LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Living Abroad

Hi Lovely Readers, welcome back to my weekly London blogs. This time I will mention something a bit different. This blog will be about my tips for you when visiting  London. I am living in London for more than two months now, so I am not an expert yet, but slowly becoming a Londoner and I am liking it so far! From this month I am also started to work again and that feels so great!

If you would tell me ten year ago, would you live abroad? I really could not have imagine something like this. I have always admired people for doing this and now that I have done it… it feels like I am on top of the world and it is POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE! Of course it will be a bit difficult in the beginning, you need to adjust to a whole new environment, maybe a different culture, but yeah.. if you just do it and figure things out on the way.. you can do it! My reason for moving to a whole new country is for LOVE, but that is not the only reason. I always wanted to experience living abroad, but I didn’t had the balls to do so before. Living in London for more than two months made me realise… I am doing it, it is possible (also for me) and the nicest thing is I am sharing this experience with someone that I truly love.

Here are my three tips when visiting London

• Tip number one: Take the bus

Just sit in front of the bus and enjoy the view on the way!

Instead of taking the tube… take the bus! It is much cheaper than the tube and you will see much more of the city. Especially the rush hours in the morning and after work will be super packed in the tube. Almost no fresh air and really hot. The bus can be also hot if it is very sunny, at least in two seconds you are back in the fresh air. Bus rides usually takes a bit longer, but trust me you will see so much more of this wonderful city and you can take a second bus in a certain time (I think within a hour or less) for free. (You need to check in again, but they won’t charge you for it) Oh one last thing.. In the bus you NEVER check out.. so just check in and you are done.. you can put that Oyster card away now.

• Tip number two:  Sightseeing during the week

If you want to enjoy seeing some museums or other sightseeing attractions, go early and go during the week. It is much more enjoyable during the week. Less tourists and more space to see the actual attraction. I am not sure this will also count for the big tourist attractions like the London EYE and so on, but I am pretty sure it is much quieter during the week to visit a museum (which is one of my favourite things to do in London).

Just walking near the Thames

 

• Tip number three: Walk around

If you walk you see so much more!

In the centre (zone 1) everything is walkable. You can easily walk from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden to the British Museum. I am not saying it will be in ten minutes, but on the way you will see a lot of shops, restaurants and many new thing. Walking through the city gives you a much more understanding where everything really is located and this way you will discover a lot more places that you wouldn’t see if you only take the tube.

Every borough and buildings are different, even the cabs!

Always something cute to see, like this small house with a lot of flowers!

So these are my top three tips that I could think off since I have been living in London. Hope you can use these tips and discover a lot more places while in London. Next blog will be about some tips to find a job in London (of course from what I have experienced so far).

See you around!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | The Bull or BullSh*t

Hello Lovely Readers and Welcome Back to my “Hello London” blog. A bit later than suspected, but here we are with some excited things for you to do while in London. This time it will be for the ones that want to spend that extra cash while in London. Don’t worry… there will be also a lot of content for everyone else on today’s blog, such as something for the art lovers and something for the designer’s lovers.

These are the places I have been exploring last week:

This is definitely one of the best restaurant I have been for an excellent supreme steak! (Yes, it was that good!) We went for the CUARTETO MENOR. These are four pieces of 1,2 kg steak of the Cuadril Rump, the Agosto Sirloin, the Ancho Ribeye and the Lomo Fillet. This and some fine Argentina red wine… what else do you need? We had an amazing dinner, but I must say this place is very expensive. So be warned! If you have some special celebration this is definitely a recommendation.

The Bull Steak Expert

Yummy!

Yes, we bought an Ostrich egg at Wait-rose. I never ate an Ostrich egg before (there is a first time for everything) and we tried it like a scrabble egg, a tortilla and it taste much creamier than a chicken egg. One Ostrich egg contains as much as 24 chicken eggs. So, when you finally open up the egg, try to save the shell (I heard they are worth something) and just make a lot of egg based recipes will you can.

This museum is displaying International and modern contemporary art- exhibitions, free displays and daily events. It is just on the Bank side from Black friars station and walking here gives you the best panoramic view of the city, St. Paul’s and the river Thames. The Tate Modern is located just a few minutes away from the station. It is a massive building and a lot to see when you are in. It is admission free and also a lot of free collection displays. I liked the display VOICES, especially the one from Janet Cardiff   and the one about Stuart Hall. On every floor there is so much to see and if you would like a 360-spectacular view you must go to the 10th floor.

