London: Tea Time in Wonderland

Bingo! This week-end is forcasted sunny AND will last an extra day. Around me, there are constant talks of Pimm’s jugs.hammocks, barbecue-parties, of the pleasure of walking barefoot in the grass…

* Is there a spirit in the Old Operating Theatre?

* Couldn’t get a ticket to the Chelsea Flower Show? Cheat, enjoy it differently with dedicated cocktails and afternoon teas.

* Put on your dancing shoes at Spitafields. You can even learn to tango there.

* The V&A late opening is dedicated to Yoji Yamamoto. Fashionistas should rush there.

* Always wanted to own a real theatre costume? Now is your chance: this pop-up sells them at affordable prices.

* Stik is back!

* Or would you prefer miniature street art?

* Foodies, the party’s in Hampton Court this week-end.

* Fancy a picnic but don’t want to prepare anything? Try this. enter the code MAY15 for an extra 15% off the price.

* Come and admire the fab sport cars at Covent Garden before they race away to the Gumball 3000 rally. Gentlemen, we promise this is not a ruse to let the girls fo even more shopping…

* Take some height at the Sky Bar.

* To keep those little pirates busy, click this way.

* Yummy! There is a new Hummingbird Bakery branch in Spitafields. Street art & cupcakes, now thta’s good news. Follow the crumbs and you’ll find me.

* Top Shop hides a pop-up with limited edition clothes. It is hiding behing the florist shop…

* Discover London the yummy way with Tastour. I have just registered for their famous Indian food walk in September.

* Visit a Huguenot House.

* Sip a bubble tea.

* Pssst! Next Wednesday, go and see some opera on Trafalgar Square.

Feeling sad, tired, demotivated? Throw that vitamine C away. What you need is a few friends and a good dose of Blues Kitchen.

Recently opened in Camden, this friendly address is a lovely mix of bar, restaurant and music club. American atmosphere, wooden deco with extraodinairy lights (made me feel like raiding an antique shop to make the same), blues in the background, an always smiling and always cheerful team.

It takes just a glimpse to want to step in, just have a drink, you know, have a chat to catch those weeks that always go too fast, get some more personal news. Hesitation. Should we try their large collection of Bourbons…? We finally opted for whisky based cocktails and cheered with a Distinguished Gentleman (whisky, creme de peche, orange juice and angostura bitters – £7)  and a  Bourbon Smash (Bourbon, mint, raspberry, lemon juice, sugar -  £7). Surprisingly refreshing. makes you forget about pubs, think about the Far West somehow. Conversations flow, laughs explode at the tables around us.

Hunger comes. It’s time for a huge sharing platter (£14) which can easily feed 3. There’s everyone’s favourite: grille green peppers and tortillas to dip in guacamole, salsa, soured cream… chicken and buffalo wings that you will not resist easting with your fingers… Sweet potato wedges – to die for! – with cajun spices…

By now, you have forgotten you had ever felt tired. The waitress proposes a real, thick, ice-cream milkshake. Her advice is spot on – the vanilla-peanut butter (£4.5)  just matches the dishes perfectly (there’s even an alcoholic version!). Bonus point for the tall glass filled to the top brought with a little extra in the shaker. Very Happy days!

A burger passes by. A look at the menu, a smile at the mention of the bacon one: : The Big Daddy of burgers (£11). Well, that’s a deal then! The portion is huge, the meat juicy, served with fries and coleslaw. We were prett hungry but did not succeed to finish it. Next time, we’ll go for the very original Creole bean burger and Jerk chicken burger… We also tried the New Orleans Combo (£13) – takes you right there, you can almost hear the regional accent… This is such a comfort dish, almost a casserole, with its fragrant mix of smoked sausage, chicken, sweet potato, beans, tomato with grilled gambas on top. what’s not to love, he? Slightly spicy, just enough to make your cheeks go pink, not enough to stop you from having another fork…

And suddenly, the band comes closer, walking around the table. Think of the Aristocats scene with O Malley’s friends! As if they were pouring the music straight in you. Make you feel like dancing, shaking all the calories from the meal. What a swinging, jazzing, blues singing Camden place!

We left the rhythms still vibrating in us, humming soul music on the way home, thinking that singing the blues really could make you see la vie en rose…

The Blues Kitchen
111 – 113 Camden High Street
London NW1 7JN

Teatime in wonderland was a guest of The Blues Kitchen

In my handbag, I have just added some heart-shapes sunglasses. At the first sign of grey sky this week, my colleagues sighed: well, that’s it, summer is over… I much prefer a pinky vision of life.

