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17 April 2010

Over the Easter long weekend, I decided to head up to Scotland, basing myself out of Edinburgh. I will do another blog post with the other parts of Scotland next.

So many people that I know were always going on about how Edinburgh was such a great city. I am happy to say, that it more than lived up to the hype. Due to what can only be described as ignorance on my behalf, I had assumed that Edinburgh would be very similar to the English cities that I had visited. While there are certainly similarities, it is noticeably different – kind of like England but with more of a mainland European influence, probably owing to the fact that for much of Scotland’s history, it had very strong trade ties with countries that were nearby by boat, such as the Netherlands and Norway.

All in all, there was lots of impressive old architecture, lots of construction and a real link to nature in the city. Very, very nice and impressive.

First, is a stretch of road which leads from Haymarket down to the end of Shandwick Place and into the heart of the city. All those roadworks are related to the new tram that is being installed, which will run from the Harbourfront, all the way through the main parts of the city and to the airport. Despite the usual complaints from people about how it was going to cost too much, and disrupt the roads and traffic while being constructed, they went ahead with the project and when done, it is very obvious to see that it will be of great benefit to the city.

The first church is St John’s Episcopal Church and the second is the Parish Church of St Cuthbert. In the background are the Princes Street Gardens, and Edinburgh Castle. The cool night, falling sun and cemetery all came together to create a very atmospheric vibe.

Princes Street is the main shopping street in Edinburgh. It is impressive in that all the shops and buildings are on the North side of the road. The South side contains Princes Street Gardens, and amazing views of the Old Town, Edinburgh Castle, and the big valley in between, as well as the beautiful Gardens and its statues.

For anyone who has seen the film Trainspotting, the chase in the opening scene is along Princes Street.

Next we get to Leith Street, and a series of streets which together are known as ‘Leith Walk’. Currently in the process of urban regeneration Leith was historically been the home to the dark underbelly of Edinburgh. Crime, drugs and prostitution were the area’s hallmark and up until 2001, the police had designated it and ”official tolerance zone”. You can see how the area changes as I head further down the walk. The regeneration can be seen everywhere, from the tramline, to abandoned buildings being readied for restoration or demolition and various other things. Leith has an interesting character to it, with lots of interesting people and little stores. Hopefully the regeneration doesn’t completely destroy that.

Just off Haymarket the next day, I ventured down some side streets, past a new office area, to Edinburgh Castle. There was a Farmer’s Market set up and this had lots of tasty looking foods from local growers, farmers and businesses.

I could write a LOT about Edinburgh Castle, and there is a lot to learn by walking about there. This is a good example of a tourist attraction. Lots to see, lots to read, but all done very tastefully with proper preservation in mind. It might be the most popular tourist attraction in Edinburgh and full of tourists, but it does not feel ”touristy”. Something that the leaders in Hong Kong should have taken note of before destroying the authenticity and vibe of the Tian Tan Buddha and Po Lin Monastery.

The castle is built atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Humans are thought to have lived on the site from as far back as the 9th century BC, and there has been a royal castle of some description on the site since the 12th century, with many additions, destruction in sieges, rebuilding etc. occurring over the centuries. Certainly not to be missed when visiting Edinburgh, just make sure you get there early as the lines after 10 am are insanely long!

At the Southern foot of the castle, is a series of roads collectively known as the ”Royal Mile” which runs from the castle down to Holyrood Abbey. The mile is full of amazing old buildings and architecture, and also full of touristy shops. There are lots of little laneways and interesting things to discover just off the mile.

*nerd mode on* The father of economics. How exciting! *nerd mode off*

Scotland had a parliament from the Middle Ages, but when the United Kingdom was formed in 1707, the parliament was dissolved. Following a referendum in 1997, the Scottish parliament was re-established and first sat in its new form on 12 May 1999. Without going into too much detail, the fact of the matter is that the Scottish parliament can make a range of decisions without recourse to the UK parliament, giving the country a greater degree of autonomy than it previously had.

