Here are some pictures from a beautiful walk in the Kent countryside. We stumbled upon lots of bluebell woods, apple blossom and wild flower meadows while sheltering from April showers….
Tag Archives: travel
Vienna
I have had a few trips to Vienna lately so I thought I would write some
of the things I did in this beautiful city just in case anyone is planning on visiting…
If you (like me) are a fan of the film Before Sunrise you could do this tour which you can download on to your i phone. I didn’t have time to do all of this but I did go to Cafe Sperl. On the same street are a couple of interesting shops that are worth a look; Saint Charles Cosmothecary (sells lots of lovely luxury beauty products like Korres and Sapofactur), Anukoo (specialises in fair fashion) and if you carry on further down Gumpendorfer Straße and take a left at Hofmühlgasse you come to Polyklamott (a great second hand clothes shop)
Before Sunrise
If you want to track down more second hand, Bric-à-brac and vintage shops then it is worth heading south to Schleifmühlgasse and furniture store Bananas and high end vintage store Flo Vintage. There are lots more Bric-à-brac and vintage shops in this area as well as a sweet little cookbook shop called Babettes which has a little cafe at the back which sells herbs and spices.
If by this time you are desperate for some Viennese coffee (Melange) and cake (SacherTorte, Gebackene, Apple strudel…) then Cafe Museum, Cafe Sacher, Demel and Kliens Cafe are all good places to stop off (Cafe Sacher and Demel are in competition over the famous Sacher Torte.. so its a good excuse to try both!)
Polyklamott and Bananas
Cafe Sperl and the kitchens at Demel
There are so many galleries and museums in Vienna… The Albertina has a wonderful collection of prints and drawings as well an interesting temporary exhibitions programme. The Wien Museum documents the history of Vienna and has a large collection of art, textiles and sculpture. If you can, head over to the MuseumsQuartier where contemporary gallery MUMOK is located – the gallery has an exciting programme of contemporary exhibitions (a Claus Oldenburg show is just about to open) This is also the site of the Leopold Museum (which holds a large collection of works by Klimt and Schiele) and Kunsthalle (the home of Contemporary Austrian art). There are also a couple of bars and is a great place to hang out in the Summer. If you are in this area you could pop round the corner to Die Sellerie (a lovely little gift shop located on Burggasse)
Museum Quarter
If you have time take a tram around the Ringstrasse. Jump on numbers 1 or 2 – they both run the length of the impressive boulevard (buy a 24hr ticket from stations and punch it before you use it)
For dinner you could try Figlmuler which serves Vienna’s famous schnitzel (the size of your plate!) along with potato salad and a glass of Riesling for under 20 euro. The Naschmarkt (Vienna’s most famous food market) is also a great place to go for an evening meal. I went to Neni which sells delicious Lebanese and Middle Eastern food at reasonable prices in a relaxed atmosphere. If you want something a bit more swanky head over to haus haus and up to the third floor restaurant Do & Co for magnificent views of Stephansdom.
Marie Antoinette Square
Let me know if you have been to Vienna and can recommend any other places to visit. It really is a beautiful city and I hope I can go back again soon!
Andre Marty prints for London Underground
These beautiful vintage posters were originally published in 1931 by the Electric Railways Company Ltd. Designed by the Ecole des Beaus Artist Andre Marty, they would have advertised days out form London by tube, bus or tram. You can now buy a beautiful presentation pack of these set of A3 prints from the London Transport Museum shop.
Alex Hartley: The World is Still Big
Alex Hartley: Waiting for Daylight to End, 2011
Alex Hartley’s exhibition ‘The World is Still Big’ opened at Victoria Miro back in November (I have only just managed to see it before it closes next week). The show consists of a number of large scale mixed media works. On first sight these look like like photographs, but they are in fact sculptures.
Hartley has incorporated architectural models into each work – for example the huts in the two images above and below are actually constructed out of wood and potrude out of the photograph towards the viewer. Unfortunately seeing these works as 2D images really don’t do them justice. When you view them in the flesh you can see all the intricate and painstaking detail which has gone into each piece. He describes these scenes as representing …”one moment and what I end up building into them is a back-story to that moment usually about failure: a man trying to inhabit wildernesses, a man trying to inhabit these Utopian dreams gone wrong.”
Alex Hartley; Clearing, 2011
In the courtyard of the gallery the artist has constructed a dome (complete with wood burner and pet chickens) which he has been living in for the duration of the show. (This dome was inspired by the 1960s Colorado hippie commune ‘Drop City’ – hence the name of the work ‘Dropper’) The exhibition raises a number of issues such as community, belonging and isolation, and counter culture versus establishment.
Alex Hartley: Dropper, 2011 (installed in the courtyard of Victoria Miro Gallery)
The World is Still Big at the Victoria Miro Gallery runs until 21st January, 2012
Shopping
1 Toast
Specialisng in womens ware their clothes are made in South Wales from mostly organic fabrics, ethically sourced. There are a couple of shops dotted around London and although their website is extensive it is good to see the clothes and try them on – they often look a bit different on the website.
Toast Notting Hill – 191 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W11 2SB. tel – 020 7229 8325
Toast 133 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1QP. tel – 0207 704 8243
2 Liberty
This is a bit of an obvious one, but I love Libertys – it is defineatly my favourite shop. The building alone is a specticle and the fabric section is a highlight – rolls of tana lawn and traditional paisly prints. It is great for gifts and the kitchen and dining ware ranges are great. The clothes are beautiful (for window shopping!) and an endless source of inspitraiton for sewing projects!
Liberty – Regent Street, London W1B 5AH tel – 020 7734 1234
3 Ben Pentreath
This gorgoeous shop is located in Bloomsbury not far away from the British Museum. It sells prints, books, new homeware and a selection of antiques. This is the perfect place for gift shopping and if you can’t decide what to buy someone they even have gift vouchers! Ben Pentreath has a brilliant blog you can have a look here
Ben Pentreath – 17 Rugby St, Bloomsbury,London WC1N 3QT. tel – 020 7430 2526
4 Vintage Heaven
This shop definitely lives up to its name. There are stacks of vintage china, glass, kitchenware piled high. And large selection of textiles including fabric, curtains, tablecloths and even some lace. Combine it with a trip to Columbia Flower Market and Hackney Farm for a perfect East End outing. (please note the shop is only open at weekends)
Vintage Heaven – 82 Columbia Road, Bethnal Green, London. E2 7QB. tel – 01277 215968
5 SCP
SCP is one of the UK’s most innovative and internationally suppliers of contemporary design. Selling everything from furniture to toys, lighting to rugs. They also sell a varitey of textiles for the home which you can see here
SCP Shoreditch – 135 – 139 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3BX. tel – 0207749 7398
SCP Notting Hill – 87 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, London W2 4UL. tel – 020 7229 3612
London Guide
Related London
London Guide
London is a fantastic city full of great things to see and do, here are a few of my favourites.
London Guide