Tea Time in Wonderland

Posts Tagged ‘London’

A few ideas to treat your mum…

- Stop @ Selfridge’s to personnalize a card or a cupcake on Friday…

- Let her choose a gift @ this craft festival…

- Wouldn’t a floral exhibition @ Hampton Court be a royal occasion?

- Or a Mrs Dalloway walk?

- Take her to Ham House – mums go free on Sunday!

A few alternative idea…

- Don’t miss St Patrick’s parade!

- Raining? Try a in-house picnic with Courvoisier…

- Collect pop-ups. The latest one is a Parisian shop taking a pause @ Liberty

- A touch of Hollywood, maybe?

- More photos @ Somerset House. Free. Including some Irving Penn (when you would have to pay to see some @ The National Portrait gallery)

You’ll find me @ this extraordinary steam fair which promises wonderful rides… Finger-crossing for sunshine! And also strolling at Selfridge’s (craving sushis) through their new Beatrix Potter exhibition.

What an amazing art installation in the Saatchi basement.

I had read the presentation, knew what to expect -  but still your mind tricks you. You step closer and you brain is so confused for a second. How to limit the ceiling, ground, walls? How deep is the place? You’ll find yourself trying to analyse sunshine rays…

Only in a second time will you get back to reality -  a smell tickling your nose.

Yep, this room is filled with a sump oil sea. Not a line on the surface, not a movement – you even have a crazy thought that it looks like one could walk on it. The camera will be the best traitor here.

It will keep you mesmerized for a good ten minutes. Another kind of art sulpture!

Richard Wilson 20:50 installation
Saatchi Gallery
Chelsea
London, SW3 4SQ
Metro: Sloane square

Free! Until May 07, 2010

There’s spring in the air, get your snickers ready!

- Go and enjoy the East London Festival – so rich in music festivities, world culture, architecture, guided tours…

- Play with words @ the London Word Festival

- Add a splash of colour with this Hindu festival

- take the kids to a different week-end @ Barbican – poetry, Indian lanterns, bollywood dances…

- Since you’re @ Barbican, try a little alternative music. Yep, those are real birds. And it’s free!

- Fancy a little Alice in your week-end? Here a Mad Hatter Ball, here a little bit more about Lewis Caroll’s talents, and there a colourful tea-time…

- Oh, don’t forget, it’s National Pie Week! A few tips here and there…

I’m planning an easy week-end – cinema! Spoilt with both the new Tim Burton and Banksy’s first film, Exit through the gift shop. Which by the way plays @ Barbican, in case you feel like a whole day there. Oh, and maybe I’ll go and try those Asian sweets too…

Selfridge’s surfs on the new Tim Burton’s marketing wave and redesigns its wonder room.. or its wonder boutique, really.

Not very big, but a cute range of Alice themed items (if you cannot go to London, try the online Alice shop) as well as a yummy mad hatter tea party range of jewellry. You’ll find anything there from T shirts to crochetted cakes… Swarovsky also launched a new range of charme like jewels for the release.

My favourite items remain these crazy glass covers – really what I would expect in Wonderland:

Gaze at the extraordinary hats created by Colleen Atwood – you already know her work through Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Chicago…:

Will you resist Tom Binn’s necklaces?

Don’t forget the exterior window shops -  Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter’s costume and crazy tables…

Another Alice pop-up to try…

Alice fan? Why not plan a day @ Antony in Cornwall? The gardens were used for Tim Burton’s movie!

Wonder room – Alice Pop-Up
Selfridge’s
400 Oxford St
London W1A 1AB

Until March 21, 2010

Ah, Jermyn Street, just behind Fortnum and Mason. I often take visiting friends there – it seems to belong to another time with old stules window shops, wooden counters… This is where gentlemen came to buy their shirts or have their suits made, choose a cane, shoes, perfume, shirt collar stiffeners, any accessory. I remain fascinated by the shelves covered with shaving brushes…

Had you ever notices this statue? Meet George Bryan Brummel, renamed Beau Brummel. Initiator of dandyism under the Regency. At  16, he inherits a fortune from his father, he completes his studies at our famous Eton… with the Prince of Wales, with whom he becomes friend.

