Paris - je t'aime

Ahhhh Paris.....what a city!! Being in London made me realize that I am only a two hour train ride away from Paris!! So of course I took the chance and booked a ticket on the Eurostar train to Paris! And I didn't regret it! So for all the London habitants or visitors, if you have a chance to get a ticket for the Eurostar, take it! It is a really convenient and fast way to get to Paris!

Being the first time in Paris, you have all kinds of expectations, as you have seen the city in so many movies, songs and advertisements! And I have to say that I really get the Paris wow effect! Paris has a flair and esprit, that I never noticed in another city like that! Although it has its dark sides (sometimes you can be really overwhelmed by the bad smell), it has a special charme and character.You can feel the historic importance of the things happened here wandering through the Revolution square or one of the great parks like the Jardin des Tuileries! 

Foie gras

Cuisse de grenouille

Chocolate Cake

Of course you should not miss out a typical french meal! I got lucky and was invited by a great friend to the Le Pharamond.  Its an absolutely amazing, fantastic restaurant of high cuisine on the 24 rue de la Grande Truanderie and I was absolutely overwhelmed by the french decor and the nice music and friendly waiters! Definitely worth a visit! As a starter I tried the "Foie gras mi-cuit maison, gelée de pommeau, pain grillé" which is like a duck spread served with grilled bread and jelly. Really delicious! And I also tried frog legs :-D and I have to say, that they sound disgusting, but they are actually quite delicious! A taste between chicken and fish and a nice texture, so don't be afraid and just try it! The whole meal (chicken as a main course and chocolate cake as dessert) was absolutely fantastic and a pleasure! But I have to admit that I was lucky to have a french native with me as the card was completely in french!

 In general it is really convenient to speak French as the French aren't really good with English and I noticed that they are so much friendlier and open when you try to say even a few words in French! But I have to say that they are trying to help you in any way if you ask them for help! I had no money on my phone and got stuck at the station, so I asked a few people if I can use their phones and all gave me their phone to call a friend and even helped me to find an adress! I was really surprised!

So Paris is really worth a visit: If you just want to spend all your money in la Gallery Lafayette which is right next to the Opera and has a terrace on the 7th floor giving you a great view over the Paris city center, being impressed by the Eiffel Tower by night (every first five minutes of every hour you can enjoy the Tower sparkling!), getting an art and culture shock in the Louvre (for under 26 year olds the entry is free!) or want to praise architecture whispering in the halls of Notre Dame, PARIS IS A MUST!

New years resolutions

Its time for resolutions! But what exactly are they? Impossible suggestions for a better lifestyle? Things you make up to satisfy your conscious?
I find it really interesting that it almost became a sport to make up strange and funny resolutions which everyone knows they won't achieve. Of course it can be funny, unimportant and easy to not take it seriously. But what if we would actually take it seriously? What if we make those resolutions count? And we could say: my resolutions really changed something, after the year has passed?
I think there are two sides to consider here...first the things you want to do better yourself. For me that will be to become more relaxed, not pressuring myself with things I can't change anyway, to embrace the wide range of possibilities rather than being afraid of them and lots more. I'd like to be more confident and independent of the opinions of others and just listen to the people who know me and appreciate me. Although I took it far the last year, there are still things to improve.

But the second side is interesting as well. I'd like to describe it with the question: what would I like to be the resolutions of others? What would I wish for them to change? Having a rough time myself the last year and watching others having that time too, made me notice that the world really needs more honest and less egoistic people. I know this is an obvious one, but what if everyone really thinks about that and tries to change that?

 Life can be unbelievably hard sometimes and you can't do anything about it. You can loose a beloved person, as a man you could loose your balls to cancer before the new year starts (true story a friend told me), loose your job due to the crisis, get really sick etc, etc. There isn't really anything you could do...but then life gets even harder thanks to us making it harder than it has to be. Is that really necessary? Why not make life nicer and easier being friendly and respectful to each other? So my wishes for this year are:

Please think about it before you spread rumours about others just because you love to gossip. You never know how much you can hurt that person.
Please don't fool around with the feelings of others. You know how it feels the other way.
Please just be a little bit more honest although it means hurting someone or being the bad person. As it really getting a rare virtue in persons,I'd really wish for more honesty.
Please just say clearly what you want or don't want, as it makes life so much easier of you know where you stand.

Even trying a little with those above mentioned suggestions , things would get more honourable again and actually could be called human because what we sometimes do to each other isn't human at all.
Let's think about that and make that year count! 