* And why not start with a rainbow of sweetness? The new Ladurée shop is opening in Covent Garden today. You know where to find me!

* Did you know the Waldorf Hilton serves the most luxurious cocktails?

* Friday will celebrate Museums at night.  There is plenty going on but our favourite is the (free) Renaissance evening at the National Gallery: themed tours, music with candelight and kids can com in their favourite costume to listen to a storyteller. Churchill War Rooms offer a 1940ies party (£15.95) with makeovers, the chance to pause with accessories in front of the original 10 downing street door… Quite atmospheric.

* Don’t you love the atmophere in village fetes? This one will have bales of hay, a farmers’ market, a beer tente, traditonal dances…

* Another traditional touch: Morris Dancers take London over for a day!

* Relax on Trafalgar Square for the Asian Vaisakhi festival – this should be a lovely musical afternoon.

* The amazing Marawa will make you discover the fun world of hula-hooping. We have met and she is the most sparkling girl!

* Not a minute to loose – summer means lido-time!

* You won’t remain of stone at Tom Stogdon’s exhibition.

* Cheers to natural wines.

The simplest doors often hide the sparkliest places.

This proved perfectly right for the Sanderson -  the façade is non-noticeable, plain, very 1950ies. But inside, wow, what a surreal world, between Dali and Cocteau-land. The furtniture seem to have a life of its own, chairs and  sofas invite to lavish pauses, there is a hint of cheerful crazyness. This ecclectic mix has been put together by the French genius Starck – very theatrical indeed!

Come here right after work to sip one of their perfect, fluid martinis: litchee, watermelon, raspberry-pineapple… We loved the use of fresh passion fruit in a number of exquisite and exotic potions: the Swedish kiss makes an allaince with limoncello and champagne, the Vesuvio with ginger and lemongrass,the Honey Passion with cinnamon and apple. Climb on one of the winking  chairs and start chatting.

Do book! If you;re lucky, you’ll get one a table patio-side…

Sanderson Hotel – 5*
50 Berners Street
London, W1T 3NG
Cocktails £11-14

What a dream, it does feel like summer ! T-shirts and beach dresses are out. You’d better eat those Easter chocolates quick or they’ll melt before the hunt has begun…

Put that suncream in your bag and pick a few ideas:

* Are flashmobs dead? Not at all! Meet tomorrow (Thursday, April 21) at Pierre Garroudi‘s gallery at 16.00. Him and his 20 models wearing bright red creations will take London streets as an amzing catwalk stage. Arrival planned at Trafalgar Square between 17.00 and 18.00.

* Southbank opens on Friday a huge festival, inspired by the 1951 and meant to celebrate the British culture. Over the next 4 months there will be a beach atmosphere, Indian street food, a fun fair and each week-end will provide animations on different themes…

* Every year, the British Museum and Kew Gardens work together on a themed garden. Australia is the new guest of honour.

* St Georges Day may not bring an extra day off but it is no reason not to celebrate!

* Blue sky and bright sun usually mean great thirst. Why not cheer the weather with a royal pub crawl? Alternativerly, get a beard and a toge, it’s all for a good cause and your pint will taste even better for it.

* Trafalgar Square is so trendy that even Jesus will stop there this week-end. No kidding.

* Do you live in east London? There’s plenty of chocolate your way.

* Until now, our favourite bubble tea place was the Candy Café. Will this new address in Soho win over?

* We had fallen in love with Gina Foster‘s hat creations. We are not the only ones – she seems to be pretty busy for the royal wedding…

* Don’t forget your camera on Sunday: Easter Bunnies will be skating through Hyde Park!

* Royal wedding cakes are all the craze. Go and see this free exhibition that recreates the most amazing ones, including a Buckingham Palace made of sugar.

* Discover the keys ceremony at the London Tower.

* Hendrick’s will mix new cocktails at Selfridges, served in teapots: gin-champagne-elderflower liqueur. Cheers, my dear!

* You can now enjoy Pimm’s on the London Eye.

What about you? London or countryside escape?

Find your sunglasses! The week-end should see temperatures of 20 degrees AND a bright sunhine!
Yes, in London.

Head for your nearest park, walk along the Thames, find a rooftop or a beergarden!

