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Marseille: 1 – 3 March 2011

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Paul

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6 March 2011

Last week I decided to visit Marseille, and really didn’t know much about the city, other than it was a relatively big city in the south of France. The fact that it isn’t particularly a touristy town appealed to me, and I was keen to discover what it was all about. I left Marseille very happy with the visit, and would certainly recommend the city to anyone looking for a more ”real” experience that offers contrasts and something different than the typical touristic holiday in Southern France afforded by a city like say Nice (which coincidently I also like very much).

I stayed near Vieux Port, and was grateful to see some sun after 2 particularly grey weeks in London.

Every morning there is a fish market at the port, where all the fishers sell their catches from the morning.

The streets in the main shopping area of the city reminded me of photos of San Francisco with their peaks and troughs.

Cours Julien is a very cool part of the city. It’s very gritty and urban, and I loved it.

Heading up the major thoroughfare of La Canebière, and past the Eglise Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, is the Musée d’Histoire de Marseille, which is housed in a very cool building that offers amazing views of the city.

Just away from Vieux Port, in the 6th Arrondissement, are markets that have been set up amongst some of the small side streets that twist and turn around the entire city. Lots of immigrants from Northern Africa are here selling all kinds of products and delicacies from their homelands, along with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood. One second I was smelling seafood, the next it was Moroccan spices.

South of Vieux Port is, from what I could tell a different vibe from where I had explored the day before. I headed towards the Basilique Notre Dame de la Garde, which offers truly amazing panoramic views of the entire city and the ocean. Unfortunately the day was very overcast and misty.

After this, I headed down and along Rue Paradis which was clearly in more of a higher end area as was evident by the kinds of boutiques and wares on offer. I wandered off onto some side streets after a while and walked through and area with some big houses and the like, before coming out onto Avenue Du Prado.

It turns out that Avenue Du Prado is quite a long street, and I must have missed the portion which I assume must contain high end shopping given the nearby areas I had been walking through. When I reached the street, it was the final stretch before hitting the beach at Prado Plage. This section of the street is home to lots of offices of international companies, often housed in grand old mansions, with newer office developments also littered along the street.

I went for quite a long walk along the coast from Prado Plage to Le Pharo.

Le Pharo is home to Palais du Pharo, which was constructed in 1858 during Napoleon’s rule, and overlooks Vieux Port.

Dublin: 28 – 29 January 2011

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Paul

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5 February 2011

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Dublin was a city that I had always wanted to visit for a long time, but had never got around to visiting, I suppose because there always seemed to be more ”exotic” destinations to travel to in Europe. Spurred on by an advertisement I saw on the tube on the way to work on day, I booked myself a very cheap flight and a few weeks later here I was, ready to spend a whirlwind weekend seeing what Dublin was all about.

This was also my first real opportunity to try out my new 45-200mm lens – perfect for capturing the vibe of a city at street level (in theory!)

St Stephen’s Green is a small park towards the northern end of one of Dublin’s main shopping streets, Grafton Street.

Crossing O’Connell Bridge over the river Liffey, you get to O’Connell Street. This is Dublin’s ”main” street, and is one of the widest streets in Europe. The street was practically destroyed during the fights for independence and the following civil war, with many of the buildings today being from the 1920s.

West of O’Connell street are a variety of shops, bars and cafes, ranging from higher end establishments, through to markets and real arts type places. It is quite a diverse area.

The River Liffey, heading down towards the docks. This area has seen a lot of change over the past 10 years, and is now home to many office developments, apartment blocks and the like.

The Samuel Beckett Bridge, in the shape of a harp, is the newest bridge to span the Liffey, and opened in December 2009.

Trinity College was founded in 1592, and is known for housing the Book of Kells, a gospel book created by Celtic monks around 800AD with some very ornate lettering and artwork

Exploring the area west of Grafton Street, which is home to a lot of clubs, bars and restaurants.

Heading west along the Liffey to the Guinness Storehouse.

