WEST RESERVOIR IN STOKE NEWINGTON

Saturday. Sun, certainly not warming the bodies but warming the hearts of Londoners. A walk through Stoke Newington. A break for tasting delicious quiches in a café in Church Street. Then tea time at West Reservoir’s cafe watching the brave people of North London Sailing Association over the water despite the cold weather. Afternoon, an early rakı table with delicious mezes. Happiness!

WATER OF LEITH IN EDINBURGH

An oasis in the middle of Edinburgh. A beautiful walk way along the water under the trees. Peaceful, quite and just beautiful.  

THE SMELL OF THE AEGEAN SEA

Since three weeks we were in Turkey enjoying the last days of summer, eating fresh figs, fresh wallnuts, green tangerines, aegean fishes, goat cheese, laying down under the sun, swimming in cristal clear aegean waters with calamaries and fishes.

And we left our hearths in Aegean Sea, again...  

PAINSWICK IN COTSWOLDS

Last week on our way to Silverstone for Moto GP, we visited two beautiful Cotswolds towns. The first town we stopped is Painswick. We walked on the narrow streets of the town and took some photos. We looked for a nice place to drink something but it was little bit like a ghost town and most of the shops were closed.

Anyway we enjoyed our walk on the streets lined of Cotswolds stone houses. The sun was not shining on that part of the day, pitty for the photos but it was nice to visit another town of this beautiful part of our little kingdom.  

SCOTLAND’S DOORS

Some Scottish doors from Edinburgh and Rosslyn Chapel.

More door photos here and here. 

DAUNT BOOKS

Our first and favorite bookshop in London. When we were living in Marylebone, we were visiting more often this neighboor shop and almost every day stopping in front of the shop’s window.

Daunt Books is one of the most beautiful bookshops we saw around the world. You can find here every kind of book but they are specialised on travel books and they have a huge collection of travel books where you can spend hours. If you are around London, don’t miss to visit Daunt Books, you gonna love it!

WARSAW COVERED BY SNOW

This week, we made a short trip to Warsaw and we enjoyed this beautiful city for four days. During four days it’s snowed and the temperature was –7°C but the feeling was –15°C during the day. It was cold but after our visit we decided that Warsaw is one of the best cities to visit during the snow. The christmas lights in the streets were still on and it was beautiful.

We stayed in Mercure Hotel in the heart of the city and we walked to almost everywhere. We visited the National Museum, the old city walls, the Praga district. We made several walks in Nowy Swiat which is most colorful street of Warsaw where are located lots of good shops, restaurants, cafés and patisseries. During four days we tried to taste every polish food we find in different places and each time we ended happy with the choice. We made more then one visit to A. Blikle Patisserie founded in 1869 for drinking white wine and eating paczki  -which is polish donut-. We tasted different types of pierogis -which are polish dumplings- in Zapiecek. We ate the best dishes in a polish restaurant named Przy Trakcie. Tuesday night was jazz night at the hotel’s bar and was another occasion for another bottle of wine.

We walked in beautiful Lazienki Park covered by snow and visited there the Palace on the Isle, Myslewicki Palace and Old Orangerie where is the Royal Theatre and Royal Collection of Sculpture.

For keeping the body warm and the mind healthy we drank lots of these: tea made by homemade raspberry juice, herbs, cloves, orange, lemon and vodka.

We brought home some delicious smoked polish cheeses.

We brought home also some Polish pottery. We love Polish pottery!

You know where is the best Irlandzki Pub east of Dublin?

MARYLEBONE SUMMER FAYRE

Today there was a summer fair in our ex-neighborhood Marylebone. And it was a lucky, sunny day (mostly),  like a nice spring day. The fair was taking place in all the big streets of Marylebone and it was a mix of a big food market and a big playground (lots of children everywhere). Marylebone Farmers Market also was there like every sunday morning. 

There was lots of food everywhere, roasted meat, sausages, paella, etc. The most colorful ones were the cupcakes.  

London Cat’s choice in the fair for today’s breakfast: roasted meat and typical British summer coctail Pimm’s. 

LONDON'S DOORS

We love taking door and window pictures all around the world.

And these are few examples from London’s streets.

LONDON KIND OF SUMMER WEEKEND

Last summer (our first summer in our little kingdom), was a shock for our Mediterranean bodies. But this year, we are ready for what is waiting for us: 90 days of rain!

After a normal, rainy and windy summer week, this morning we had a little bit of sun. It was a good reason for a walk to London’s famous Columbia Road Flower Market to buy some new rosemaries, thymes, tarragons, peonies and lavenders for our terrace.

Afternoon? Some kitchen activity, making zucchini pickles in a “lovely” rainy afternoon... 

SMELL OF THE SEA IN PORTSMOUTH

Yesterday we were in Portsmouth. It wasn’t an ideal day for being on the sea side but c’mon, is there a really ideal weather for planning something in UK? We tried our best and enjoyed the visit.

First we visited Charles Dickenson’s house where he born and died. (The museum is not open to the public till 28 January). It was a small museum and –unfortunately- except the sofa where he died and a kitchen cupbord in the souvenir shop, all in the house were replicas of the same period.

Then we walked to The Historic Dockyard of Portsmouth. Most exciting part of the visit of this big maritime museum, was the battleship H.M.S. Warrior.

Then we walked through Gunwharf Quays, Spinnaker Tower, Square Tower and Round Tower and take a break in The Still&West, a lovely, classic pub next to the sea before getting back to London. We had a toast to the honor of Mr. Dickenson’s 200th birthday in front of this stove.  

CHESTER ON THE WAY OF MANCHESTER

Last weekend we were in Manchester and on the way through there, we visited historical Cheshire town Chester. We walked around town centre and took photos of  historical Tudor houses. We surprised about the quantity of people visiting and shopping around the town. And moved to the next destination: Manchester!