- On Thursday, free cocooning and £4 cocktails – girls only.

- Revamp your wardrobe with Paul Smith without breaking the bank…

- Celebrate the Thai new year -  zen and exotic. A great opportunity to discover the Buddhist temple in Wimbledon.

- Southbank chocolate festival is back…

- Rediscover circus…  hip-hop version!

- Remember The Adventurists? Come and see movies of their trips and experiences. Of course, there will be the ever-so-perfect cocktails by Hendrick’s…

- Fill-up with caffeine…

- Love Italian cinema? This way for spaghettis-movies…

- Be curious about Tower Bridge…

- Walk to your nearest market…

- Stroll along the canal…

- Time Out just updated their list of cheap eats – ideal, we will need to test/taste them all!

- Get inspired by the elegance of Chinese arts…

- Get the kites out!

- Feel like a kid again with The Muppets…

- Prepare your summer agenda: Tom Jones, the Gipsy Kings and James Blunt will be in concert @ Kenwood House…

- Pssst: free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream on April 12 and 27…

- Planning a ride on the London Eye with the kids? The Easter Bunny has lost his favourite tea set – try and look for it in the landscape around the wheel and tweet the pics to @thelondoneye referencing #easterlondoneye. Who knows, you might win a family ticket!

The week-end to come is a special one for me. Sunday will be filled with hugs, bunches of daisies, sweet words made with sparkly Crayolas, homemade cakes covered in colourful sugary stars. Sunday is my day, you see, mothers’ day.

How will you enjoy yours? Here are a few ideas:

- Enjoy the first splash of the season! The Brockwell Lido reopens and it’s free for the celebration day!

- Look for glimpses of Elisabeth Taylor’s life through the city…

- Smile with those anecdotes…

- Have a surreal break… or a contemporary art hunt…

- Have tea at Lily Vanilli’s cake club -  it takes place in Hackney this time in a very wonderland atmosphere… Go for the champagne donuts!

- Circus are in -  whether they offer a contemporary show or host a nomad cinema…

- Get your camera out – come and join me at this photowalk!

- Revisit King’s Rd rock’n'roll style in black & white pics…

- London puts its dancing shoes on…

- Gasp at this amazing collection of theater costumes…

- Did you know the London Eye now has a beauty capsule?

- Selfridge’s and Oxfam open a top sale with clothes given by celebs – fancy wearing kate Moss’ dress?

- Sing a nursery rhyme with Eine…

- Discover a poetic sculpture made entirely of bird feathers…

- Are you a mum? Then get a free cocktail at Hendrick’s on Sunday!

- Add a spoonful of a royal desert – specially created by the famous Heston Blumenthal.

- Get some fresh air!

Impossible to take two steps in London without being face to face with a picture of the royal couple… Of course, most of the merchandising is pretty kitsch and will leave you smiling. I saw cardboard masks of Kate, William and the Queen at Waterloo. Even the kiddies book range is invaded: Angelina Ballerina has been invited to the big event, the Mr & Mrs has launched a princess edition, little girls learn they can be Princess Catherine’s bridesmaid, let alone cut paper figurines of the love doves (I’m amazed Mattel hadn’t worked on proper Barbie and Ken versions? Or is that yet to come?). Bored ? You can doodle the wedding away or why not, knit your own (not kidding). And if really, you don’t understand what’s happening, just grab the Royal wedding for dummies. Not a single object will escape that label! Let us know what you come across (chocoralie@ttiw.co.uk)…

Meanwhile, it’s almost week-end time and we should be able to enjoy London under the sun. Now, where did I put that picnic set…?

- Add a surprise to you mail…

- Join the Time Out Film Club to go through the best classics…

- Mother’s day getting near… Cath Kidston is proposing free workshops for the kids!

- Fancy some Chinese noodles?

- I think it is the first time I have seen sunshine for the Oxford / Cambridge boat race. Who are you supporting?

- Get green fingers at the Gardening festival…

- (Re) Discover Terry O’Neill’s pictures – 50 years photographying stars, including James Bond and the Rolling Stones…

- Get your loved ones something else than chocolate for Easter. This way for spring-themed shopping!

- A new bar dedicated to gin for tonic evenings!

- Royal atmosphere? This way for a new pop-up shop…

- A theatre play at the Tower of London? Nice change of scenery – book your tickets for Richard III quickly!