The first building below is the parliament building, which opened in 2004. It was highly controversial, but is generally regarded as a modern architectural masterpiece. An early goal of the design was to open the building and its public spaces, not just to Edinburgh but to a more general concept of the Scottish landscape, and it aims to blend in with the nearby Holyrood Park and Abbey, which form part of a greater UNESCO heritage listed site.

Holyrood Park (and Duddingston Loch) is simply amazing. I didn’t even know that it existed, and only visited it because I saw it when walking down the entire length of the Royal Mile. It is an array of hills, lochs, glens, ridges, basalt cliffs. The pictures below say more than any words of mine could.

Walking back down past the Scottish Parliament, are Holyrood Palace and Holyrood Abbey, which were both closed for some reason, so unfortunately not much in the way of photos here. I fittingly walked down Easter Road to check out the Harbour front. Up until very recently, this was part of the run down area of the city and there wasn’t much to entice anyone other than dockworkers and rough characters to the area. As discussed above with Leith (which is right next to the docks), the area is changing rapidly. Scotland, long an exporter of great seafood is starting to take its food more seriously and there are a lot of new restaurants around here that make the most of the access to great, fresh seafood. I wanted to try the Michelin Starred ‘Kitchin’ but alas it was well out of my price range, especially given my tight budget on this trip.

Heading back up through Leith, this is the end of the town that was really rough and it was obvious just walking around.

Back up to the part of Leith Walk and Princes Street from the previous night, but with a slightly different take.

London: 28 February 2010

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28 February 2010

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Today, I walked around The City of London, which is also known as ‘The Square Mile’ owing to the fact that its boundaries have remained the same since the Middle Ages, around one square mile. In Medieval times, the City was the entirety of London. Today, it is one of the world’s global finance and business hubs. I focused on the eastern half of the city, before walking through Aldgate and up Brick Lane.

Starting at 110 Bishopsgate, is the Heron Tower. When completed, it will be the tallest building in the City. According to Gerald Ronson, Chief Executive of the developer Heron International, Heron Tower will be the first “six-star” office development in the City. It will feature a concierge-style entrance and reception area, incorporating a 70,000 litre aquarium with a shark and 1,300 other fish. There will be a restaurant and sky bar – both open to the public – on floors 38-40.

Just a short walk from Heron Tower, is 30 St Mary Axe aka the Swiss Re Building aka the Gherkin. The site was, from 1903, home to the Baltic Exchange Building, which was Grade II Heritage listed, and was considered one of the finest examples of Edwardian architecture in the world. In 1992, the building was heavily damaged by an IRA bombing. A lot of pieces of the building were put into storage but, after years of trying to negotiate though complex regulations, the owners gave up on rebuilding, the heritage listing was officially removed, and what was left of the building, including its famous trading hall, was dismantled piece by piece and put into storage. An Estonian businessman bought the pieces a few years back and the building is going to be rebuilt, piece by piece, in Tallinn.

The Gherkin itself opened in 2004 and was widely considered as the best example of modern architecture that year. It is currently the 6th tallest building in London.

122 Leadenhall Street is currently a blank development site. The old building there, from 1969, was demolished in 2008, to make place for 225 metre ”Cheese Grater”, an unusual, wedge-shaped tower. With the onset of the global financial crisis, construction was put on hold. In the background is the Lloyd’s building.

This site was originally home to the mighty East India Company. It was one of the most powerful corporations in the world during the British Empire’s peak, and had a monopoly on trade with India. It was the company’s armies that became the armies of British India and the company played a pivotal role in converting the language of the region from Persian to English.

The Lloyd’s building which now stands on the site was completed between 1978 and 1986. The building was innovative in having its services such as staircases, lifts, electrical power conduits and water pipes on the outside, leaving an uncluttered space inside. The twelve glass lifts were the first of their kind in the UK.

The Leadenhall Market dates back to the 14th century. It was closed today but in any case apart from the beautiful and ornate architecture, the market retailers are a mixture of clothing and food chains, the same ones which are found all over London. Nothing inspiring and the use of the word market is rather misleading.

After I saw all the buildings that I had aimed to see, I just wandered around Fenchurch Street and headed to Aldagte, on the eastern border of the city.