It is true what people say. Guinness really does taste different in Ireland. I never thought I liked Guinness, but I downed a few pints over the weekend and really enjoyed them. It must be the water!

Singapore Food Tour

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Paul

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2 December 2010

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I decided to stop over for a few days in Singapore on the way back to London from Perth, and dived into the amazing food offerings. Singapore truly is one of the ”food” cities of the world, with such a variety of great food ranging from cheap and tasty hawker meals through to fine dining and everything in between.

The first night was a nine course dinner at three-Michelin star chef Santi Santamaria’s new restaurant “Santi” at Marina Bay Sands. This was seriously amazing food.

Update Mar 2012. Shortly after the untimely death of Santi Santamaria, Santi in Singapore closed down, with his family deciding to focus on the Spanish restaurants. Condolences to Santi’s family.

Santi’s version of potato chips which came out while deciding which menu option to choose. It came with an interesting and tasty aioli.

There was a selection of 6 or 7 different breads that they brought out. my favourite was the olive focaccia which is the one in this photo.

I cannot remember exactly what the appetiser was. The fish was tuna.

Octopus salad with baby beetroot, yoghurt and white truffles.

Tomato salad with oyster escabeche, roasted peppers and iberico ham.

Chestnut cream soup with egg confit and chanterelle mushrooms. My favourite dish of the night.

Artichoke and cauliflower rice with crustaceans and cava butter.

Market fish (tonight it was snapper) with calcots, Japanese corn and red wine sauce.

Roasted baby lamb with crosnes and truffle sauce.

Roasted pigeon with crosnes and truffle sauce. There was also a third choice of suckling pig.

A strawberry sorbet for pre-dessert

Persimmon pastilla with grue de cacao ice cream.

Bread Talk is a chain that sells all kinds of breads. You grab a tray and choose what you want from the large selection.

Yams.

Mushroom Dumpling

Unagi and egg on rice.

Udon noodles.

Chicken on rice with an interesting mayo topping.

A hawker stall in Chinatown.

Dried noodles with beef.

Wet noodles with fish.

Honeymoon Dessert sells all kinds of tasty Asian desserts.

Coconut and red bean pudding.

Basil nut jelly balls with green tea ice cream and something else.

Mango dumplings.

Watermelon and I can’t remember what the white stuff was.

Mos Burger is a Japanese Burger chain. I am hooked on it!

The one in the middle, with a bun made of rice instead of bread, was the best.

Roast duck pancakes.

Hainanese chicken rice.

Pork ribs and dry noodles.

More chicken rice but this time from the Chinatown Complex hawker’s centre.

Beef balls and noodles.

Perth CBD: 16 November 2010

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Paul

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18 November 2010

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I had some time to spare after my walk down Beaufort Street so decided to take photos of parts of the CBD that I didn’t manage to cover the day before.

Perth Railway station was built between 1883-84 and continues to serve as the city’s primary and largest railway station.

The retail/office space around the Wesley Church was revamped just over a year ago.

The building is unfortunately going to be used for office space above the retail on street level. A shame, as it is perfect for a bar/restaurant.

The Art Deco Gledden building was constructed between 1937-38, inspired by developments in New York City and Chicago at the time.

Heading west along Hay Street.

Shafto Lane has always been activated to an extent, but the focus is becoming more dining/drinking related, which has added an extra layer of vibrancy to the lane.

The other half of Shafto Lane, hopefully to be activated.

Murray Street

Milligan Street

Heading East down Hay Street

St George’s Terrace

View from the Esplanade

Esplanade Train Station

The Belltower

Beaufort Street, Perth: 16 November 2010

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Paul

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16 November 2010

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Beaufort Street is quite a long street in Perth that runs through several suburbs. My tour starts at the intersection of Walcott and Beaufort Street in the suburb of Mt Lawley, before heading south through the suburb of Highgate, and then Northbridge before we reach the end of the street at the Perth Railway station.

