Machiavelli Kitchen & Dining

I wanted to go out to eat on my Birthday with a few friends so I decided to book a table at Machiavelli Kitchen & Dining. I have walked past it about 30 times and always wanted to go inside to find out if it was a store, a cafe, or a restaurant. Little did I know, it is both a store and a restaurant. Upon our arrival the evening following my Birthday we were lead downstairs to the main restaurant section. (it does bother me a bit that so many restaurants in London are on the basement level, but there's nothing I can do about it.)

After waiting on a couple of people we decided to have two appetizer trays with sliced hams and some other tasty bits. The music was fairly low, and I'm pretty sure our table was fairly loud. I really got into the Birthday spirit by being the bossy one at the table and making jokes that the waitresses weren't paying enough attention to us. But anyways, I really enjoyed my time there. Everyone seemed to dig into their food, and really enjoy it, so I think it was a good way to celebrate without making too much of a fuss. 

The restaurant itself was very cute, with napkins wrapped in string at every table and drawings of Machiavelli dotted around the place. I'd love to see if their lunch menu is different from their evening menu. And I know next time to not overlook the option of getting lasagna. 

Here's their website: http://www.machiavellifood.co.uk/machiavelli_restaurant/

Rich Mix

Rich Mix is a venue at the end of Brick Lane that does events as well as being an affordable cinema. I’d been there before to play ping pong with some friends, but this time my flatmate Charlotte and I went there to see Nymphomaniac volume one and two, as well as a live Q&A with some of the cast members in Chelsea. 

We brought snacks, stretched our legs, and queued up for hours of film watching. They stamped our hands so that we could leave during the intermission if we wanted to. But I didn’t move, I was just soaking in the films. The theatre rooms have a lot of characters. The screen we were in front of had really cool walls and ceiling which I only got to see at the beginning of the show. 

The nearest bathrooms are a little far away, so go before the film so you don’t miss anything. Watching Nymphomaniac was an experience in itself, it was really interesting and eye opening so it didn’t really matter where I was watching it. But I’m grateful I got to watch it in a comfy chair without any distractions. 

Here’s their website: http://www.richmix.org.uk

#Art

#Art is a show my friend organised and contributed to. It was for one night only here in London but it sold out even before the day of the show. #Art was a show to bring together people, ideas and ambition. There were photographers, musicians, designers, painters, and free beer. The space was between Angel and Old Street, with the entrance on the ground floor and the actual show on the basement level. 

The group of people there is what struck me most. Yes, of course there were a lot of friends and family present, but all of these people believed in what their friends were creating in any of these creative fields. It is really important to me to support artists in any shape or form. Without creativity we're just machines repeating the same steps through life until we die. The exhibition was a good eye opener. It was wonderful to see how well people collaborated and the effort each individual put in was very noticeable. 

The microphone was acting up so most of the performances were done without. The biggest struggle was keeping the crowd quiet. After a few drinks people were getting louder and louder. I stayed throughout the whole show, talking to friends, congratulating my friend Matteo's achievements and just enjoying the positive vibes. I was so happy to be there and witness it, even if I wasn't more involved, it was amazing. 

Here's my friend Matteo's Tumblr site: http://matteoscaglione.tumblr.com/

Urban Outfitters

When first moving to London I was so happy I was going to have access to Urban Outfitters. As a teenager I used to order their clothes as a birthday treat because they were so expensive and the shipping costs were high. So when I got here I started raiding their sales rack. They always have a amazing items on sale, and even the ones that aren't on sale yet still catch your eye. 

I love that they have homeware as well as a strong range of accessories. There are quite a few Urban Outfitters shops in London, and I feel like its always a slightly different experience at each of them. The closest one to my house is all on one floor, and it is fairly small but they have a great range of items and the staff there is really nice. The changing rooms are made out of old wooden door, which adds that little bohemian touch I would love to have in my every day life. 

I've been tempted so many times to buy a huge collection of things from there, but I've somehow managed to hold myself back every time. One day I'll go on that shopping spree, and buy all the homeware and all of the clothes, maybe some shoes too. Overall, I think its a cool an quirky store where you're likely to find something a little bit more different from the other high street stores but still something that would go with all of your other clothes. 

Here's their website: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/uk/index.jsp

Whitechapel Gallery

I’ve walked past Whitechapel Gallery about 500 times throughout my time in London. Finally when my friend Gabi was here we decided to go inside. We didn’t go to the main temporary exhibit that was going on because there was an entrance fee, but we did however walk around the rest of the gallery. We were able to admire the art work as well as building. 

On the lowest floor there was a huge room with a room inside it. The internal room was made out of books relating to history and anthropology. Inside this room made of books there was a little staircase that had a mirror at the top. This mirror allowed you to see yourself in the room as a sort of outsider. I really liked this. 

Upstairs there were a few rooms available to visit for free. One was a collection of historical pieces showing the history of the gallery and the events at the old gallery. The other room had a collection of older pieces showing a combination of mixed media. Overall, I really liked the gallery space, but I’m certain that next time I’m going to pay to see the temporary show. 

Here’s their website: http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/

Motown Desserts

Motown Desserts is a cute little ice-cream shop right off of Whitechapel High Street. My flatmate Emily and I went there one evening because we had an ice-cream craving and we didn’t want to get some from a supermarket. So I suggested we go to Motown. 