I thought this was funny, those who aren’t aware of 90s Australian pop music will probably be scratching their heads.

It is quite amazing that only a stone’s throw away from some of the most amazing buildings and headquarters of some of the most influential companies in the world, lie dirty back streets and council flats. This is in Aldgate, right on the border of the City and Tower Hamlets, officially becoming ”East London”. Inevitably, signs of change are evident here though. There are several empty sites where new office developments and apartment complexes are going up. It is surprising that, given its proximity to the city, this part of London has not been cleaned up and become expensive sooner.

The Romans built a wall around Roman London. The name is derived from Ale-gate, literally open to all, because, unlike at all other city entrances, no tolls were exacted at this gate.

Having walked up Whitechapel road, we come to Brick Lane. I have already discussed this area in one of my earlier blog posts, but will use this opportunity to show the area at night, as well as focus on some of the street art (and not so artistic graffiti) in the area.

This place has a reputation for having the best Pakistani sweets in London. I can’t say that I disagree. Lots of sweet, colourful, syrupy goodness to be had.

Mr. Katz came back to find what was once a Jewish neighbourhood somewhat changed.

The Sunday Up Market sells a variety of food, clothes and the like. It has a good vibe, but I’m not convinced about the food. The Asian selection is the usual beef and black bean, sweet and sour etc. Even though I don’t know much about some of the other foods there, if the Asian food is unauthentic, I would suggest that the other food is too. In any case, it’s packed and people are enjoying themselves and that’s all that matters – just don’t ask me to eat there!

This place is practically an institution. The food is cheap, there is some good variety, it tastes great, and is open 24 hours. What more could one want? Plain Beigel with cream cheese for 90p – can’t go wrong.

London: 1 February 2010

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1 February 2010

4

Today was one of those days that just called to be taken off work, so I slept in, played some Xbox 360, then headed out for a wander. I was only going to pick up a few things from the shops but it ended up turning into a full blown photo walk.

I started in Sloane Square. Sloane Square borders Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea and is an extremely wealthy area. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry Holland Snr. and Henry Holland Jr. Both the town and square were named after Sir Hans Sloane, whose heirs owned the land at the time.

Partridge’s is an appointed Grocer of the Queen. They have a lot of great quality stuff and lots of foodstuffs from overseas. It’s expensive, but not excessively so, and I always like popping in on occasion to grab a few things that I can’t get elsewhere, like certain types of Barilla pasta and Manner wafers from Austria for example.

The Saatchi gallery is also in the area. It started 20 years ago but only opened in its current location in 2008. It is a free gallery that has constantly changing exhibits, and aims to bring contemporary art from around the world to the widest possible audience. It’s a great gallery and always worth a look if in the area.

Sloane Street links Sloane Square with Knightsbridge. Before heading onto Sloane Street, which is where all the shop front photos below are, I walked through a few of the narrow streets in the area. There are some amazing residences here – some of the most expensive properties in London. Imagine having a proper house and a garage in Zone 1! Oh well, one can dream.

Knightsbridge needs little explanation. Harvey Nichols, Harrods and some world famous shopping awaits visitors to the street. The building/s under construction are part of the ‘One Hyde Park’ development. It’s a revamp of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, plus some amazing apartments where an ugly 1960s tower once stood. If I could live anywhere in London, this would probably be it. Imagine waking up in this location, with sweeping views across Hyde Park from your window. Again, one can dream.

Just through Park Close is Hyde Park. To say that the winter keeps people away is an understatement and, while the park is certainly still well used, it is rather quite compared to the summer. Still, there is something very right about walking through such a park in London in the middle of the winter.

The Serpentine Gallery, which holds various small, free exhibitions. I had completely forgotten about the current exhibition which I had wanted to see, so I was lucky to stumble upon the gallery today. Design Real was the name of the exhibition, and it focuses on ‘real’ items all conceived in the last decade: mass-produced products that have a practical function in everyday life. Very cool.