The part that I’m covering really forms a growing entertainment and retail spine. There is a mixture of architecture from the various eras of Perth’s development, and several new apartment developments are being built, along with the opening of lots of new bars, shops and restaurants in sections of the street that previously had little vibrancy.

Planet Video has a great variety of things to buy and hire, including a very good and often changing selection of Vinyl.

The Flying Scotsman used to have a really good vibe about it, attracting all sorts of crowds depending on the night. Since it was revamped a few years ago, it has become somewhat more wanky, attracting people who wish they were involved in the scenes of the people who used to hang out there before the revamp.

Exomod has ordinary coffee, but being open almost 24 hours a day is a luxury that is not offered by most cafes.

An example of a newish apartment development on the street.

In Australia, Burger King is called Hungry Jacks and the 1990s Burger King style logo is still used.

Clarences is one of the new small bars that has opened since I’ve been gone. I went on Friday and was impressed with the food and service, however feel that the cocktails, although not bad, could do with some tweaking.

There are a surprisingly large number of sites like this one, which used to house a small used car lot, that are slowly being converted into developments more fitting of an entertainment precinct.

A typical side street in the area.

I’ve never been to Must, but the food and wine selection is consistently voted as one of the best around.

The kebabs from here are great, and it’s always open late.

The Queens Hotel was originally built in 1889, and has been one of the constants in this changing street. It’s always full and popular.

Elmars has been around for a long time, and is an excellent quality butcher.

The Beaufort Street Merchant used to be primarily a boutique food store, with a small cafe at the front. Since I’ve been away, it’s expanded its menu and got a small bar license, and is now primarily focused on that side of things.

Jackson’s is another restaurant that is highly regarded in Perth.

The Luxe bar goes through good and bad phases. Supposedly it’s currently in a good phase courtesy of new owners and a revamped cocktail menu. They have quite a large and nice drinking area out the back.

Another side street.

There are a few of these on the street, but they are slowly giving way to the newer, more expensive developments.

There are also quite a few of these nice older homes around, although they are now used as offices and businesses rather than homes.

There are also a few of these old apartment complexes around.

The Brisbane Hotel is especially busy during the summer, owing to its large outdoor drinking area.

Another side street.

An example of the kinds of businesses that are slowly making way for apartments.

The Ellington opened a week after I left Perth originally and by all accounts is very good and has remained true to its ethos of hosting great jazz nights.

I had dinner at this new Korean BBQ restaurant tonight. It was a good feed and reasonably priced.

The Court is a popular gay bar.

The one story building on the left will be home to a very tall, landmark apartment tower with a mixture of retail, dining and drinking options at street level. An announcement is expected to be made within the coming months.

Perth CBD: 15 November 2010

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Paul

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15 November 2010

2

Today, I headed into the CBD to see what changes had occurred since I left Perth almost 2 years ago. I’m quite an avid follower of developments in Perth so knew about the majority of changes, but it’s completely different when you see them for yourself, and gauge how they are changing the fabric of the city that you knew. Some changes were underwhelming, but overall I was impressed with what has happened in the time that I have been away. When I left, there was a big sense that Perth had a lot of potential that it was starting to capitalise on and it was nice to see that things are getting better, and that Perth is slowly maturing from a ”big country town” to a proper city. There is still a long way to go, but it is good to see that progress is being made.

Forest Place is one of the central public squares in Perth. It has aged very badly and the architecture to the right of the photo where I am standing is very late 1980s bad, lattice style concrete and all. All sorts of nefarious types used to hang around here after dark and it really wasn’t that good. With the redevelopment of the General Post Office (the beautiful old building to the left), and the completion of 140 William Street (retail tenants still moving in and a new classy bar to open, as well as office tenants to move in), which is above the Perth Underground train station, there will be a much greater flow of people through this square. On top of this, the square itself is being revamped and modernised, and the pedestrian link to the Perth train station across the road is also being improved. This area will be vastly different both visually and in use in a year or two.

Murray Street Mall, looking West.

The Murray Street Mall, looking East.

The GPO.

