Elephant Parade

The Elephant Parade has been a European phenomenon that happened to invade Luxembourg this year (as well as the neighboring German town Trier). It is organized by the Asian Elephant Foundation and the whole charity started with an elephant named Mosha who damaged its front right foot, and needed a cast to help it get better. This cast was then painted, and the people looking after Mosha realized they could make full body moulds of elephants. To fundraise for the Asian Elephants European companies sponsor artists to make designs on the elephant moulds and create something new and different on the given form. These elephants are then sold at about 20,000 euros each, to support the elephants.

Now that this non-profit organization has become pretty famous Elephant Parade stores appear in each country hosting the new Elephants. Not only is this benefiting the elephants but also local artists get huge amounts of exposure and cities become more of a tourist destination.

I just happen to love elephants. This past weekend I even went to Germany to see the elephants in Trier. My friends think I’m obsessed just because I bought the book, and the magnets and a mini elephant, and I freak out whenever I see a new one. (Ok, maybe I’m a little obsessed) I even dragged my friend Gabi around too see some of  the ones in Luxembourg. Next year I’m hoping to spend a month of my time in Thailand to look after elephants, so maybe this is destiny telling me I need to have elephants in my life, or something like that. Maybe I just like them because they’re cute.

Here’s the Elephant Parade website: http://www.elephantparade.com/index.php/home/

And here’s the store where you can buy elephants:  http://www.elephantparadewebshop.com/

Nails at Swapaholics

At the Swapaholics event there was also a Nail Salon. It was just a little table with a lot of nail polish and two really fun women. I chose to get my nails done because I had a date that evening and the nail polish I had on was really badly chipped. It took me forever to choose the colours I wanted painted, because I knew I wanted to have an accent nail that would have more detail than the others. 

I ended up choosing a bright pink and a gold glitter. Lately I've been really into pink and purple more, maybe its because most of my winter clothes are blue and I'd like to think the weather should be warm now. Anyways, these two hilarious women entertained my friend Kristin and I for well over an hour and our nails turned out really well. 

Kristin is a nail biter, so we were hoping that putting nail polish on her would make her stop (sadly, it didn't). 

The nail artists are: ColourRiotNails and Lalafornailart, they both are reachable on twitter and instagram under those names!

Swapaholics

Googling cool things to do in London multiple times I came across "Swapaholics". Its a group of people who organize clothing swaps. You show up, hand in your clothes that you no longer want, and depending on how many items you get then you get a paper with that number written on it. You can browse through everyone's clothes and pick out what you like but you can only take away a maximum of pieces, the number of pieces you leave with can't exceed the number you showed up with. Until the free for all in the last 30 minutes of the event. 

My friend and I arrived pretty early so we were able to be-friend one of the ladies working there who happened to have the same name as me. We were able to browse a lot before other people showed up, and I was able to find a few cute things. They also set up that during the event there would be live music. It was a guy and his acoustic guitar. He sang and played, performing really famous songs, which I happened to quietly sing a long to. 

I really liked the experience of trading clothes because everyone kind of felt like a mini community. It was fun  and I'm definitely going again. I just need to collect up some clothes I no longer want. They do these events every few months around London, this time it was in Hackney, but previously it has been in Earl's Court. 

Here's their website: http://swapaholicsuk.com/

Fix 126

Fix is a coffee company with 2 stores in London. The one I went to was Fix 126, which is the Shoreditch branch. The wooden bar, and wooden tables give the place a very warm and welcoming feel. Most of the people inside are either chatting quietly, or tapping away at their laptops. You have to make your order at the bar, but unlike other Shoreditch bars they accept card payment for any purchase, so you don't have to worry about finding an ATM before you get there. 

Its set up the same way as Starbucks, you order your drink, they make it, they call out your order, you pick it up, and then you take your seat. Its nicer though, because they have a bigger variety of things to order and the atmosphere is a lot more like a community. I want to go back there soon, because I was able to focus better there than I have been able to focus at home, and it was really for me to study for my marketing exam there. 

Also one of the few other joys of Shoreditch, a random person dressed really creatively can walk in any time making your day more fun and special. Here's their website: http://www.fix-coffee.co.uk/fix-126/

Elbows

 

When going to pick up my pottery from pottery painting we stopped by a cute cul-de-sac nearby. There was this adorable little french style cafe called Elbows. It wasn't too windy so we decided to sit outside. I walked in, assuming we had to order at the bar, but we didn't. They then brought us out menus and asked us what we wanted. 

I ordered a chicken and avocado sandwich and a latte. And my friend Daniella got a mozzarella and tomato chiabatta. Both dishes arrived with salad, but it wasn't one of those ugly boring salads, this was one I actually ate, and usually I hate salad. This salad had beetroot, tomato, cucumber and zucchini mixed in with the salad leaves. 

It wasn't an expensive restaurant, I think I paid about 9 pounds including a tip for the really good service. It was a really relaxing lunch, the kind you have when you want to have a picnic in the park but its too crowded there. Its in such a nice area and it gives you a sense of community in a crazy place like London. 

Here's the link from tripadvisor, since the cafe doesn't have its own website: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d3277754-Reviews-Elbows_Cafe-London_England.html

Zaza

Walking down Portobello Road you stop at all the market stalls but somehow I never stop at the restaurants around it. This time I was finally able to look around a bit more, and I decided to stop at a place called "Zaza". This place has Italian ice-cream, or as I like to call it "real ice-cream".

