Fun Ride

Dear Everybody,

I can't believe my second to last weekend in London has passed and how soon I will be home. But while I am still here I'm enjoying every minute and in one week's time my best friend will come over visiting me which I can't wait for.

This weekend I spent not only with Celine but also Mina, a former Aupair of my host family that has come back for six weeks. Saturday morning we treated ourselves to delicious breakfast in a cute little patisserie on our High Street. Afterwards Mina and I set off to London by bus, which I have to admit I've never done before, I am a tube person. After shopping for a bit on Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street we went to see the Harry Potter Graphic Design Exhibiton in The House of MinaLima. It is tucked away on Greek Street near Cambridge Circus and a real jewel for Harry Potter fans. Displayed are all prints used in the films such as newspaper articles, letters, the Marauder's Map and many more. It fascinating to see how much detail goes into the films that you probably don't notice while watching them.

As the weather was still brilliant in London we then took the bus all the way to Raven's Court to get ice cream from the Little Bear Company. I mixed together Bounty, After Eight and Chocolate dip to make my perfect flavour. Later we caught a bus back to Sloane Square where we met up with Celine and walked to Battersea Park to relax in the shade for a bit before making our way home.

Sunday started out quiet with a walk through Little Venice where we had lunch at the Waterside Cafe. Set on a boat it is a cute spot for any meal or just a light snack. 

Our day got a bit more adventurous when we hired Santander Cycles and rode them to Hyde Park. Cycling in London is crazy and I probably won't do it much more. Arriving safe and sound at Hyde Park Corner we walked to Parliament Square where we chilled for a bit. Then Celine and I went on to the Southbank for a last walk before we made our way home.

Oh yeah, and Pisa was lovely :D

See you!

Things I Didn't Do For 11 Months

Dear Everybody,

living abroad, doing an exchange or just travelling is an adventure. And I am sure everyone has a bucket list of things they want to do and experience while they are away. Maybe this list is overcrowded. Speaking for myself, my bucket list was super long and I am happy to say that I ticked nearly everything off of it.

Being so focused on going out and doing stuff can make you forget and make you unaware of all the things you're not doing anymore. Because your habits and routines change, maybe because there is just no time, chance or need for them. I became aware of some of those things and thought it would be interesting to share them with you.

Let's start with food! There are a lot of things I haven't eaten in ages. They are mainly traditional German dishes or meals just my Mum can prepare the way she does. Nobody else will ever get them right. Luckily, I was home over Christmas so I didn't miss out on our roast and Klöße (mashed potatoes formed into balls boiled in hot water-so much better than this description makes them sound), potatoe salad and Bockwurst (basically a 'fat' wiener/frankfurter sausage) and our home baked christmas cookies. But what I am missing is my Mum's tomatoe sauce, chicken fricassee and a proper BBQ with Bratwurst and Brätel (pork steaks marinated in mustard and beer). I will maybe have like two BBQs when I come home in August, but usually I have so many with friends and family and I am really sad to miss out on them. 

I already have a list prepared in my head with all the things I want to eat again, also on there are: my Mum's cheesecake, Leberkäse (a meatloaf) and Knödel (like a long roll of dumpling dough cut into slices) with Gulasch (=goulash). 

Another thing I never thought I could go nearly a year without is going to the hair dresser's. But living on an Au pair salary and having to pay for everything by yourself for the first time in your life makes you realize how expensive some things are. And 14 quids to get your hair cut seem just absolutely outrageous. 

I also haven't been ill for a year and didn't see a doctor. Good for me, I guess. :D

A pretty obvious point is that I didn't go to school for a year. I decided to take this break and don't go on to university immediately. But still I could have taken a language course at a college here in London. I am quite happy I didn't, because I think just putting myself out there, living in a foreign country helped me so much to learn actively instead of passively, sitting in a classroom with a teacher telling me things.

As I am writing this there is one last thing that comes to my mind. And that's that I haven't seen one of my really close friends for 11 months. Because he was exploring New Zealand and I was 18029km away in London. It is a crazy long time thinking about it. I saw my others friends in person only once and my family twice. Thank God there is Skype and What's App to keep in touch. 

On this note I am going to end this already long post. It's amazing to see what kind of things you "neglect" when you take your life to another country, change your environment and situation. But I believe it is always worth the experience.

See you!

Summer In The City

Dear Everybody,

summer has indeed come around in the city meaning the best city in the world: London! We've been spoilt with sun and heat over the weekend with temperatures rising above 30°C. 

We started our weekend off on Saturday by going to the Handel House Museum on Brook Street. Not only Handel but also Jimi Hendrix, though 200 years later, lived there. Therfore this house holds amazing history of two of the most influential persons for music in London. And you could dress up again, which by now you probably know we love to do. 

After that we went for a long walk with the destination: Boxpark in Shoreditch. First we made our way to the Southbank where we got Mojitos to survive the heat. We wandered on through the tourist jam until we crossed the river at London Bridge. We then made our way up to Shoreditch to get delicious and well deserved s'wiches (basically ice cream sandwiches)  from Ben&Jerry's at their pop-up. With freshly baked cookies and sprinkles they made the perfect ending for a long summer day.