Walking across the road is Kensington Gardens, which is really an extension of Hyde Park. The Royal Albert Hall is across the road, and in the park itself directly across from the Hall, is the Albert Memorial, which was built to remember Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert.

Finally I ended up on the other side of Kensington Gardens, and at Kensington High Street.

Time to get something for dinner! Whole Foods Market is great and is two stories full of organic foods. It is, in sticking with the theme of this post, more expensive than the average supermarket, but I like to come past and grab a few things every now and then. Unlike the unattainable goal of owning one of the homes discussed earlier, something like being well of enough to shop at a place like Whole Foods Market all of the time is perhaps a more attainable goal 🙂

Liverpool: 19 September 2009

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31 January 2010

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Four months late, but here are some photos from my visit to Liverpool back in September. Being from Australia, I found it fascinating that only 45 minutes from Manchester, one can be in a completely different city, where people have different accents and their own identity. In Australia, you’d still be in a suburb of the same city! Sometimes, I thought that people were foreigners but after closer listening realised that they just had really strong scouse accents. I was also amused at the excessive use of “erm” in sentences and “like” at the end of each sentence. I always thought that people were exaggerating when saying that people from Liverpool spoke like this, but it’s true!

Liverpool’s maritime heritage is very evident throughout the city. There are warehouses and old dock buildings everywhere. If you’re from Western Australia, think a larger, grittier version of Fremantle. Unfortunately, Liverpool felt, to me, like a city that is very much past its prime. There were lots of abandoned buildings everywhere and a lot of the city felt like it was in a state of disrepair, even in the main parts. Saying that, the potential for recreation and rejuvenation is huge, and there are certainly a lot of old warehouses being converted into apartments and bars and the like, so hopefully the city can continue to do this and reinvent itself as a cultural/arts centre (it was voted European capital of culture in 2008).

I started at Lime Street, just up from the train station. This area is full of neo classical heritage listed buildings that were constructed when the city was at its economic peak in the mid/late 1800s. The area is known as the Willam Brown Street conservation area, after William Brown, local MP and philanthropist, who in 1860 donated land in the area for the building of a library and museum. The main focus of these photos is on St George’s Hall, the Walker Art Gallery, and St John’s Garden.

Radio City Tower in the back ground (second tallest structure in Liverpool).

Next we move on to Victoria Street, ‘The Cavern’ and the general network of small streets and alleyways in that area. This area requires no explanation. It’s all about the Beatles, and they let you know it. A lot of tacky stuff as to be expected, but still a cool little area, and good tunes blaring onto the streets.

Moving down to St John’s street and the surrounds is a completely restored area of the city, full of new buildings and lots of shops. The official Liverpool FC and Everton FC stores are in this area.

Moving closer to the waterfront, is Duke Street, and the general docks area. This is a very interesting part of Liverpool and the area where I can foresee massive change occurring in the coming years. There are lots of ruined and abandoned buildings here, but you can see that there is a real creative vibe, with street art, creative businesses and studios, and new apartments in warehouse conversions. The area is still very run down, but it’s only a matter of time before it all changes. Hopefully they can improve the overall area without gentrifying it too much.

There was an unusual ”suburban” type area between the warehouses and the waterfront. It really seemed out of place.

King’s Parade, Albert Dock, Tate Liverpool & the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The Tate was very good and had some really interesting exhibits and the Maritime Museum was very informative and interesting, with an excellent display on slavery and the darker aspect of the city’s prosperous days.

Close by and heading back into the ”city” is Nelson Street and Chinatown. It is a very small Chinatown, but I managed to find an awesome Asian food superstore that was better than anything I have found in Central London and a great little place that did a good, simple roast duck on rice and dry noodles. I go all the way to Liverpool and still can’t shake my obsession with Asia!

The Liverpool Cathedral is a beast of a structure. It opened in 1910 and is the largest Protestant church in the world. Very impressive.

Heading back towards Lime Street Station, down Roscoe Street & Renshaw Street. This area confused me. Location wise it is very central and seems like it is one of the main parts of Liverpool but it was very run down, and there were abandoned buildings everywhere and a general sense of depression about the area.