I chose the smallest size cup, for 2,50 pounds, and the flavour licorice. I know, I know, its a weird flavour, but since this one summer I tried it in Sicily I can't get enough. It was amazing, it had a very subtle taste with a pang at the end. The store also had Italian candy and other Italian desserts.

The ice-cream flavours they had were all really cool for example there was; amarena, zuppa inglese, cassata, and many others. It was great because they had the English descriptive name on the top of the label and then the actual Italian name underneath. The people serving were all Italian except for one person that seemed like he was new at the job because he was still learning how to use the touch screen on the till.

The place has a few small tables in the back and around, there's also a stack of pillows that you can grab to make your seat more comfortable. Being such a small shop gives it more personality, and it reminded me a lot of an ice-cream place in Milan. I really want to try some of their other flavours when I go back to Portobello. Here's their site: http://www.zazagelato.eu/index.html

All Star (Bowling)

I recently went to the All Star bowling alley on Brick Lane. You have to push through a really heavy door and walk through a restaurant but when you get to the bowling area its really nice. You can tell everyone is having fun the second you walk through the door. 

The inside of the bowling alley is styled very old school American, and everything seems out of a movie. The metal bar that collects the bowling pins says "eat, drink, bowl" on it. And there are several other cute details. Their drink menu is very elaborate, so you can spend half an hour just choosing your drink. 

My friend Emily was the best in our round, but everyone had at least one round where we didn't get any pins down. The bowling balls are all really heavy, so if you don't remember how hard bowling was when you were a kid you're in for a surprise. 

One other thing I love about bowling is that everyone is wearing the weird bowling shoes, therefore you all have a sort of sense of belonging with your group of friends. It costs 8.95 per person to play one game, and I recommend you reserve before going there because there aren't many lanes. 

This is their website: http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/

Love Shake

On Shoreditch high street there is an amazing milkshake place called "Love Shake". You can get shakes with oreo, peanut butter, short cake, traditional flavours (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla), and alcoholic ones. They also serve food, but i don't recommend getting food cause the milkshakes are so filling.

The interior of Love Shake is very retro, there are pictures of Elvis and Wonderwoman from the old comic books. There are booths set up on the sides and their tables are set up like old diner table. They have cute lamps with cheesy lampshades and mirrors on the walls. My favourite thing is that the bathroom doors are covered with men and women from the 50's.

I go to Love Shake way too often, I go at least once a week, I can't get enough of their shakes. Here's their webpage: http://www.theloveshake.co.uk/

Albion

 If you want to go out for incredible brunch in east London go to the Albion in Shoreditch. Its an organic food shop specializing in breakfast food. You have to walk through the shop section to get to the seated brunch area.

Everything is white and beautiful with several rustic details. The edges of the tables have a cute metal trim, and you can look into the kitchen from the floor. Its nice to see the chefs cooking your eggs, and you can what other dishes they are preparing for inspiration for the next time you go there to eat.

I ate eggs and bacon on toast and orange juice. Their orange juice was the best one I've tasted so far in London. And they offer you the choice of white or brown bread for your toast, which i really liked. My friend Kristin got a museli dish and she asked for cinnamon as well and the staff didn't make a fuss about it unlike  in many other places.

You may need to wait a while before you're seated in the weekend but its worth it. Here's their webpage:http://www.albioncaff.co.uk/

Shoreditch Vintage Fair

On Saturday 27th of April in the Shoreditch Town Hall there was a vintage fair. It was really well set up, each seller had a little stand where their clothes were set up, and most of them had a rack with clothes of cheaper prices, such as a 10 pounds or 5 pounds rack. If you liked something you were able to take it downstairs to the huge bathrooms and try it on. I only bought one top, but its really cute, its jeans and polka dotted with white spots. There were mostly stands with women's wear, but there were  a few with men's wear as well as a few accessory stalls.

The hall in which the event took place was beautiful, it was an old concert hall, where the people of Shoreditch would go to see theatre productions and such. 

One thing I really enjoyed was how friendly everyone was, they were all willing to help you out, and several of the vendors gave me their cards. I'm looking forward to going by their stores sometime soon. 

The entrance charge for the fair is 2 pounds, and I didn't really mind paying those 2 pounds because they use that money to set up the next vintage fair. I think the event occurs every month on the last Saturday of the month. Here's their webpage: http://www.thevintagefair.com/

Vintage Tea-House

Its very common in English culture to be surrounded by tea. Originally I think people drank it to keep warm but now everyone is accustomed to it. Generally you drink tea with milk and sugar here, and I had never done that before arriving in the UK. Tea for me is to drink when you're sick, its supposed to warm you up to make you feel better. Here the tea culture is very different, and a great cup of tea some how always comes with a good dessert. 

At the Shoreditch Vintage Fair there was a tea room set up on the lower floor. The two rooms set up with ordinary cafeteria tables were covered in floral table cloths and decorated with vases of flowers as well as the occasional sugar bowl and milk jug. Everything was super cute, and all the cakes looked incredible. 

I chose to have a slice of the Banoffee Cake as well as my own cup of tea. Every tea cup had a different floral pattern and the cutlery given was traditional metal spoons with delicate engravings. It reminded me of being a little girl again. One of the other great things of this pop-up fair was that there were so many different types of people, families, bloggers, and several people just out on a walk wanting to come in for a cup of tea or a cute little cup cake. 

I'm really looking forward to the next time they have a Vintage Fair in the Shoreditch Town Hall just so I'll have the chance to try another slice of cake, or maybe a cupcake! If you fancy some tea, or cake go to: mabelsvintagetea.co.uk