At the time, male fashion is… very bright, heavily loaded with lace, accessories. Until now, France had led the dance for clothes, style, even fabric. Since the French Revolution than Napoleonic wars, it would be badly judged to support a country that jests with their leaders…

Enters Beau. He first decides to give up the wig and the excess of powder. In high circles, he is quickly noticed for his wit… and his extreme elegance. Each detail has been though of, calculated. He claims to need 5 hours to get dressed, advices champagne to polish boots… He will completely modify the British fashion: giving up knee breeches for pantaloons, using a jacket with no waist line, bringing attention to neckwear, and shows affection for dark colours… The first step to our modern suit!

His style is a sober yet elaborate and minutely prepared. He always is perfectly shaved, perfumed, his linen freshly starched… The very first dandy…

Sadly, his game debts increase teribly and he will need to exile to France to escape prison. He sure should have negotiated dividends from Jermyn Street taylors which he elped making a fortune!

Jermyn Street
London SW1Y

I count as a tea fanatic and cannot imagine a day without a huge teapot at my side. However, being pregnant just cut this love entirely. Oh, halas for my precious Darjeelings, senchas, chais, rooibos!

Walking along the wharves at Tower Bridge,  the icy wind pushed me inside a teahouse. I sighed sadly, looking at their poetci and wonderful range. But heaven, they did have an alternative to tea! Do try their hibiscus steamer. Much more refreshing than a tea. Their ginger and lemongrass version also is worth the stop. You’ll find you really are taking oyur time to make it last longer. Both are served a with honey on the side and are pure heaven.

Wish I could have taken a flask of those with me for the way back! Really must try their matcha latte too.

Teapod
31 Shad Thames
London  SE1 2YR
Hibiscus steamer £2.35

Sherlock Holmes only exists in Conan Doyle’s extraordinary world.

Such a bad idea – such a roar from the public claiming their hero back! The more he resisted, the more letters came through the door. He had not choice but bring the detective back to life, a total of 56 stories.

This success remains unchanged today – just look at the number of visitors at his supposed address where a small museum has been created! Nothing historical here but a nice atmospheric stop. Lovely time travel and ideal with kids.

Gosh, the houses were small in that street. But it’s enough and makes it even cuter somehow. The first floor probably is the best – you really can picture the two friends chatting the night away. You almost expect to see Sherlock’s pipe smoking in a corner. Watson usually is here, welcoming you and proposing a picture in the detective’s chair. Complete with the hat, of course. Alternatively, pose with the bobby outside who keeps a cape and a few hats at hand for souvenir photos too….

Oh, and do get a few quaint souvenirs from the shop. You’ll find everything from Teddy bears to pipes and matches in there.

Sherlock Holmes Museum
221b Baker St
London
NW1 6XE

£6/adult, £4/enfant

Equipped with fun accessories? Why not go and pose in profile in the tube station?

A cute and funny exhibition @ Selfridge’s – this one plays on tiny details and big artistic effects. a maze of discoveries, a splash of colour, a dash of crazyness and smiles…

Take your time. Each work is in two stages. First a general visual effect. A smile. You look closer and discover what it really is made of. Like these letters made of jelly, this wall out of paper flowers, this winged nest, in fact a hat…

An ideal pause between two intensive shopping sprees. Your lover or/and your kids will be very grateful!

Now. Shopping done. Cultural card played. Surely you deserve a macaron from Pierre Herme?

The Museum of small things
Selfridge’s
400 Oxford Street
London W1A 1A
Jusqu’au 07 mars 2010
Until March 07, 2010

Valentine’s week-end!

- How about a very poetic walk?