Craven Cottage: 19 December 2009

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19 December 2009

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About a 10 minute walk from my flat is Craven Cottage, home of Fulham Football Club. I decided to head down there during the Man Utd v Fulham match, which I unfortunately was unable to get a ticket to (although after seeing the result, perhaps it was best that I didn’t get a ticket!)

Craven Cottage is located next to Bishop’s Park on the banks of the River Thames. ‘Crave Cottage’ was originally a royal hunting lodge and has history dating back over 300 years. You can see the original cottage which has been retained inside the stadium.

Manchester: 18 – 20 September 2009

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6 December 2009

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This is somewhat of a mega post, covering three days in Manchester. I was debating whether to do one post or a few smaller ones, but meh, everyone has broadband these days so it should be ok.

I didn’t really know what to expect from Manchester and came away very impressed. The fact that, apart from a small part of the trip, I got to experience Manchester with bright sun and clear blue skies was helpful!

The city actually reminded me a lot of Melbourne. Given that both Manchester and Melbourne experienced big periods of growth around the same time, this is not completely surprising. A lot of old factories and warehouses that have been converted into apartments, mixed in with lots of new, exciting architecture and a very different vibe to London. Unfortunately, Manchester does not share Melbourne’s food culture and the selection of exciting food was minimal to say the least. I did get an excellent Lebanese meal in the Northern Quarter and a great sweet pineapple bun and bubble tea from Chinatown though – and much cheaper than in London. Overall, Manchester is definitely a city I would go back to.

First, we start at Old Trafford. I am a huge Manchester United fan, and this was the first thing that I had to do. The stadium tour was brilliant, and we were pretty much shown all the areas of the stadium, rooms etc. that were of any relevance to anyone. Very thorough, and utterly impressive.

Salford Quays is an area basically across the river from where Old Trafford is. This area was run-down for ages, but in recent years has undergone a massive transformation. There are shops and apartment towers going up everywhere. There are photos of this later on.

St Peter’s square is one of the main squares in Manchester. The tram network in the inner city is being extensively upgraded, so this was the end of the line and my starting and end point when going to the city centre.

Down Cross Street, through King Street and onto Deansgate. A lot of shopping in this part of town.

Just off Deansgate is Market Street and the Arndale, a massive, modern shopping development. This area is very new and shiny and is very, very vibrant. Next to the Arndale is the Wheel of Manchester.

Urbis is a centre which has art and fashion displays, exhibitions on scenes in Manchester, stuff about the city and other interesting bits and pieces. It is basically a centre designed to show off what’s happening ”creative” Manchester. It is very obvious by walking around this city that it is trying to position itself as a creative and media hub. Edit: Urbis has since shut down and the building now houses the National Football Museum. Cool, yes. Creative and media-like not quite.

This is a sort of entertainment mega-centre across the road from the Wheel of Manchester and Urbis. It was cool, and had a very generic United States, Vegas kind of vibe (not that I have been to the US or Vegas, but it was the impression that I got). After this, I headed into the Northern Quarter, which is the ”cool, alternative” part of Manchester. I liked this part of town, and it did have a unique vibe to it. There were lots of independent clothing shops and artist spaces in little slots down random alleys.

From St. Anne’s square, we head back down Deansgate, but away from the shopping area. The big tower is the Beetham Tower, which in Manchester’s tallest building.

FAC 51. Just off the end of Deansgate are the Hacienda Apartments. For anyone who is into the Manchester music scene, this needs to explanation. Joy Division, New Order, Happy Mondays, a host of other bands and the whole Madchester scene were all driven by Tony Wilson, who had founded Factory Records in the late 1970s. The Hacienda was the club that epitomised all of this, and was open for 15 years between 1982 to 1997. It was known as the best club in the world. In the early 1990s the centre of the music world was in Manchester, and at the centre of this world was the Hacienda. It is perhaps ironic, given what Factory Records stood for, that the site is now home to expensive apartments but such is progress. I was very disappointed that the original sign for the club was strategically placed in an architect’s office on the ground floor so that it barely possible to get a glimpse of it.

