LNDN! Day 10

On Day 10 I chose to do walk 3 "Die Straße der Tinte im Wandel" (="The Street Of Ink Through The Ages") from the travel guide.

You start at "St Paul" and the end of the walk is at "Temple".

Taken from the travel guide: Merian Live! Spaziergänge durch London

It is a walk through Fleet Street and its vicinity, where you can find lots of press buildings, but this is also the area which might be interesting for law students, for you can find the Royal Court of Justice and the "Inns of Courts", which are old English law schools. The biggest inn is "Lincoln's Inn", a very nice area for law students next to Lincoln Square (makes sense, right? haha).

You reach Somerset House at the end of your walk, where you can find different art exhibitions, and an ice skating rink in winter time! I'll definitely go there next week during my next trip to London!

At the end of my day I went to Camden Market. You get there taking the Northern Line to "Camden Town". This market is mainly good to shop clothes, crafts and food!!

I think the first impression you get is: It is pretty alternative! Although lot's of the stands offer almost the same type of shirts (mostly shirts with famous people on them) there is a lot more to the "Camden Experience", for if you walk further, you can find the Camden Lock Market. Here, you can find lots of crafts and pretty little things to bring home for your loved ones!

If you keep on walking you'll get to the area where they sell a mix of different kinds of things, and lots of different kinds of FOOD!!!

Sadly I wasn't hungry while walking through Camden Market, but the smell in the air was pretty tempting!

In case you only have a limited time visiting London, I'd definitely encourage you to go to Camden Market, for it's quite a nice experience and also often recommended by other travel guides :)

I'll now let the pictures do the talking!

x J.

St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

Inside St Sepulchre-without-Newgate

Old Bailey

This is the Central Criminal Court, also called "Old Bailey".

Streetart on the way to Fleet Street

Fleet Street

Temple Church

The Middle Court (at least that's what I think it is!)

Royal Courts of Justice

London Silver Vaults

Lincoln's Inn! Very Harry-Potter-ish!!

Leaving Lincoln's Inn to Lincoln's Square through the archway

Where the judges get their wigs...

Pretty self-explanatory

Somerset House

This was behind Somerset House, where people could get in line to be part of the street art project!

Beautiful view! London Eye, Towerbridge and Big Ben!

Camden Lock Market - Where one can find mostly crafts

...more food here

Beautiful architecture in the sunset

LNDN! Day 9

Hello again!

On day 9, Domi and I did a walk together, for he wanted to experience what I've been doing the last couple of days while he was at work.

So we decided to do walk 5 from the book called "Ein letzter Winkel Old England" (= "One last corner of Old England") which was a walk through St James and Mayfair, two beautiful parts in the heart of London.

Merian Live: Spaziergänge durch London

You start at "Piccadilly Circus" and end at "Green Park".
After small problems at the beginning, not knowing in which direction we had to walk, we finally set off exploring St James, a part of London where you see a lot of expensive and old shops, e.g. the shoe maker of the royal family, or the hat maker of the royal family. There were also a lot of arcades with small exclusive shops to see.
Furthermore, there are a lot of "Gentlemen's Clubs" in the area of St James. Domi and I even met an old man on the street, who asked us if we needed any help, and he showed us where some of the Gentlemen's clubs are.
That's what I love about English people, or people in London: They actually just randomly walk up to you and ask if you need help or advice!
This won't happen in Germany..

Prince's Arcade

Cute Candy or Tea Store.. not sure!

Lobb - Shoemaker

Lobb - Shoemaker 

Berry Brothers & Rudd Ltd. - Traditional Wine Merchants

St. Jame's Palace

A restaurant without prices! Whenever you feel like spending all you got: This might be the right place to go!

The walk continues in Mayfair, where you can find lots of designer boutiques such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton etc. but also one of the clubs where you can find Prince Harry and Prince William partying!

Fortnum & Mason

Movie shooting in Mayfair!

VS

You can't sit with us!

Burlington Arcades

Ladurée in Burlington Arcades

Mahiki: Where Prince Harry and Prince William were seen partying!

Later we went to Notting Hill to go to a restaurant Domi's colleague suggested. 

I'll post about the food in a separate food post though :)

Recipease by Jamie Oliver

Recipease by Jamie Oliver

Beautiful Church!

That was my ninth day in London!
Hope you enjoyed this blog post :)

x J.

LNDN! Day 8

Hello dear readers!

I haven't had the time to write anything on my blog for the last almost one and a half months, for I was so busy studying for exams.

However, now I really have to hurry writing about my last days of my (now kind of long ago) trip to London, for I will be flying there again this coming Monday, to spend New Year's there and then I might have some new things to write about!

So here I go... Day 8 mesdames and messieurs!

http://uk.westfield.com/stratfordcity/tourists/

I cannot post the small map of my walk, because I went to the mall in Stratford with Domi.