London Fashion - Christmas special

All I want for Christmas...

Oldies but Goldie's...its not new but good as always: its time for black and gold again!! To add to your wish list or just to look fabulous for Christmas, with these gorgeous pieces, you'll be the special present! 

Start with the glamorous leggings from Calzedonia for 25 Euros and golden baroque print! Not only are they incredibly comfy but they also shape your legs and bum and are perfect for every Christmas dinner!

Always feeling a little bit uncomfortable after the massive feast? Just wear this simple but great black blouse from H&M for just 15 Euros! Elegant but loose, it is made to hide all the little sins and you are welcome to try another plate of the delicious Christmas cake! Just wear a thin leather belt around your waiste and it will also look sexy and shaped! And to further pimp it: choose a thin but long necklace like the one above from H&M for 8 Euros and BOOM, there you are!! 

Now some presents for your feet! These absolutely fantastic boots from Miss Selfridge carry you through the whole night looking stunning! For just 54 pounds they give your feet a rest without looking anything but special! Off you go!

Some say, less is more but honestly, who could possibly say no to that incredibly glamorous watch by Michael Kors? The golden watch with crocodile appearing leather really puts you in a festive mood, being the one out of thousands! 

Last but not least: all of your little things to support you on Christmas night need a place: this elegant but also extravagant clutch from asos fits perfectly to the watch and gives your outfit the final touch of perfectness! Prepared like this, it will be a legendary Christmas night!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

London - Useful Information

How to get to London

As I'm in London now for a while, I can now start to give you useful information, you can use if you want to come to London or are just interested! First step of course is, how to get here! 

By flight: Obviously the easiest way to get to London, as there are four main airports in and around London, which makes it quite simple as you can see in the map below!

Lets start with the Heathrow Airport: Based west right at the outer ring of London, its the biggest and closest one! Here the most important information http://www.heathrowairport.com:

• 5 Terminals covering flights to over 180 destinations in more than 90 countries
• Heathrow express train gets you from the airport to Paddington station in 15 minutes (starting with 20 pounds for a ticket)
• with the blue Piccadilly tube line go can reach every station in the center within an hour - its the cheapest way to get to central London (just look up http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ to search the station you want to go to - starting around 2,40 pounds with the oyster card)
• taxi/cab is the most expensive way, although maybe the comfortable way if you have many suitcases, but it'll cost you between 40-70 pound depending on the direction

Gatwick Airport:http://www.gatwickairport.com/

• North and South Terminal to over 200 destinations in 90 countries
• app. 30 miles south of London, good for Easyjet
• National Express directly from St. Pancras International in 45 min (starting with 7 pounds, normal ticket 10 pounds)
• Easybus going from Gatwick to Earl's Court in West London in 1:15 h (starting at 2 pound, depending on travel time)

Almost the same information can be given for the other airports! Normally you can get really cheap tickets for the trains as for the buses and coaches are higher prices and they are not always punctual! Especially on peak times, buses can take way longer than quoted on the websites due to the traffic!

By Train: You might consider going to London by train, which is not that unusual as you might think! The Eurostar is the best way to take you to London! Especially from Paris and Brussels it only takes around two hous! Booking in advance really can get you very cheap tickets! I'm going to Paris in January with tickets for only 70 pounds return! So just check out some train connections and you might be surprised by good ticket offers!

By car: I can't really recommend to go to London by car. It can take hours to get into central London and out, due to the sometimes horrible traffic. Plus, you have to get used to driving on the other side, which can be really stressful during rush hours! And you will have to pay for the ferry or tunnel to get to GB. You might consider sharing a car go with someone sharing the same car. One website I can recommend is: http://www.blablacar.com/?nolang_redirect=1
Just try it! And WELCOME to London!

 

London Events

London International Horse Show Olympia

 Yesterday I went to an absolutely amazing event: the London International Horese Show! I bought great tickets on Groupon as I just moved to London and love horses! Taking place at the Olympia exhibition hall, you could nearly get lost in the premises! The main attractions are the huge arena, the shopping village and for those who are allowed to go in, the stables! I've gone to the amazing Andalusian show with horses and riders from the very old and famous royal school of equestrian art presented by the junta of andalucia! Absolutely amazing demonstration of Spanish passion and riding skills! Either the dressage, the typical dressed riders or the Spanish quadrille, all parts were incredible impressive. Together with touching guitar music it took me away again to Spain and one of its most honoured traditions! Here you can see a short video of the show:

After the show I really longed for seeing the horses closer! And I got lucky!! They let me have a look behind the scenes and into the stables, where I completely fell in love with the Andalusians! The crew telling me about the school in Jerez in Spain, and Juan, the head of the royal school told me that it's not only a precious city but it's also a place of tradition and interesting mixed cultural influences! They invited me to visit them in Andalusia, so I'm really looking forward to see them and the horses again in Spain! 
It was more than worth to attend that  extraordinary event! Absolutely recommendable!!

