NEW BLOG!

Haha to be honest I am not even sure if anyone actually read this that much, but I am moving onto a new blog - simply because the layout is better :P

www.laughtraveleat.com

It will feature more crochet, more fashion and most important of all more travel!

Night tale @ Red

With gorgeous fairy-lights, quirky street food stands and delicious cocktail, the Night tale pop up market gracing Shoreditch this winter has got the perfect combination to keep the cold away. However, if you come here looking only for food, then you are in the wrong place; for this car-park-turn-party-ground is a well-balanced mix of music, alcohol and food for those seeking a good-time all night long.

Announced with red dangling lights and a large sign, you might have to wait for a small while to get in through the queue. The canopy design means you are protected against the elements and the coziness of the wooden benches, mismatch stalls and heat lamps all serve to keep you toasty and cheery. Guests DJs are on site to dish out some party tones and a clearing between the picnic benches and music deck gives you plenty of space to dance.

For those who want to enjoy a quieter time and sip some cocktail, the upper floor of the delightful fairy light wrapped structure is the place to go. Consisting of a secluded whiskey cocktail bar, you can enjoy the ambience of a relaxing evening whilst looking down on fellow diners and partyers. Or if you are feeling extra special, you can book a table in advance for £100 per head, which include all-you-can-drink booze, queue jump and free entry, as well as food tokens and tray service.

 

There are only seven street food stalls, the legendary Patty and Bun in their glorious new van is a definite go-to. Next door is the Voodo Ray pizza and other stalls include oriental style buns and slow cooked brisket in Italian baguette from Bathing Cows. Toilets are available between the main ground and the entrance with an attendant, so you can make sure your hands are clean before stumbling onto the dance floor.

The place gets quite busy with all the free benches being taken up by around seven. If all you wish is to grab a bite then this isn’t the right place for you, especially with an entrance fee.

Address: 288-299 Old street

Direction: From Old street station take the subway 1, go up the right flight of stairs and walk straight down the road. You will walk past a fire station and RED is right opposite a Sainsbury Local.

Opening times: Thurs- Sat 5pm – late; £4 entrance fee

http://www.nighttales.co.uk/

Ice skating at Somerset house

Address: Strand, London WC2R 1LA
Nearest station: Temple

http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ice-rink

020 7845 4600

There’s nothing more magical and festive than skating on an outdoor ice-ring, especially one with a gorgeous building as a backdrop. Transformed with marquees, magenta lighting and a giant Christmas tree ornate with vibrant bauble, Somerset house beckons you in with alluring christmasty vibe and charm.

Each ice skating session lasts an hour, and it’s best to arrive an hour early so you can deposit your bag at the cloakroom to the right of the Somerset house main entrance. It costs £1 for two items so make sure you grab your friend going in. No dangling items are allowed so make sure your phone or camera would fit into your coat pocket!

Let's get ready to skate :D

As a student, you get 50% off ticket price (which is £14.55) with a £2 booking fees; however this only applies to day-light session. It’s worth the extra money to go when it’s dark to make the most out of the festiveness. Having booked a 17:30 time slot, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t overly crowded, which was a big plus!

The initial round of skating (My sister is the girl in beige coat, too scared to go out)

The ice ring is smaller than expected – but offer an excellent view of the Christmas tree and Somerset house. As everyone makes the initial grip-the-fence round, classical music played softly mingling with the delicious scent of mulled wine from the adjacent restaurant.

Photo credit to my sister for capturing me in this beautiful lighting

The lightings change periodically from magenta to snowflake to my favourite criss-cross ice-fracture. Personally I find the music choice perculia, a mix of classical with an odd pop song thrown in. The surface was rather wet and slippery as well, not ideal for novice skaters.

Whilst it isn’t the best place to skate, the great atmosphere and setting was definitely worth a visit. It is afterall free to wonder in and take some photos, even if you don’t want to go to the ice ring.

Italy!

During April I had the pleasure the travel to Italy for a week <3
It took us a lot of planning and budgeting and we finally decided on going to Pisa, Florence and Rome <3

I went with my twin sister and our friend from high school. 3 girls traveling isn't very safe, however if you are careful you shouldn't run into too much trouble, particularly since it is a touristy place.

Here's a short iternery of my trip:
Day 1 - land at Pisa, visit the leaning tower then catch a train to Florence
Day 2 to 4 - stay in Florence, take the afternoon train to Rome
Day 5 - 7 - Rome, with day 6 spend mostly in Vatican.

I am going to do a highlight of the trip - since I had pretty much walked my feet off the entire week! First I am going to start with Pisa :)

Pisa

Pisa airport is a good choice if you want to go to Florence or anywhere in Tuscany, since flying there through budget airline is a lot cheaper than flying direct to Florence. And also it's a small enough place that you can probably just spend the day you arrive there.

We landed in the afternoon, taking ryan air :) Outside the airport there is A LOT of buses that go direct to Florence (Terravision etc) to SMN station, so you don't really have to worry about train etc.

To get to Pisa Central Station (for trains), you need to go outside the airport and on the the road island to the right across the road to catch a local bus!
This is what the bus stop sign looks like!
You can also take this bus directly to the leaning tower!

You need to buy tickets, which costs 1.2 Euro via ticketing machines.

The system is that you buy a ticket valid for about 40 minutes (or was it 50?) - so if you are quick then you can make it to the Pisa Centrale station, drop you luggage at left luggage and hop on the leaning tower of Pisa using 1 ticket!

You need to validate you ticket on the bus - using the machine on the left. If you are found without a validating ticket you will be fined!
 On the right is me with my ticket - remember it's valid for 40 minutes so don't just throw it away!

We left our luggage at Pisa Centrale - hoping to catch the train to Florence later. The station is easy to recognize and you will have no trouble getting off.


The left luggage is situated at the end of platform 1. It's 4-5 Euro per luggage, lots of people leave their stuff there and it was opened till 9pm the day I went. So it's pretty safe.

From the station we walked to the Tower. To be honest it wasn't a difficult or a far walk. About 15 - 20 minutes along the river, a pretty straight forward route (Do google map it before your journey if you wishes to walk - just in case you get lost).

 To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed about the Pisa Tower. It was a lot smaller than expected - and on the day we went the grass area was fenced off so we couldn't stand inside and take photos like many other tourists did.

Entrance to the Cathedral is FREE! All you need to do is pick up a free ticket at the counter! It's worth a look if you are there already.

We spent most of our time there trying to take photos :P
Here is one of me kicking the tower! And a massive thank you to my friend who was helping me to balance :)

Overall Pisa was worth a quick visit just for the touristy bit!