"

Westfield Stratford City

Europe’s largest urban shopping and leisure destination

With 250 shops plus 70 places to dine, Westfield Stratford City is the largest urban shopping and leisure mall in Europe and a stunning new lifestyle destination for East London.

As well as the many shops and restaurants, you’ll find a range of world-class leisure facilities.   Boasting 17 screens, Westfield Stratford City’s Vue Cinema is one of largest, most innovative all-digital cinemas in Europe.   You can also enjoy a luxury bowling experience at All Star Lanes while Aspers Casino, with its two bars and an 80-seat restaurant, sets a benchmark in the UK for modern entertainment.

Westfield Stratford City is part of one of the largest urban regeneration projects ever undertaken in the UK, and it is ideally positioned on the doorstep of the Olympic Park.   With so much to explore, don’t miss out on this iconic new shopping destination.

"
This is the exact description of the mall taken from the mall's website.

This mall is only a few stops away from Canary Wharf, and you can get there with the Jubilee Line all the way to the stop "Stratford".

We checked out almost every store in the main building, and I think there is also an outdoor area which belongs to the mall.

It was pretty tiring after a while, roaming around in the mall and we decided to eat lunch in the food court.

We both decided to eat at "Pho" where we also ordered the Vietnamese dish Pho.

Pho is a noodle soup with different ingredients in it.
At the restaurant "Pho" you can choose between two types of noodles and then they offer a variety of fifteen different types of Pho you can choose from.

The good thing is: They do not add any cilantro (I really don't like the taste!) or chili, but you get a plate with everything on it, so you can season it the way you want it!

Domi chose a Beef Pho and I chose a King Prawn Pho.
I must say: Both were very delicious, and it was a lot to eat!

There is not much more to say about our trip to the mall, except that there for sure is a variety of stores and also a variety of food to choose from in the food court!

It's worth a trip if you enjoy shopping! :)


x J.

"I don't need to be treated like a princess!"

Hello dear readers!

I recently talked with one of my friends about men [our boyfriends to be exact], and how it is sooo nice to be invited to dinner, lunch or any other kind of meal (haha this is especially very important for me because I'm always hungry!), or getting (surprise) gifts, or really nice gifts when we already expect to get one (like for Christmas or our birthday).

Supposedly, most of the women out there will sit in front of their screen nodding their head, but apparently there are also women who don't need any of this!

WHAT?

Yes, it's true! 

For instance: Once, I talked with a girl who had a boyfriend (or still has, I really don't care though...)  and she said, that her boyfriend didn't really treat her to ANYTHING (or only on very rare occasions), and she was (still!) happy to give him some surprise gifts, or invite HIM!

The moment she told me about that -and I was single back then - my jaw dropped to the floor and I was staring at her in disbelief: 

She firmly said she didn't want to be treated like a princess, or she at least didn't need to be treated like one!

Even worst: I once heard about a girl who had a boyfriend, and she sometimes had to bring her OWN BOTTLED WATER to his house, because he didn't have any although he knew she normally only drinks bottled water.
Like seriously: A bottle of water costs 0,19€ (approx. $0,26)
Omg, I am (again!) laughing with tears in my eyes, for this is so unbelievable to me..

Even being single back then, I knew that what I wanted (and what I until then supposed EVERY girl wants) was to be treated like a princess (or at least get a glass of water I don't have to bring with me hahaha)!

To be honest, my impression was: They both were happy that there is/was this someone who agreed to be their boyfriend and that's about all they needed.

My question is: Do women really have to be that desperate when it comes to relationships and love?

HELL TO THE NO!!!

I must admit, I was a very happy little single lady back then when I heard about those stories, which might also have been a reason why I wasn't really that desperate to just be happy about some man being at my side, but another reason is that THAT'S JUST NOT ME (even if I should have been an unhappy little single lady haha)!

Another thing I really consider to be a big NO-NO is to treat a man you like to a drink FIRST! Or shortly after he treated you to a drink, or the first time you ever saw him in your life...
I mean just NO, why would you?? Only if he's your buddy and supposed to stay your buddy forever, but NOT when you really like him and would like for it to develop to something more!
If you want it to be more than just friends and still treat him to a drink although it's nothing official yet (or you see him for the first time), then you're getting yourself friend zoned (or a grasping person will fall in love with you because he would look forward to a future in which he has a girlfriend while not having to treat her to anything, and in fact being treated himself!)

Actually, I once was on a date and the guy didn't pay, and even the waitress looked at me in pity and also shared my shock about him saying: "We'll pay separately".

That was the last time I saw that guy. 

The way I see it is:  If a man is not ready to treat you like a princess when you start going out on dates, then he never will! In fact: it might even get worst.

So: What actually makes a boyfriend a BOYFRIEND?

In my opinion it is of course not about material things like treating you to dinner or giving you presents all the time.

It is about letting you know and feel you're the center of his attention, and he's like your biggest fan (ok this might sound cheesy, but I just want to make a point here)!