Tate Modern

View in front of the Tate Modern

One of the display of VOICES.

After visiting the museum, you can go from the Millennium Bridge to the other side of the river to St. Pauls. Also, the view from this bridge will be amazing!

View from the 10th floor. AMAZING!!!

View from the 10th floor. Can you see the Millennium Bridge?

The City

Of course the Shard

 

The Tate Britain is an art museum and part of the Tate galleries in England, like the Tate Modern. You can find some beautiful art from Britain, paintings, sculptures and some modern art. A nice thing here is you can join the free guide walks a few times a day and one is about the great collection they have of J.M.W. Turner.

Tate Britain

One of the many collections in here

Hugging marble (couldn’t see who the artist is, but love how huge it is)

Lot of beautiful paintings by British artists

This is also located near the river in between the borough Pimlico and Westminster.

This is a great place for events like sample sales or designer’s outlet. And it is just minutes away from Bond street. I went to the designer outlet on the 20-21st of July. To be honest not everything looks nice and in perfect state, but if you take your time, you can find some nice designer clothing from Isabel Marant, Chloe, Ralph Lauren and many more unknown and known brands. Here I bought a t-shirt for men for my boyfriend and a lavender silk top for myself. They always have events planned so just subscribe to their site to be notified about the upcoming events. (Sometimes you also get some extra discounts if you are on their mailing list)

So, what did I tell you, no BullSh*t right!?  A lot to explore for everyone right? Enjoy the rest of the week and if you know some spots that you want me to explore let me know on misswidjaja@gmail.com.

See you around!

 

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

 

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Exciting Rooftop

Hello Lovely Readers and WELCOME BACK to my weekly “Hello London” blog! Last week has been a lovely week of discovering new places in and around London.

As promised this blog will contain some exciting rooftop places to visit (because it is SUMMER), a museum (sniffing some CULTURE) and lots more just for you to explore in this city. Sit back, relax and enjoy this week's list of what to do in London, especially if you got some dinner dates planned this summer.

These are the places we explored last week:

This one is quite splendid if you like sushi, Japanese cuisine and a panoramic view of the city!  (3 for 1, that is always a good deal!) It is located at the Heron Tower on the 38th and 39th floor.  I would recommend to make a reservation before you go, so you don’t have to wait in a queue.  The prices in this restaurant are elevated, so check the link to their website to see the menu and prices. The terrace here is truly amazing with their skyline of London.  Definitely worth a go. Excellent location for some great Instagram pictures and also great to impress your date, family or friends.

(Check my Instagram for the video of the elevator)

 

This is a small roof top terrace located in Angel. A great place to sit in the sun and enjoy your summer cocktails. They also have homemade burgers from the grill. (Unfortunately, I didn’t try them this time, but as a burger lover I definitely will). The view here is not so spectacular as the Sushi Samba, but there is quite a relax and intimate atmosphere at the Castle rooftop terrace.

 

This restaurant is becoming super popular in London. I knew about this via Instagram, but you will see it everywhere in town! Not super expensive (YEAH) and there are just around six simple Italian (sourdough) pizza on the menu. I tried the number 6, TOMATO, CURED ORGANIC CHORIZO (Dry & semi-dry) & MOZZARELLA. Very spicy, a bit heavy in the end, but overall a good Italian pizza. If you want to try an excellent Italian pizza you have to go to Pizza East in Shore ditch.

 

This is world’s largest museum of decorative art and design. A great museum where you can find lots of items from around the world. Definitely need a few visits to see everything. It is admission free, with that said for some exhibitions you will have to pay.  In the summer, it can be a bit warm inside. Not to worry,  they have a court yard where you can sit on the grass and enjoy the sun with some fresh drinks.

The places that I will mention down under, are places I already visit last year. Nevertheless, these are great places for dinner dates, family dinners or catching up with friends.

This place has one of the best Italian pizza in town. This place is always busy so I would recommend to make a reservation otherwise you will be placed near the pizza ovens, where it can be very hot. (you don't want to be sweaty)

They don’t serve typical Greek food, but Greek food with a twist. A bit expensive, but a nice place and area to go out to.

A great place for a nice casual dinner date with homemade burger. Love this place, the burgers are not so expensive and really DELICIOUS! Also, possible to take away. This one you will find a lot in the city.