Heading towards and down Oxford Road, we get to the University of Manchester.

FAC251. This was where Factory records was run out of from 1990 until they went bankrupt. Perhaps Tony Wilson shouldn’t have bought that obscenely large and expensive boardroom table? It seems that the building was later home to a small bar which has since shut down. I looks to be unoccupied at present. There was a very indie rock vibe about this area, different to the Northern Quarter – less artsy and more rock.

FYI the original Factory Records office was in a suburban house near the university but we couldn’t find it.

Next, we walk along Whitworth Street and Piccadilly Station, before moving up Piccadilly and Portland Streets and into Chinatown.

Manchester’s Chinatown was small but had a few interesting places, most specifically a great little Asian bakery that sells sweet Chinese breads and great Bubble Tea. Also, the prices of everything in Chinatown were noticeably less than in London. The Bubble Tea was actually affordable! There are lots of East Asian students in Manchester so that probably goes a long way towards explaining it.

Backtracking to the Arndale, Canon Street, Corporation Street and Portland Street. The “Dry Bar”, in the foreground of the picture after the bridge is FAC201, and was the Factory Records bar. It still looked surprisingly cool and independent which was nice to see.

Manchester Town Hall is quite an impressive building. Further down is the Manchester Central conference centre and across the street from that is Bridgewater Hall (a concert hall). Bridgewater Hall is a great example of modern, exciting Manchester architecture.

Back to Salford Quays and the pictures that I promised at the start of this post. There is a LOT of high rise construction going on around here!

I was lucky enough to go to the Man Utd v Man City derby as my first football match in the UK. Who would have thought that it would end up being an absolute thriller and one of the matches of the season. A win for Man Utd and the perfect way to end an excellent long weekend.

Brighton: 22 August 2009

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29 November 2009

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I know it’s been forever since my last update, but life has a way of moving along at breakneck speed. Today’s update is from my trip down to Brighton. The town has a very different vibe to London and is much more laid back, as one would expect from a seaside city. When I got off the bus, the smell of the beach and freshness in the air reminded me of home. All in all, it was a good day and the day trip down there is certainly worth it.

This building, which houses the Holiday Inn, is one of the ugliest things I have seen in my life. Given all of the nice architecture that lines the beach front, I don’t know how anyone with half a brain could have approved this thing. The picture actually makes it look a lot nicer than it does in reality, which isn’t saying much.

The famous Brighton Pier. It’s pretty cool, with lots of family friendly activities.

It are views like this that really drive home the fact that one is not in London.

The Royal Pavilion was built between 1815 and 1822 for the Prince Regent (who later became King George IV). It was designed in an Indian style as that is what was popular at the time.

‘The Lanes’ is the main shopping area of Brighton. As you can see, it is made up of many extremely narrow laneways and full of interesting boutiques. Most of the big name brands are here as well.

The main train station in Brighton, which is near the more ‘alternative’ part of town. I can only assume that this was the ‘swinging’ part of Brighton during the 1960s as that is the theme that encapsulates this area.

London: Exploring Hackney

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10 October 2009

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Today’s walk starts on Mare Street, in Hackney. Hackney is in East London had has historically had a reputation as being a dangerous area with, for example, ‘Murder Mile’ being only a few minutes’ walk from the Burberry Outlet store which you will see later. As if often the case with these sorts of things, the media beat up is more extreme than the reality. Sure Hackney is not Kensington, but it is an area that is very close to the financial centre of London, and it is in the midst of rapid gentrification. There is lots to like about Hackney, and the vibe is a lot more ‘real’ than in other parts of London, with plenty of hidden gems to be discovered.

Heading off Mare Street, Andrews Road, which leads to the Broadway Market is where the gentrification of Hackney is most evident. What was, 10 years ago, a dangerous part of Hackney is today a clean river, lined with apartments and cycle paths and an amazing market.