Sadly on the outside it doesn’t look particularly good because it’s covered in scaffolding. But the inside is quite quirky. The bar is covered in old vinyls, there are comfortable brown armchairs in the seating area and a huge light up sign showing the way to the seating downstairs. 

The ice-cream itself was really inviting. So I chose to get a combination of creamy, chocolatey flavours, and a separate mango sorbet. I tried their cookies and cream, honeycomb and a hazel-nutty flavour that I can’t remember the name of. My favourite was the hazelnut flavour because it had soft hazelnuts laced throughout the ice-cream. Their flavours are very thick and vanilla-y so I don’t recommend going crazy like we did by getting so many flavours. The mango sorbet was a perfect refresher after all that cream, its really worth trying. 

Here’s their website: http://www.motowndesserts.com/

Costa vs. Starbucks

Coffee in London isn't that big of a problem, there are so many beautiful independent cafes that you could have coffee from a different place every day. But when going to airports, or shopping centres, or smaller English towns you have to make a choice, Costa, or Starbucks?

I'm a little biased because my flatmate works at Costa, so when things expire on a Monday she brings them home for us to have. I may have had one too many chocolate twists. When I look for good coffee I go for Costa, because they only use their coffee once to make espresso shots. Whereas Starbucks uses theirs more than once, so the coffee is weaker. But if I'm going for iced, or sweet, its Starbucks all the way. 

I think the Costa food is slightly better, especially when looking at their fresh baked goods. Starbucks does have amazing carrot cake though. The Costa tea is better, but they don't entertain you by spelling your name incorrectly on the cup.

It's really a toss up. I tend to go to London City Airport and they only have Cafe Nero once you've passed security so I never get coffee there. What I love about Costa and Starbucks is that they complete each other. What one is lacking the other has. I want a Frappuccino on some days, but on others I just want a Mocha Latte. I guess I'll never be one of those people that order the same things over and over again. I just need to mix it up a little. My best compromise is to alternate between the two. But if I need coffee for my 9am class, I know I should go to Costa. I'll have Starbucks as my afternoon pick-me-up. 

Here's the Costa website: https://www.costa.co.uk/

Here's the Starbucks website: http://www.starbucks.co.uk/

(They are listed in alphabetical order)

Body Language at the Saatchi Gallery

I recently went to see the new show at the Saatchi Gallery. It's called "Body Language". There were a lot of colourful varied pieces with a lot of different influences. Sadly, my trip there was sort of ruined by two groups of students there on a school trip. They were really uninterested and making it very difficult to appreciate the art. So I rushed through the gallery staring longer at the pieces that intrigued me most. 

One of my favourite things about the Saatchi Gallery is that they integrate paintings, photographs and sculpture. This then leads them to use the space in a really interesting way, and it may be part of the reason for why I keep going back. They also always have things that you can't see any where else. The selection of pieces is always broad and diverse and thought provoking even if all you're thinking about is the composition.

The Saatchi Gallery is just one of my favourite places in London and it makes me happy to live here. It is one of the few places where I can be completely alone and be surrounded by ideas without feeling lonely or overwhelmed. 

Here's their website: http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/body_language/

Sugar Sin

Being European I get random cravings for liquorice. And I can never find liquorice in normal British food shops. So when I went down to Covent Garden one day I knew I had to go to Sugar Sin. My Swedish friend Kristin always used to go there and now I know why. They have a huge variety of candy, sweet, sour, soft, hard, chewy, etc. Everything is brightly coloured and the place is just so inviting. 

I think I literally spent 30 minutes in there trying to decide how much of certain types of liquorice I wanted to buy. You can buy already packaged candy, or you can pick up a bag and a scooper and get as much of everything as you want. It's a fun place to go with friends and there is definitely something there for everyone. They even have gluten free sweets! 

The staff there is really friendly and will always help with any of your candy questions. Its one of the few places in London where you can find sweets from all over. Also, it is in such a convenient location. I really love the decor of the place and the cute and quirky fantasy designs they have for their bags. 

Here's their website: http://sugarsin.co.uk/

Skylon Mixology Masterclasses

My friend Klaudia and I attended the Skylon Mixology Masterclasses last Monday. The classes are held from 2pm to 4pm and you get to discuss with a bartender the whole time. We arrived a little early and got seated at a table with some nibbles and glasses of water. After talking to our bartender we decided we wanted to learn more about Whiskey, Tequila and Gin. He brought out bottles of all the key Whiskeys in their collection explaining why they were different based on country of production and flavour. Klaudia then decided she wanted to make a Whiskey based drink. So he brought out a cart with all the items she would need to make the drink. 

We each took turns learning about the drinks we were interested in, and making them ourselves with his instructions. I learned how you're supposed to properly shake a shaker and a few other small tricks of the trade. It was a really good way to spend the afternoon, gazing over at the Thames, enjoying a drink and learning something too. The location is beautiful and it's the perfect place to bring a date on a special occasion. The staff is very polite, helpful and kind. They were constantly refilling our water and were really attentive the whole time we were there. 

The class is free, but you pay for what you drink. Both Klaudia and I spent 25 GBP each. It was worth the money, I learnt so much and I actually think I'll use the skills I learnt again in the future. Now if only I hosted a cocktail party and I had a shaker. 

Here's where you can book a place: http://www.skylon-restaurant.co.uk/offer/monday-mixology-masterclass/1327