- To be followed by an excellent hot chocolate…

- Maybe a classical music concerts, candlelit?

- Alternatively, you can try the cinema screening on the National Theatre roof -  bring your blankets, champagne and picnic!

It’s also the Chinese New year – a roaring Tiger year! The official celebrations ave been postponed to next week – love marketing obliging – but you still can…

- Go to the National Portrait Gallery on Saturday. At noon, 14h00 and 16h00 there will be traditional dances, martial art and Chinese legends storytelling…

- or rush to the Museum of London Dockland Museum to taste some lovely tea, see a few screenings and enjoy the paper cutting workshops…

What about kids?

- Take them to the Wetland center to pet farm animals…

- or to the Horniman Museum for the Myths and Monster exhibition!

A few more options:

- Star Trek fans, be on the Millenium Bridge Saturday at 13.00 – preferably with your costume on!

- Pack some bargain at the market…

- Go and marvel at Judi Dench in a Midsummer’s night dream…

- Enjoy winter sports @ Trafalgar -  the Vancouver opening ceremony will be projected on a giant screen, vitual video games proposed and there will even be a giant ice sculpture of the olympic rings…

- Rediscover the fab Imperial Museum of War and enjoy their Ministry of food exhibition – extraordinary war posters like the famous Dig for Victory

- Stop at Lulu Guinness’ pop up shop in Carnaby street and be a fashion victim

Pssst! Don’t forget Shrove Tuesday next week -  head for the famous Spitafield pancake race!

If you read Elle or are a Eurostar fan, you obviously know of the macaron craze in France. These little treats are as usual these days as a real croissant. We have them as a treat when we need a reward, a gouter with girlfriends after an afternoon shopping, we serve them as a desert or with tea and coffee. They’re a natural part of any celebration.

When I was 18, a macaron was a regional treat. Very often, those would have originally bakes andsold by nuns, then a specific recipe become a trademark of a village, a town. The basis remains the same – egg white, sugar and almond powder. In St-Emilion, my region, the best place to enjoy them is an old cloister garden, sitting in the golden sunshine, dipping them in the local sparkling wine. Heaven.

Of course, Paris would make it more glamourous, more stylish, more… everything. Instead of one biscuit, they use two, add a little ganache or creamy filling in between. Tadaa. They come in a variety of colours too, pop-art or tender, like sweet confettis in your day.

Laduree was the first place to set the trend. THE place to get your macarons from, in exquisite collectable boxes. And of course, they have two addresses in London too. Unfortunately, I find they are too marketing-directed these days, the filling is a bit too heavy, the creations not so suprising anymore.

An ex-pastry chef from Laduree, Pierre Herme has taken them to the next level. Light a a cloud, innovative and exquisite taste. Bi-colours as well to add a little party effect.  Even better, he created a coeur de ganache – the sweet cream hides the treasure of a different flavour. I marvel each time (and believe me, I have tried an incredible number of those).

He has now opened an ephemeral boutique @ Selfridge’s and will open a proper shop in Knightbride summer-time. This is going to be such a hit!

You’ll find some traditional flavour – first quality ingredients, for sure. But I’m amazed by his latest combinations.

Try the Imagine - green tea matcha and black sesame. Oh, to die for. Even some grilled sesame seeds on top to add a little texture.

And the Fragola - basalmic vinear with creme fraiche with a heart of strawberry. You first thought is to feel realy unsure about this. The first bite give you such a smooth feeling that you get hooked until you find the sweet strwaberry and discover, that you have finished the treat in 15 seconds. You’re hooked.

Another marvel is the Magnifique - wasabi and stawberry, who else would have dares this? Not agressive a taste at all, more lemony than expected, and the strawberry center, well, it just melts you away.

Go on and put your tastebuds in  heaven!

Pierre Herme boutique
Selfridge’s
400 Oxford Street
London W1A 1A

£8 for4 macarons