London: Tea Time in Wonderland

This week-end will be a nice party with a long-time-no-see-but-never-forgot-you friend.
And so, there will be a shower of anecdotes from the good old times, a flow of pints in atmospheric pubs, walks till the end of the night. With or without umbrella, take your bets.
In a nutshell: make new memories.

For inspiration, we’ll choose a few of those:

* On Thursday, take your little artists to Covent Garden – they will have the opportunity to build an art structure with Louis Vuitton.

* Burlesque class anyone? I have always wanted to try…

* A gourmet pop-up on Southbank will serve very poetic food – rush there.

* Or would you rather go for a barbecue van?

* Dancing time at the Tate Modern.

* How about a free jazz concert in the V&A garden to start the week-end?

* Beware, naked cyclists on the go on Saturday. Litterally.

* Keep your eyes open -  yarnbombing is on the programme!

* Dare. Try this fish-therapy, you have been dying to.

* Discover London secret gardens and squares -  a beautiful opportunity to push usually closed gates.

* Brunch time! Our favourite is Dishoom, for its exotic touch.

* Street art tour? Yes, but on a bike.

* Londonus Dinosaurus.

* Circus and Cabaret united? Click this way to know more about this festival.

* Red, white or rosé? Fill your own bottle!

I’m French. That alone defines my love for good food, my curiousity to try new tastes, to discuss a wine for hours.
The Real Food Festival opens its doors this week-end so you can imagine how impatient I am. 400 deli stalls and so many treats to discover! I’m licking my lips in anticipation.
My friends from Café On and their macarons, The Sweet Tooth Factory and their rainbow of cheesecakes,  Supercherry and their Italian sweet wines (more about this next week!) will be there too.

What about you? Gourmet or adventurous week-end?

* How gothic – there will be a projection of Frankenstein in the Anatomy Museum on Thursday.

* Your credit card will be smoking – 20% off evening at Seven Dials.

* Tune to another kind of music and listen to a ukuleles concert.

* It’s drive-ins season again, my friend!

* What? you haven’t invaded rooftops yet?

* A chewing gum exhibition? Yes, daaarling, that’s art.

* Tea or coffee, that is the question at this festival on Southbank. The Sweet Tooth Factory will be there too with a whole range of spongecakes, including a rooibos and a chocolate-rose one.

* A new craft café is opening up -  you can learn to sew or embroider before enjoying a piece of homemade cake.

* Love that theme? Go and see the craft event at the Saatchi Gallery.

* Visit artist studios.

* Happy birthday to Coca-Cola – get a free drink at Selfridges on Sunday.

* Enjoy a view on the canal in Hackney.

* Brixton’s windmill reopens - lovely outing.

* Be on your way to Brick Lane’s festival. Spices all around! We particularly love Sheba there.

Each day brings a few more minute of light – don’t you love it, makes you feel so alive! Camelia are blooming like little fireworks, cherry trees will soon be covered in sweet cascades of white and pink. And if we arlucky to have a little sun this week-end, I might go and enjoy spring with a Jasmine tea and a good book in the Phoenix Garden. Want alternative ideas?

- Wold book day soon with a give-away on Friday evening on Trafalgar Square!

- Hey girls, fancy a free makover?

- Have a musical time in a pub…

- Explore the Barbican center -  two days of creative workshops -  great ones for kids too. Symphomic music and even a free nail bar for grown upsor why not the strangest Barbican tour ever?

- Discover secret galleries…

- …or a theatre play in the most unusual place…

- Marvel at a new version of Alice in wonderland -  all in elegant danced steps…

- Sail away!

- Letter posting just turned musical…

- Yes, royal weddings can be ever so fun!

- Remember Slinkachu’s small but ironic world? The artist’s back…

- Enjoy your Sunday Russian style!

- Or have a perfect family Sunday…

Pssst:
- March the 08th is pancake day: race it!

- Why not try to win a Royal Wedding street party, hey?

I dedicate this week to chatting. Quick, let’s go to the pub and cheer the fast approaching week-end!

- Have you smiled in the tube this week? Let us know!

- Hey, the Naked Cowboy (yes, the famous new-York one!) is @ St Pancras today!

- Be zen…

- Discover a secret wine cellar…

- Add a few music notes to the day…

- Listen to Anne’s Boleyn love letter to Henry VIII…

- Have a starry dinner! Or go for a touch of exotism at the Westfield Malaysian market…

- Get yourself a nice piece of art…

- Book a Wizard of Oz afternoon tea…

- Tag your way through the City…

- How fashion are you?

- Listen a classic album in a pub…

Pssst, next week is rum party time @ Selfridge’s!

Clear your agenda, my friends, there is so much on this week-end I hardly know where to start!

- Have a Malaysian dinner on Trafalgar Square, transformed for a night… On Sunday, change of theme, come and celebrate Eid there…

- Rush to the V&A late opening. This time, two’s a pair and games are on! Oh, and don’t miss this lovely poetic piece…

- Get ready for 2012 -  do your shopping here!

- Say hi to Andy Warhol and friends…

- Get a glimpse of the  Lion King’s backstage…

- Eat British! 2 weeks of celebration. And if you do have a garden, why not bring some of your harvest to St Paul in exchange for a free lunch?