Awaiting the opening of the aforementioned link from Perth Underground station to Forest Place.

140 William Street.

Murray Street Mall, heading East.

Equus apartment complex under construction in the background. This is going to be a rather big building and should bring some much needed vibrancy to that part of the CBD which is very dead at the moment. More apartments and retail revamps are planned for that part of town.

Grand Lane is one of the laneways that has been selected by the Perth City Council for ”activation”. You can see it’s already started. Soon there will be some retail and bar/s down here.

Barrack Street.

Time to take a break to indulge in my Bubble Tea obsession yet again.

Perth Town Hall.

Hay Street, east of the Mall.

I used to have lunch at this Japanese restaurant all of the time when I worked in the Perth CBD. Went there on Saturday for dinner – it’s still great.

A slight detour from Hay Street, to this laneway connection Pier to Murray Street. A future candidate for activation perhaps?

Back onto Murray Street, continuing east.

This church was recently redeveloped. I don’t know if I’m sold on how they tried to blend the old with the new.

Heading up Hill Street towards the Perth Mint, which is the oldest operating mint in Australia.

Apartments going up in East Perth. From the photos just before the church, we’ve actually been in East Perth. A lot of apartments have gone up in East Perth over the past few years, and continue to do so. Hopefully the increase in population brings some much needed vibrancy to this part of town outside of office hours.

Walking along Riverside Drive, the grass is Langley Park, which was created by reclaiming land between 1921 and 1935. It was used as an airfield in the 1920s, and when the Red Bull air race is in Perth, it is again used as an air field for the race.

South Perth across the Swan River.

The Supreme Court Gardens.

Perth Concert Hall.

The oddly fascinating architecture of the Duxton Hotel.

St George’s Terrace is the street where, historically and still predominantly, all of Perth’s big office towers were located. This resulted in Perth having what many called a ”2D skyline”. With 140 William Street and Raine Square, this trend has been broken, and Perth’s skyline is finally developing some real depth.

Council House. This 1960s building was once voted as one of Perth’s biggest eyesores. Today, it is recognised as an excellent example of architecture from that era. Personally I think it’s a great building. Since I’ve been away, they have fit it out with LED lights that change colour at night.

The new ”St George and the Dragon” at St George’s cathedral. The brown building to the right in the background will be demolished relatively soon and the Old Treasury building to the left will, as part of a redevelopment of this block, become part of a luxury retail/hotel/apartment redevelopment. The tower that will go up on this site promises to be a ”landmark tower” and is expected to be both tall, and architecturally striking. The hotel operator is a known overseas luxury hotel brand.

Looking down Barrack Street, belltower in the distance. I didn’t get a chance to do a proper photo walk of the western part of the foreshore and St George’s terrace and will cover this at a later date. The belltower houses the Swan Bells, twelve of which were originally at St Martin-in-the-fields church at Trafalgar Square in London.

Hay Street Mall.

London Court, which in no way resembles or reminds me of London. The businessman who bought and redeveloped the land in 1937, Claude de Bernales, clearly had a fascination with Tudor/Elizabethan architecture.

Enex 100 is the retail component of this building, which was under construction when I left. For me, this is probably the biggest disappointment of all the recent developments. The design inside is disjointed and bland, and looks like it belongs in the scrapheap of generic 1990s failed retail concepts. 140 William Street has set a standard that others will have to match/beat going forward.

I much prefer the Hay Street entrance to Piccadilly arcade to the Murray Street entrance as seen in my earlier photo.

Trinity arcade is probably the nicest of all of Perth’s older arcades.

St George’s Terrace, looking west.

Howard Lane was the first lane to get the revamp treatment by the City of Perth. It had just started as I was getting ready to leave.

The building on the right was the Palace Hotel, and was a very popular and vibrant bar/pub up until the 1980s, when it became a bank branch. When the current tenant of the building, BankWest moves to their new HQ, this is expected to be turned back into a bar/pub. To the left of where I am standing, outside of this photo, is another restaurant/bar which will be opening next month. Along with the road works and footpath widenings that the City of Perth council is undertaking, St George’s terrace should become quite a vibrant street outside of office hours over the coming years. There are lots more bars, restaurants and retail developments occurring all along ”the Terrace”.