On Sunday we went for our favourite walk through Hyde Park, Green Park and St James's Park. We took at break at the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain to cool down and it was a welcomed refreshment to dip our feet in the water. From St James's Park we walked to Regent Street to spend some time at their Summer Streets festival. After listening to some live music we made our way towards Leicester Square where we had amazing afternoon tea at the Madd Hatters Café. 

See you!

Playing Hide And Seek

Dear Everybody,

a few weekends ago when I was on one of my many shopping sprees (someone needs to stop me, seriously) I popped into H&M for the first time in forever. I didn't think I would find anything but then left with the cutest romper I've ever seen. Rompers are great for summertime because you just put them on and are fully dressed. No wasting beautiful summertime in front of your wardrobe trying to find the perfect outfit. 

I wore mine on our day trip to Kew Gardens where with the palm tree print I blended right in. I love the bright blue of the pattern which I think goes perfectly with brown suede and white accesories.

                                                

Do you like rompers? Let me know.
See you!

Beauty All Around

Dear Everybody,

I had a lovely weekend and night out yesterday. It is great to always have something planned but also having a lot of time to just wander around London.

On Saturday Celine and I went on a little shopping spree before we made our way to Trafalgar Square where the Eid Festival was taking place. There were live acts on the big stage and Sadiq Khan giving an inspiring speech about the diversity of London and the tolerance it shows towards everybody. A highlight for me definitely was getting a henna tattoo, which just got me in a summery vibe.

On Sunday we conquered the 300 acres of land that make the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew. They are situated in Richmond, one of my favourite London boroughs. The Gardens are beautiful and stunning and the Palm Tree House literally takes your breath away with its tropical climate. Kew Gardens make for a perfect weekend daytrip on a lovely sunny day. Whether or not you're a plant and flower enthusiast, the beauty surrounding you there will leave you dazzled. Also it's not just flowers to see. They have a treetop walkway 18 metres above ground and this year a giant metal structure called 'The Hive' gives you an idea of what it feels like to be inside a bee hive.

Yesterday night we made our way to Soho to see 'Aladdin - The Musical'. It was the best musical I have seen so far. The performance was an explosion of bright colours, glitter, happiness and incredible music. I still can't believe that it was real and I had the most fun one could have. 

See you!

The Last Month

Dear Everybody,

how crazy is it that it's already July?! It means I only have one month left in London and I am determined to make the most of it. I got something planned for every weekend now and I just want to enjoy London and everything I love about it fully, before I have to leave. 

On Saturday Celine and I went for a shopping trip and generally just a nice long stroll through our favourite parts of London. When we came to Trafalgar Square it was completely empty, because about 100 people did a dance. That's one of the things I love about London. There is always something happening. There is always something surprising you. Then we bought a quarter of a watermelon and sat in Leicester Square eating it in the sunshine which vanished after 10 minutes and was followed by rain. But I even love British summertime by now.

On Sunday we set off early towards Camden only to find that we were too early. We went to the Cereal Killer Café (after waiting half an hour for it to open :D) for breakfast and it was incredible. Their cereal cocktails and hot chocolates are amazing and we could enjoy them outside in the sun. After wandering over the market for a bit we made our way to London Zoo along the canal. The zoo was amazing and so much fun. We saw a tiger being fed, two monkey mommys with babies clinging to them while drinking breast milk and cute armadillos playing with balls to get treats. If you plan going to the zoo during the next few months you might be able ti see the two tiger cups that were born last Monday. I bet they are darn cute!

See you!

Stracciatella Strawberry Cupcakes

Dear Everybody,

on Wednesday I was invited to a get-together with all the volunteers from the charity shop where I am volunteering once a week. As it was a bring-a-dish party, I decided to bake cupcakes and wanted to share the recipe with you.

Batter

150g softened butter

150g sugar

vanilla extract

2 eggs

200g plain flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

150ml milk

chocolate sprinkles

1) Mix butter, sugar and the vanilla extract until they are nearly white and fluffy.

2) Add the eggs and mix well.

3) Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.

4) Lastly, stir in the milk until you have a smooth batter and add chocolate sprinkles to get a stracciatella batter.

5) Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes at 180°C.

White Chocolate Topping

100g softened butter

250g cream cheese

50g white chocolate

1) Melt the chocolate and while it is cooling down, whip the butter until it has gone pale.

2) Then add in the chocolate and cream cheese and mix until everything is well combined and smooth.

3) While the topping is in the fridge to cool, cut strawberries in half and place them on baking paper.

4) Melt some coconut oil and mix in cacao powder or just melt chocolate to drizzle over the strawberries.

Now you just need to pipe on your topping and decorate your cupcakes with the strawberries after you let the chocolate dry. Unfortunately I didn't have a piping bag so I just spread the frosting on with a spoon, which I think doesn't look as nice as when you would use a star nozzle.

See you!