- Forget what your parents said -  it is fun to play with food!

- Track the street artist Roa in Shoreditch…

- Add a touch of design in your shopping…

- Applaude the gorillas running this marathon!

- Fancy playing dominos?

- Sunday is party time on Regent Street, all on foot!

- Love adventire? Do you dream of kayaking along the Thames or doing some mountain bike in the cobbled streets? The rat race is for you.

Join me… @ a lingerie party… trying a tweet-up for the first time… and at Windsor castle. Where will you be?

Rain, ray of sunshine, rainbow… Gosh, you’d think we’re in March with those showers! hang on to your unmbrella, get the K-ways out, and run between the drops…

- It’s the Thames festival again! Two days of festivities, I just love this one. The program is this way. Do not miss the splendid classic boats @ St Katharine Docks… The festival on the bridge (my favourite, very poetic and countryside-like)… Le festival sur le pont (ma partie preferee, tres poetique et gourmande)… The night carnival…  And of course, it all ends in fireworks!  (if you do not mind French, you can see pics of last year here… and there)

- Invite youself to Prince Charles’ Garden Party with a difference… (£15, though!). 100 displays are presented, underlining recycling, sustainability, upcylcing…  I was there for the opening yesterday: pretty interesting, lovely gardens using recycled objects from daily life, a great moment to share with kids too…

- Are you a fashionista with a sweet tooth? Perfumes often have sweet, floral, fruity notes. Well, Harrods is dedicating an afternoon tea to those in parallel of the exhibition The perfume diaries.

- Are you going to the O2 with the Thames clipper? Have a better look at this sculpture…

- By the way, here is what you could do with 50,000 nails…

- Let the 21st century amaze you…

- Sing Elvis @ Hyde Park. Even Priscilla will be there!

- Yes, music and colours can dance together!

- A new idea: the silent cinema… I much prefer interactive theatre!

- Walk through Greenwich with this podcast…

- Watch an electric car parade…

- Dream of Africa…

- It has been 70 years since the Blitz so terribly marked England. Rediscover this slice of history through the exhibition @ the City Hall and the one @ the Transport museum…

- Take the kids to the V&A childhood museum – this exhibition about doll faces is just gorgeous.

Meet me in Shoreditch tomorrow night to discover this labyrinth under the streets of London!

Pssst: on Monday the 13th will take place a cinema-marathon: the whole Lost program, yep, all the episodes from start to finish, non-stop!

Will the sun be back this week-end? Are you staying in London or flying to more exotic landscapes?

- Take the kids to a musical -  they get in free!

- Or bring them to Covent Garden: plenty of workshop and activities for the coming two weeks, giant sandpit, face pianitng, juggling…

- The Imperial War Museum welcomes a farm for the week-end…

- Fancy going to a drive-in?

- Or a vampire picnic?

- Treat yourself to a fab breakfast -  my favourite is the Modern Pantry’s…

- get yourself some very iconic stamps…

- Are you a Bruce Springsteen fan? This exhibition is for you.

- Jazz your week-end up! (and it’s free, even better)

- Remember Charing Cross’ story? The monument is now fully renovated…

- Ooooh, a brand new sushi place, very design… Looks gorgeous!

- Or this way for jerk chicken and salsa demos!

- If you fancy a roof terrace and haven’t tried the Vista @ Trafalgar yet -  the entry is free on Sundays and Mondays (usually is a fiver but is said to be soooo worth it)

Pssst, heads up!
- Take the kids to the Lego challenge on August 17-18…
- The Savoy will reopen in October and is open for reservations -  could you resist a dinner or afternoon tea there?

As soon as we get to the end of June,  I switch to summer/holiday mode, whether the sun is here or not. D0n’t you?

- Covent Garden is 180  years old.  There will be plenty of fun planned, workshop for kids, a giant cupcake to be shared (on Friday), and even a huge giant sculpture enclosing prizes which you will have to grab as it melts…

- Be amazed by the Royal Academy Summer exhibition…

- Try an unknown museum -  the house of a Huguenot who had taken refuge in London. There even is a hidde3n synagogue in the basement…

- Gourmets will rush to the Taste of London festival to go around the food stalls and try the mini-menus proposed by famous restaurants. although I have to say the December edition had left me pretty disappointed.

- Join Tottenham Carnival!

- Victoria Park prefers to combine circus, art, music, cakes and village fete….

- Little girls will just love the fairy party @ Fulham Palace on Sunday afternoon…

- Like modern graphism? Try this exhibition of 20th century posters…

- It’s music day! On Exhibition  Rd, museums are dancing in joy with workshops for kids and plenty of concerts…

- Tea dances: traditional and boring? Well, this one will also play rap and fusion!

- Fancy a musical instead? Extracts of the most famous West end ones will be presented @ Leicester Square (and for free!) this week-end

You’ll find me… dancing @ Koko’s on Friday for Arnos’ concert… Building sandcastle on Southbank’s urban beach… Discovering the new Hayward’s exhibition which promises to be quite a show… And celebrating Father’s day in style @  Gaucho. What are your secret plans?