BHP tower, soon to be Australia’s second tallest office tower.

King Street is Perth’s high end fashion street, with lots of international brands moving in over the past few years. Prada is the latest and will be opening soon.

Just off King Street and connecting to Murray Street is Wolf lane. It has also been activated and a few more bars should be opening up next year.

Stupidly overpriced, yet I couldn’t help but come here for Kriek and fries back in the day.

Raine Square. This will also have connections to the Perth Underground station and retail and dining options.

Northbridge, Perth: 14 November 2010

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Paul

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14 November 2010

1

Today I quickly popped into Northbridge, which is many things as far as Perth goes. It is a restaurant and cafe area, a nightclub area, and in more recent times, an area where independent artists, designers etc. are encouraged to set up shop.

This update is just a small one, going from a bubble tea shop on James Street then up onto William Street, the Northbridge section of which is Perth’s unofficial Chinatown. I will do a more detailed walk through Northbridge at a later date.

Hi Tea is a bubble tea shop which has a great selection of flavours. I am somewhat obsessed with bubble tea, however in London there are only a few places that do it and it is literally double the price that it is in Perth, with a very limited selection, hence I never really get it in London. The best bubble tea I’ve found in the UK that is on par value wise with what I can get in Perth is in Manchester.

Outre Gallery, one of the funky new galleries that has opened up as part of the East Perth Redevelopment Authorities renovation of all the heritage buildings along this part of William Street. Within a few months, all of the empty buildings will have opened, and there will be a mix of food, clothing and art.

Good Fortune Roast Duck House has by far the best roast duck in Perth, and I was eager to get dinner from here as I haven’t been able to find anything that comes quite as close to this in London.

London: Shopping Tour Of Soho & Covent Garden

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Paul

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1 August 2010

1

London: Shopping Tour Of Soho & Covent Garden

London offers visitors some of the best shopping in the world. There truly is some thing for everyone. Of the many districts that offer a retail experience to visitor’s Soho and Covent Garden are two of the best – shops, cafes, restaurants, night-life, theatre – it’s all here.

Let me take you on a shopping tour of Soho & Covent Garden, and discover some of the most famous places, as well as some of the places that I think are the best in this part of town.

Soho used to be quite a seedy area, with a very alternative vibe but since, at least the early 1990s, it has been in a constant state of gentrification. Given Soho’s location between Oxford Street and Regent Street, change was always inevitable. The changes that I noticed even in the time I was living in London were many. There is still a small red light district and a section with some gay bars but overall things are rather tame these days.

In any case, there is a lot of great stuff to be found in Soho and the whole area has a great vibe. There are a lot of independent shops, and an ever increasing number of great food places to eat at. There are also quite a few good small bars around, although the night-life is a bit tourist focused for my liking, so I don’t really spend much time here at night.

The first stop on this shopping tour of Soho & Covent Garden starts at Golden Square.

When London’s bike hire scheme started these bike stations popped up all over central London quite literally overnight. They are everywhere and are great. Register, get a key, pay, take a bike, drop it off at the nearest station when you are done. Many cities already have a bike hire scheme in place, and it’s a positive step for London. There are always lots of people making use of them.

BAPE (Bathing Ape)

BAPE is a Japanese brand that was founded in 1993. It’s known for having very unique designs and high quality materials. Although I’ve never actually purchased anything from the store, as visit is worth it if only to check out the great designs and artwork on the clothing.

The Nordic Bakery

The fit-out here at Nordic Bakery is exactly like you would find in Scandinavia. Lots of natural materials and clean, simple lines. Home to, in my opinion, the best cinnamon buns in London, and on par with anything I have had in Scandinavia. Do make sure you come here with an empty stomach though, as the cinnamon buns are very filling!