The Broadway Market is really great. It was set up in the late 90s by residents who were sick of the bad image that the area had. It was a hit, with plenty of locals setting up pubs, organic stores, food stalls and the like. Of course, once the area became popular, the council wanted to get rid of the markets and turn the whole area into apartments. The people who rented out the various businesses got together and purchased many of the properties outright. Today, the market is a highlight of the area and well worth visiting. It is similar to the Borough markets in many ways, but without the tourists and more of a bohemian vibe.

The Broadway Market is also home to the best Banh Mi in London. Banh Mi is a Vietnamese/French baguette style sandwich which is common on the streets of Hanoi. Banhmi11 is in the same stall as Ca Phe VN. If you are in the area, grab a Banh Mi and a Vietnamese style condensed milk coffee. You will not be disappointed!

This park at the end of the Broadway Market, and a few streets leads to the Hackney Town centre.

Just a hop, skip and jump – or should I say a car park, Tesco and council estate from the Hackney Town centre is the Burberry factory outlet. A mecca for chavs and South East Asian tourists alike, there are plenty of bargains to be found here.

Back on Mare street, and about a 20 minute walk out of Hackney to Old Bethnal Green Road and Brick Lane.

London: A Post Work Walking Route

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22 September 2009

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Today’s post is a walk from Russell Square, down through Holborn into Covent Garden, through Chinatown and ending at Piccadilly Circus.

Just outside Russell Square Underground station there are people in the morning and evening rush hour handing out free papers. They are very light on material and are primarily a vehicle for advertising but hey, it’s free so one can’t really complain. The Londonpaper below is owned by News Corp, and it was announced a few weeks ago that production of it will cease shortly.

Walking all the way down Southampton Row from Russell Square brings one to Covent Garden.

Covent Garden is one of my favourite parts of London. Most of the West End theatre is located here and as far as high street brands are concerned, all the big brands have stores here, many of them flagship stores. The Covent Garden market isn’t really a market as such and is more of a tourist trap these days – always busy and probably my least favourite part of Covent Garden.

Out of Covent Garden and down Shaftesbury Avenue and to the left is London’s Chinatown. The original Chinatown was further out of the centre but was bombed to oblivion during World War II. After the war, Chinatown was relocated here. Being in the middle of the West End, it is obviously going to attract a lot of tourists and as such it can feel quite unauthentic at times. The best area to shop for Chinese food provisions in central London is around Edgware Road, which is North West and about 10 underground stops from this area. Like anywhere though, there are good things in the official Chinatown for those who are willing to do a little research. Tokyo Diner has good value western style Japanese food and HK Diner does some good authentic Chinese food, although the authentic menu is in Chinese and if you don’t know specifically what you want or can’t read Cantonese you’ll be stuck with the Westernised menu. I always go for the boneless chicken or duck with rice. Simple and tasty!

Back onto Shaftesbury Avenue and a minute’s walk down to Piccadilly Circus, one of the most recognised landmarks in London. Whenever I’m in Piccadilly Circus I never cease to be amazed and always take a moment to appreciate just where I am. This area is non-stop busy and is even more amazing by night.

London: 21 June 2009

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9 September 2009

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Today starts at Notting Hill Gate Underground station. Notting Hill is of course home to Europe’s largest street festival which occurs all the way along Portobello road and the surrounding streets on bank holiday weekend in August. During normal weekends though, Portobello road is home to the Portobello markets, which contain a wide variety of stalls lined along the streets selling all kinds of things. There are a lot of antique traders here and the area also has a few record shops. Honest John’s records, which sources diverse, hard to find music from around the world is at the Northern end of Portobello road and Rough Trade West (the original Rough Trade store / home of the Rough Trade record label) is on nearby Talbot road. This store still has an independent vibe and feels a lot more authentic than Rough Trade East.

Just up from Notting Hill are Kensington Gardens. Kensington Palace was the birthplace of Queen Victoria and the home of Princess Diana. It is a really nice park with lots of people out and about enjoying themselves. There are quite a lot of tourists around by virtue of the Princess Diana memorial.

On the other side of Kensington Gardens is Kensington High Street, a nice high street full of big name boutiques and a very large Whole Foods Market store, which sells all kinds of great organic foods.