This Lebanese canteen is very delicious if you like some hot or cold mezze, lamb from the grill, hummus and enjoy the middle eastern cuisine. A perfect spot for catching up with friends or a dinner date, because it is delicious and affordable.

This place is not super fancy, but the food is delicious and very cheap. (Not a real recommendation for a first date, but if you like the Chinese cuisine it’s a good place to eat with a friend before you go to the cinema or after you went out in the city. Of course, only if you are near Leicester square, this is a great place to just grab a bite.

  • Kimchee 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6EA

 

If you want to eat some high quality Korean food, this is the place to be. Especially the meat from the charcoal grill is delicious. Nicely decorated restaurant, so if you like Asian cuisine this is a great place to visit with your dinner date.

  • Dinerama 19 Great Eastern St, London EC2A 3EJ

Great place to try some street food with friends. The only thing I didn’t like is the loud music. Makes it difficult to hear and listen to each other, other than this great place..  Great place to meet up with friends and try some street food. Drinks are a bit expensive.

So, we made it! We’re finally at the end of this week’s list. (Yoehoe!) Let me know if you tried one of these places and what you think about it in the comments below.

See you soon!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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LIFESTYLE

Hello London | Borough Market

Hello Lovely Readers and WELCOME BACK to my weekly “Hello London” blog! (Sorry, I didn’t post a “Hello London” blog last week, due to not being in London but abroad to my hometown) This time I will show you again some must see places to visit in this beautiful city.

Last week we did enjoy the weather and we had a relaxed week (meaning less adventures) But there are still some nice things I wanted to share with you that we did on this blog!

These are the places we explored last week:

Finally, we went to this market. It was on my list for a year. Unfortunately, it was on the news this year, but a good thing is that this didn’t stop people from still going and explore the city and this market after such a huge tragedy. My heart goes to the people that were hurt on that day in anyway. ♥

Nevertheless, this is definitely a recommendation if you like fresh food or something special. You can find a lot of ingredients and food from different countries. A lot of nice things from Italy, Spain, wines & beer, fresh meat, fresh fish and many more!

We went home with some nice Italian cheeses (always a good idea), meat that I haven’t tried before (boar and kangaroo) and some MEAD, an alcoholic beverage made of fermented honey with water. The Scamorza  cheese you have to try (if you like when your cheese has a smoked taste… yummy)

And don’t miss out on the “Fresh Oysters!” bar… you probably will hear these guys from far… because they scout “Fresh Oysters” like every two minutes. (You just can’t miss them ha-ha)

Of course, the Shard  is just around the corner (what a surprise!) The Shard is still on my “go-to” list.

With this hot weather, it is really nice to go to a park in the evening and feel the summer breeze… I like the gardens here. They look like Italian gardens with beautiful flowers and fountains. A big plus; it is for FREE! And one of the nicest things to do in the summer… At least I think… is to stroll around in the park.

After the park on our way home… I saw this place and I had to try this, because I am a huge lover of spring rolls and Vietnamese food. It’s also possible to take away, so I did. It’s not so expensive, but very delicious. At least the spring rolls I had, they are called the summer rolls. Definitely going back to this place. If you like Vietnamese food, go check out this place!

 

This is a nice place to have drinks with friends. You can sit outside or in the cafe / bar. They have all kinds of drinks. I have to say the food is not so great. It is like real bar food, so a bit too fried (at least the fried stuff we ate there were over fried) But it’s all okay if you just want to eat to balance it out with the alcohol. (I know… we all do that, sometimes we need food to not feel so drunk after a few beers and cocktails)

 

If you would like to see one of the new shows on television, go get yourself a ticket to be in the audience. I have to say I tried it once, got a ticket but then I found out it was overbooked when I arrived. They would send me another ticket for the next day, but I never received it. So even if you have a ticket doesn’t mean you will get the possibility to see the show. Unless you have a priority ticket. Check the website or their Facebook page to see what shows are available to see. I would try for morning tickets because I got unlucky with my afternoon ticket. In the morning, there is more change people will not show up than in the afternoon. So that means you got more chance to actually see the show. (mmm… maybe I will try again and let you know in another blog)

This is it for now. Go explore the city. Next “Hello London” blog will be about summer rooftop places, museums and other stuff I need to explore yet.

See you soon!

Ciao! ♥ Miss Widjaja

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