London Fashion Part 1

Fighting the winter depression - Victoria's Secret

Being I'm London during winter season can really be frustrating sometimes, rainy, grey sky allover - not really motivating! Need some cheering up? Here some of my favs - first stop: Victoria's secret!

Victoria's secret always is worth a visit, no matter what season it is! But especially in winter the store in London is really amazing with all the Christmas decoration and special offers that really can make every women happy! :-) so if you feeling a little bit depressed, just take the tube to Bond or Oxford street, follow your intuition all the way to new bond street and let yourself be taken away by three floors of lingerie heaven! 

My this season's favs and the reasons why:

No. 1: You should definitely work out during winter, as we all know physical exercise frees endorphins. This winter you might as well try out bikram yoga and to look really hot and special, this yoga leggings it what you should go for! Not only the design will catapult you right into the universe but the shape really lifts your bum up, optically lengthen your legs, so that you almost can touch the stars wearing this one! 

No. 2: I think we women also need something comfy, maybe after workout or after coming home from a stressful day at the office: this hootie instantly makes you feel at home and lifts your mood! And it goes perfectly with no.1! Of course there more colours, so just choose whatever colour you feel comfortable in and feel the pressure coming off!

No. 3: the truth is the thruth is the truth..we all know that! But sometimes you just want to look really fabulous and boost your self-confidence! Than you should definitely consider the new bombshell bras!! Incredibly pushed up thanks to soft cups, your boobs get a boost of 1-2 sizes, so save the money for surgery and just buy one or two of these fantastic bras! Especially when they come with great tropical colours like the turquoise in the picture! 

No. 4: you probably won't lie at the beach if you're not able to escape your work, but it doesn't mean that you can't buy one of these colourful bikinis and let them take you away to somewhere warm and sunny! They are everything but normal, so wherever you go with these wonderful pieces, you'll instantly get all the attention! Just choose a spa or the nearest gym with a swimming pool and go for it! 

No 5: last but not least: the dream angels collection of this season! Colours, glitter and glamour! Should I say more? The Christmas / winter collection dream angels is absolutely gorgeous! I got myself the white sparkly one with baby pink but I also love this tropical model as it blows away any sadness even quicker! Just wrap yourself up with it as your own Christmas present or maybe as a surprise for your bf? He is definitely gonna thank you for that kind of present! 

Christmas in London

It's Christmas time again!!!

It's finally that special time again and this year I spend the pre-christmas time in London! In Barcelona it wasn't that christmassy because of the climate but in London its all soooo magical!!! I can only reccommend to at least spend one Christmas in London! 

Where to go? What to see? 

I think there are lots of places to see which have great Christmas decorations so its difficult to decide but here are my favorite's!

1. Winter wonderland at Hyde park: I know its rather a huge festival and a little bit like the Oktoberfest in Munich but I think you still have to see it! There is no entrance fee but all the attractions have to be paid extra of course. Therefore you buy some "tokens" and then buy a ticket for an attraction. Car scooter for example requires five tokens for one car. A hot chocolate is £2,5 and some chocolate fruits around £4 ...Christmas prices ;-) but be careful! Especially in the evening the area is so crowded that usually they install entrance controls and if you didn't buy tickets online for the wheel, then you'd probably have to wait in line in order to get in! So rather go there in the afternoon then too late and spend one hour waiting! Highlights: ice skating with a lovely gazebo in the middle, just magical! How to get there: tube Hyde park corner or leave green park and walk that short way instead of being smashed in the crowds! 
2. Covent garden: its so beautiful if you just take a walk through the area and enjoy the atmosphere and the decorations! Its not so crowded and much more individual! Especially go into the market hall and just drink some mulled wine looking at the great red Christmas balls hanging there!       
   
3. Oxford street: you really need nerves and pacience to go walk on the oxford street but it's just necessary to get the total Christmas overload! :-) just enjoy how great the street looks with the lights hanging above the street and the stores with all the glitter and glamour! Especially for Christmas shopping you can't be anywhere better to have it all in one place! Just look for some special offers and discounts and your shopping will be perfect :-)