Whole Foods Market

A small selection of organic foods, but absolutely nothing compared to the global organic supermarket chain’s 2 storey mega-store in Kensington.

Update Mar 2013: Since writing this post, a large, fully stocked Whole Foods Market has opened in Soho, just off Regent Street near Piccadilly Circus.

Vintage Magazine Shop

This place sells, as the sign would suggest, vintage magazines. It’s always interesting to see what was on magazine covers back in the day.

Flat White

Flat White opened up when good coffee and London did not go hand in hand. Started by a Kiwi and and Aussie who wanted, as you can get in Australia, a Flat White. It has a reputation as one of the best coffee places in London and feels just like the ones they have back home.

Flat Whites have become so popular in London that coffee chains Starbucks and Costa Coffee started offering them in 2010.

Sister Ray

Sister Ray is a Soho institution that has been going strong for over 25 years in the same location on Berwick Street. It has an extensive and varied selection of music on offer, and lots of vinyl.

Berwick Street, as close as I could get to the cover of Oasis’ 1995 album ”(What’s The Story) Morning Glory ?” Continuing from above, Berwick Street used to be known for its numerous record stores but, as Soho has changed, high rents have forced most of the independents out, and the street is becoming more trendy, with cafes and bars and higher end ”independents” slowly popping up.

Phonica Records

Just off Berwick Street is Phonica records. One of my favourite record stores in London, Phonica stocks an amazing selection of vinyl and CDs, and lots of rare things that they are constantly sourcing from around the globe. The focus is on all kinds of electronic music, as well as some funk, soul and hip-hop. They also have small gigs downstairs sometimes.

Hummingbird Bakery

The Hummingbird Bakery has a reputation as the best place in London to get cupcakes, importing the craze from NYC a few years back. Tourists flock to this place, and its reputation is well deserved.

The original store is on Portabello Road in Notting Hill, with a second location just up from South Kensington tube station. The third store, this one, on Wardour Street in Soho, opened in 2009 and as is the largest of the three. I couldn’t choose between the signature red velvet or the classic taste of chocolate, so I got both, although I also wish I had tried the new lavender one.

Sounds of The Universe

Another one of my favourite record stores, Sounds of the Universe specialises in funk and soul, and has a lot of old reissues that you won’t find anywhere else in London.

Agent Provocateur

Agent Provocateur is one of the most famous lingerie shops in the world, and was founded by Joseph Corre, the son of Vivienne Westwood in 1994.

Buaba Eathai

Busaba Eathai is a popular Thai restaurant chain that has outlets all over London. On some nights, there is a line all the way out the front of the Soho branch. The food is somewhat watered down for western tastes, but is still very good.

Princi Bakery

Princi Bakery is a boutique bakery from Milan, and has a very good selection of tasty Italian breads, pizzas and cakes. The coffee is top notch too.

Hummus Bros

Hummus Bros started a few years back and now has two other stores. I used to work close to the Holborn Store and often had lunch here. The servings are decent, the food is extremely fresh and tasty, service is excellent, and the prices are reasonable (although outside of lunch it does become more expensive).

Song

Snog is yet another establishment that started a few years ago, and has since expanded to several locations throughout London. The premise is simple. Plain or chocolate frozen yoghurt, with your choice of a multitude of fresh fruit or sweet toppings. Not quite as good as Pinkberry, but still great.

Foot Patrol

Foot Patrol had reputation around the world as being an excellent sneaker store, stocking all kinds of rare sneakers from around the world. They had to close a few years back due to prohibitive rent, but are back (albeit as part of the huge JD sports chain), with a snazzy new store. JD sports have insisted that they will stay true to the ethos of the original independent store, and by first impressions, I cannot argue. There were some amazing sneakers in there.

Now let me move this shopping tour of Soho & Covent Garden into Covent Garden. Covent Garden is home to lots of shops, cafes and bars, more name brands and generic stores, but still a selection of independents too.

All Saints

All Saints, which is a UK based store that sells a good selection of casual clothing.