But then also, being treated to different kinds of stuff is such a nice plus, and definitely a plus I wouldn't want to miss! Otherwise it would remind me of going out for dinner/lunch/whatever with my regular friends..

However, don't forget to give back!

Cook his favorite dish for him, also if you start dating that might be a very nice thing to do, for one of the ways to win a man's heart is going through his stomach (at least that's a famous saying in German...I hope English speaking people have a similar saying, so it won't end up making no sense just like "A Cheers to Coziness" hahaha)

But also: Give him some (surprise) gifts in return (not on the same day, for it shouldn't look like a refund haha), or gifts he can really look forward to!

I usually enjoy spontaneously buying things I see in stores, which I think will look good on Domi, and he's also been very happy with it so far!

Then: Also invite him to lunch/dinner at times! 

Or: bring some chocolate/chips/fruits for your movie/TV night together, or get him his favorite pizza if you go grocery shopping!

Those are little things to easily give back, to say thank you for being treated like a princess! 

For most men really give their best to make us happy!

And if the man doesn't meet your standards (for - EXCUSE ME - in my opinion he has to -to put it friendly haha- get a "head start" in treating us to things... like... the first 3 to 4 months! He really has to win you over first!) then just let it go, for it will not make you any happier if you proceed taking the "train to hopeless town", might even make you miserable!

Don't "sell yourself" under your standards, for then you'll also really only meet the men who will "buy you at the cheapest possible price" (ok, not talking about human traffic here, but I guess you get what I want to say).

Be one of those "old school" girls, who enjoy when a man courts you!

Stay true to yourself and don't let love (or a lot of interest) make you blind!

And dear men -in case there are any male readers here-, please don't get the wrong ideas reading about apparently existing girls being fine with nothing! 

In fact, please be classy gentlemen, for what I still firmly believe is that only because a girl claims not NEEDING to be treated like a princess, she may still WISH to be treated like a princess deep inside.

x J.

Do I have to dress up to shop?

¡Buenos dias! everyone!

The topic of this post came to my mind just half an hour ago, when I was walking through a store.

I just came from university, so I was dressed in simple dark blue slacks, grey chelsea boots, a dark blue Trenchcoat like coat and wearing my backpack (how else should I have transported my laptop and the heavy books??).

For the lock of my bike broke yesterday, I had to walk to uni and of course also back home, and thus, after looking for a new lock, I decided to walk through the city.

Last week or so I saw a very cute little Longchamp Le Pliage in dark violet, and then -of course- I started looking online, when I also found the Longchamp Planètes bag and now I wanted to see how they look and feel in reality!

So I went into one shop, which seems to be THE hotspot for everyone looking for a pricy designer bag (not talking about "Le Pliage"-pricy, for the price is quite fair I guess, but also the leather Longchamps, Chloé, Givenchy and MCM to give you some examples).

Of course the ladies in the store were watching me wander through the store, "trying on" different bags (I always have to see if the bag "fits to me" and my style, if you know what I mean...) and I noticed it, but just kept on looking at every bag I liked (which were about 10 bags).

Looking around the store, I only saw elderly ladies (people you would probably consider being "rich"), wearing their chic coats, being all dolled up, when the question popped up in my mind:

Do I have to dress up to shop?

Firstly, I guess the sales ladies were looking at me, because I'm young, and people apparently seem to think young people are poor (at least that's what I read in their faces while they were watching my every step).

Secondly, I was there with my fully packed backpack, which has a flower print (but was also blue, so it actually "matched" my outfit).

Thirdly, my hair was tied up in a "messy" ponytail (but that's the way I like it!).


So my question is: Why am I (apparently) not allowed to walk around with my fat backpack and a casual hairstyle when shopping in such places?

There was a report, or an article - I can't remember which one- where someone said that most rich people dress very casually, meaning even jeans and a plain white t-shirt!

Also, why is Cara Delevingne allowed to walk around with her baseball cap and funny backpacks, and normal girls like me are being watched although obviously coming back from uni with a fully packed backpack (ok, because we're not famous, but what kind of standard would that be?)

Just to let you know: I didn't feel intimidated being watched while walking around checking out bags, but still... I don't think it's nice of the sales ladies to give younger people who just come there the way they are those side glances.

However, I know it is sometimes also about the image of the store, which might be (or is!) a big reason why they wouldn't want anyone to lurk around in their store being poorly dressed.

Finally, in my opinion the things that should count for them are:

1. People don't look too trashy (and hey: you can't discriminate my backpack like that!)
2. People shouldn't steal anything (obviously!)
3. ideally, people should have enough money to buy something, for then the sales ladies can even profit from "us", because most people working in sales get a small percentage of commission for every sale they made.


To give you an impression of my look (and so you hopefully believe that I wasn't too poorly dressed ;) ) here is a selfie I just took (in a poor quality though, sorry for that!).

So those are my thoughts of the day! 

I wish you a nice weekend!

x J.