Baranis – remember: a French gourmet tapas bar, with its Provence atmosphere, even providing an indoor game of pétanque…

I had made you drool with its South of France little treats: socca, pissaladière, Rove des guarrigue cheese, regional liquors…

Little did I know they had a whole collection of pastis too, the largest in London! A lovely occasion to learn more about it with them.

A little history, then. It all starts with absinth, pretty strong stuff, 70 degrees, the green fairy for artists. Its hallucination skills, though certainly exaggerated, see it forbidden in 1915 9though, surprisingly it was never officially banned in the UK!) as well as any aniseed based alcohol.

In 1920 the government authorises the latter again, as long as they stay under 30 degrees. You can imagine the joy around Marseille. It take little time for new concoctions to appear of the market, all claiming a distinction, based on a different recipe of liquorice, herbs, green aniseed… They get called pastis, a derivation of pastiche, meaning a copy of absinth… Ricard (£3.50 a glass) quickly becomes a reference for Provence. Others are condidered Parisian, such as Pernod (£3.50) and tend to use plant extracts.

Wealso try that evening the gorgeous Henry Baudoin’s (£4): bitterer yet it does have a more complex aroma. No wonder, the brandt claims to add 50 herbs and spices: cardamom, cloves, pepper, angelica, nutmeg… This one is to be savoured more, take your time, think about it as you would of a wine.

Yet my favourite was and still is absinth (£5). It was made legal again after the recipe switched from the absinth plant, judged too toxic, to green aniseed. One expects it to be very agressive in taste – it is in fact sirupy, almost sweet, but has a marked character. Beware, though, this is 30 degrees higher!

If you are not so much into spirits, ask for a dash of cordial (£5.75). It will be called Tomate (tomato) with some grenadine syrup, Perroquet (parrot) with mint, Mauresque with orgeat, Glacial (icy)with both mint and orgeat.

Or let yourself be seduced by the cheerful cocktails (£6.95) like the Pagnol, a gorgeous mix of pastis, elederflower liquor, cranberry juice, fresh lychee and vodka… or the very refreshing Peach Anis Collins: peach schnapps, gin, lemon juice, soda water.

Gauranteed happy hours!

Baranis
115 Chancery lane
London WC2 A1PP
Open Mondays to Fridays, noon to 23.00

Fascinating Lily – her skills range from the most adorable cupcake to gothic, coloured, complex cake sculptures.

Always radiant, framed by a cascade of black hair, eyes twinkling with happiness, she could be an elfic princess in Tolkien. It is easy to imagine her in a kitchen-laboratory, adding a pinch of magic or reading a recipe in an unknown and poetic language…

The girl also is sparkling with ideas -  her latest one is to transcend the too classic idea of a piece of cake in a plate or too dusty afternoon tea. Forget scones and cup of teas for a minute, this is party time! Welcome to the finger-licking-good Cake and Cocktail Club…

A delicious and simple principle in the fab 98 lounge – one of those little secret addresses in Shoreditch which you will find by stepping down forged steel stairs… It feels a little like home, with a fun and slightly unreal decoration and look closely at the bottle at the bar – they will remind you of a chemistry lab!

On the menut? For £10, the pairing of one of her creations and a cocktail. The invite listed quince-brandy-cinder toffee ice cream… Red Velvet and Cherry Mini Layer Cakes… Courvoisier Carrot Cake… Individual Vanilla and Pomegranate Cakes… Don’t forget jasmine tea flavoured cocktail, nor the one using candyfloss or even the homemande humbug rum!

Seing the absinth fountain, I just could not resist -  this is my favourite drink -  and fell for the fascinating alliance of absinth-dark choc chips-mint in an ice-cream – refined, crunchy, extraodinarily refreshing, terribly addictive – please, please do this one in tubs quickly!

For a few minutes, conversation goes completely blank – everyone being hypnotised by their choice, discovering those amazing combinations of tastes… Once tongues are free again, it is sharing time, cups, glasses, plates go around, we settle further back: comfy sofas, dimmed light, time to reinvent the world…

Oh, the most adorable fortune teller was there too, typing cryptic messages that put a smile on everyone’s face…

More festive than a lonely desert, much funnier than a simple cocktail – a sweet and new way to start the evening! Mary Poppins used to sing of spoonfuls of sugar and her magical syrup taste of rum punch -  no doubt she will be there next time!

To join this private club, ask Lily for information: sendflours@lilyvanilli.com