tea leaves from Egypt to Hong Kong, the USA and other corners of the world, from fruit infusions to the spicy and aromatics teas and from fragrant blends to light scented herbals. This also includes teas from the good old brews brought from my nearby supermarkets. I guess you can tell just how serious this is.

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Feasting Through East London

Considering that a good 60 percent of my readers are from the USA and around the world so I am always glad to share more about London's hidden gems. Also for those from the UK visiting London. When I travel, as much as I want to see all the popular tourist places, I want to see where the locals hang out, where they eat and where they just chill out. So for this post forget about the London Eye, forget the Shard, Tower Bridge or St Pauls. I am taking you on a tour of East London. Some time I go I shared with you a post about East London's Street Art Tour(here). East London boasts the largest number of artists and art organisation living and working in any capital city in the world. So we are checking out where all the cool kids hang out. Did I also mention there is going to be food?

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Look Mum No Hands!

I recently wrote about my hunt for a new ride. In my hunt I have taken the search back to my roots. When I say "roots" I use that lightly in that I went to college in Clerkenwell Road which is a just around the corner from the bike hunting ground. I heard about a bike shop that does beautiful bespoke bikes, imported from none other than where the dutchies come from. I have put my name down for a red 3-5 speed bike. Another plus side to this place, The Bicycle Man to be exact, is that it does the Cycle to Work Scheme. So providing the bike comes under £1000 total including accessories then its all mine! My search of course was sweetened by one of my favourite cafes. Look Mum No Hands sits in the heart of Clerkenwell area in one of London's fashionable postcodes.  I could hang out here for hours. I normally bring my laptop with me and either catch up on some work, blog or just enjoy the relaxed and hip atmosphere with one of their cappuccinos. 

Credit: RichMitch

Look Mum No Hands is not just any cafe, it has a bicycle repair shop attached to it. You can tell where the name comes from by just looking at the theme of the decor. Which is perfectly fitting with my search for a new bike. This places just goes to prove at how explosively creative our coffee culture has become in London. We are slowly moving away from the usual popular cafes chains and rekindling our love for more independent with an authentic feel. It doesn't come any better than Look Mum No Hands cafe. The cafe is a popular hangout spot for "two-wheels-good folk". They have an outdoor courtyard which is beautiful on sunny days.

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