Adidas

London’s Adidas Originals store. This store is actually quite disappointing compared to what I have seen in other Adidas Originals stores around the world. All the best stuff is in their Newburgh Street concept store just off Carnaby Street, about a 15 minute walk away.

Fred Perry

One of the many Fred Perry stores in London. This one tends to have some interesting items that aren’t at the other stores though.

Monmouth Coffee

Monmouth Coffee, on Monmouth Street servers some of the best coffee in London. I always buy my beans from here (or their Borough Markets outlet) and many of the good cafes around London also source their beans from here.

These guys know their stuff, and there is a newsletter that is updated every few months with a detailed description of where all their blends are from, how they discovered the blend, what undertones and flavours there are etc. Very, very good.

Sole

Sole has a very good selection of shoes for sale, including a very extensive selection of awesome sneakers, which one needs to try hard to avoid buying unnecessarily!

Reebok

The Reebok concept store. Worth a look in just to play with the pumps on the 1990s throwbacks.

Offspring

Another cool little shoe store. Neal Street, in the time I’ve lived in London, has become more and more of a shoe street. There are a stack more shoe shops on this street that I didn’t take photos of.

Size?

Size? is a great shoe store – there are outlets across the UK and it’s probably the best there is. It’s certainly my favourite of the lot. They have a very extensive selection of Adidas, Nike, Onitsuka Tiger and Puma sneakers and always have great sales on year round.

Pepe Jeans

Pepe Jeans is a great brand that I hadn’t even heard of before I came to London. Originally a single stall at the Portobello Road Market, they now have stores all over Europe. They have some really good casual clothes and their prices are very reasonable.

Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters is a well known US brand that has a few stores in the UK. They sell all kinds of clothes and random bits and pieces, such as ”the book of farts”, ”Chuck Norris vs Mr. T” other useful/useless things.

Diesel

One of the many Diesel stores in London. Diesel jeans are another item that I have to pull myself away from, as I already own too many pairs.

American Apparel

The popular US clothing label with a focus on sustainable practices and materials.

Hugo Boss

Generally outside of my price range, but sometimes you’ll stumble across a great item on sale.

Ben Sherman

I find Ben Sherman to be very hit and miss. Sometimes they have excellent collections, and other times it can be quite underwhelming. It’s certainly always worth a look in to see what they have on offer at any given time.

Zara

Zara, the global behemoth is always worth a look in to see what they have.

Ted Baker

Ted Baker is one of my favourite brands and has stores all over London. Their collections are generally always good, and come sale time it’s just unbeatable. This store is two stories, dedicated to men (the women’s store is around the corner), and very dangerous for my wallet.

Paul Smith

Paul Smith has some great clothes without a doubt, but even on sale, they tend to be too expensive for me. The best option for Paul Smith in London is an outlet store they have just off Bond Street. Often the sizes are awkward at the outlet store, but sometimes you can stumble across something great for cheap.

The Tintin Shop

I want to buy a poster from here of one of the covers, in French, but am undecided on which one to get. I’m leaning towards ”The Seven Crystal Balls”.

Now it’s time to move this shopping tour of Soho & Covent Garden out of Covent Garden and close to Leicester Square.

Cyber Candy

Cyber Candy. This is a great little shop, and they always have the favourites, as well as limited edition drinks, candies and chocolates from the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Pret

Pret is a chain that is everywhere in the UK. Always a good default option for lunch, the price is decent and the selection of sandwiches huge. They make their stuff fresh on premises each day and donate what’s left to homeless charities at the end of the day.

Pizza Express

Pizza Express is another chain that is everywhere in the UK. I’m generally very picky about my food and quite anti-chain, but to be fair Pizza Express is pretty decent (they do proper pizza not Pizza Hut or Dominos style), and you can often get 2 for 1 vouchers online.

Tokyo Diner

Back up to Soho, the section that abuts Leicester Square, and Tokyo Diner is one of my favourite places to eat in the area. No nonsense, simple Japanese dishes, good quality, decent servings and well priced.

A few of my favourite grocery stores in Chinatown.

This one has expanded its selection massively since I first arrived. They have about 20 types of Iced tea from Hong Kong, and have even started stocking the Yeo’s brand Kaya spread, as I found out today!

HK Diner

HK Diner in Chinatown offers Londoners authentic Cantonese cuisine. You won’t find it explicitly stated on the menu, but ask for the roast duck on steamed rice and you will be in for a treat. In fact, there is a “Chinese” menu that differs from the one in English. That’s where you’ll find the best stuff.

Keep an eye out for “mullet man”, who seems to be working there 24/7!

I hope you enjoyed my shopping tour of Soho & Covent Garden, and the you’ve seen some great tips for whenever you’re in the city.

Update Mar 2013: Looking through this post in hindsight has been quite interesting. There are certain places not on this list that have become favourites of mine, but it’s still a great list!

Cornwall: 1 – 3 May 2010

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Paul

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26 July 2010

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Cornwall is the most South Western county in the UK, and is a beautiful part of the UK, full of greenery, beautiful country side and lots of amazing coastal walks. The entire county is peppered with small towns and villages, with there only being one actual ”city” in the region. It’s easy to tell that there is a ”Cornish” identity, in the accents, the general way of life in the area, and the use of the Celtic language on signs all around.

This long weekend started in the town of Cheddar, which is actually in the county of Somerset, not Cornwall. The reason to go there was, of course, because it is where Cheddar cheese is from. I did have some cheddar with my lunch at the pub, then it was off to the Cheddar Gorge, which is the largest gorge in the UK and has been the site of human settlements since Neolithic times.

Port Isaac is a small fishing village, which is very pleasant to walk around.

Land’s End is the most south westerly point of the UK, and the most western point of the English mainland. People often walk from here, 1,349 kilometres away to John O’Groats in Scotland, which is the longest distance between two points in the UK. In recent years the area behind the building in the picture immediately below has had a lot of gimmicky things installed but there is no need, when the area is so naturally stunning.

Just west of Penzance is the Minack Theatre. In 1929, a local village group of actors had staged A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream nearby, and the owner of a nearby house offered to stage their next play, The Tempest in her garden overlooking the ocean. Over the years Rowena, along with her gardener, slowly built the garden up into the present day theatre, which is still used today.

Lizard Point is the most southern part of the the English mainland.

Falmouth is one of the larger towns in Cornwall.

Padstow was traditionally a fishing port, but is now a popular tourist destination, with restaurateur Rick Stein having several establishments here. I had a traditional English breakfast at his cafe, which while decent, was nothing spectacular. His patisserie however, was very good and on our group’s quest to find the best scone in Cornwall, the best by far was from here. The walk along the coast, which forms part of the ”South West Coast Path”, is stunning.

Paris: 14 November 2009

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Paul

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16 June 2010

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The final day of my Paris trip, and a relatively manageable number of photos this time!

We start at the Musee du Louvre, which the most visited, and one of the largest, museums in the world. The collection is obviously massive, and covers many eras of human history. The original building began as a fortress in the 12th century and has been expanded and modified several times. The most recent additions are the pyramid structure above ground, which was completed in 1988 and the inverted pyramid, which was completed in 1993.

Just up from the Louvre, is some of the most upmarket shopping in Paris. On Rue Royal is the Ladurée pâtisserie, which has been selling all kinds of delectable delicacies since opening in 1862. Ladurée is where the Macaron was invented. It is one of my favourite pâtisseries in the world, and its creations are to die for.

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the top of Montmartre. Amazing views across Paris can be had from here. The is the route up that many take, which is to walk or take a lift from Anvers Metro station, passing through numerous tourist stalls and street vendors selling ”lucky beads”, or the alternate route which is a fascinating walk from the Red Light district, up through the many artistic, narrow streets and public squares to the top. The latter is, as expected, a much more rewarding choice.