Top 5 things to do in London

 So for London, this list could be endless, there is such a bunch of things you can do in this world city. This time I only had 4 days in London, and Madam Tussauds should be on the list, but we didn’t go there this year. This is my top 5 2012:

1. Go see a Musical or 5 – WICKEDIt is not a secret that my favorite musical of all time is Wicked, the story of what really happened during The Wizard of Oz. The music is fantastic, the costumes, the props, no musical will WOW! you more than the one about the blonde girl and the green witch. Tickets may be expensive, but it’s worth it and it will be a memory for life! Remember to bring your wand!

2. Wander along the River Thames
The Thames split London into two and on a day with great weather wandering by the river is a rather cozy experience. Walking from Millennium up to Tower Bridge is, for example, a rather nice walk on a sunny day.

3. St. James Park and other parks
St. James Park is the one in front of Buckingham Palace and here you can go for a walk, not feed the pelicans (I think there are 4), but you are free to feed everyone else and chase the squirrels. If you don’t fancy being so close to the palace, you also have the huge Hyde Park and beautiful Kensington Gardens.

4. Hamley’s
On Regent Street. 1 toystore. 6 floors. Teddies, Lego, cars, dolls and not to forget the Harry Potter noble collection! Just visiting the store, wandering around the toys was incredibly fun. Then I boght myself a wand. I’m such a kid… : )

5. Harry Potter Studio Tour

And while talking of wands, for all Harry Potter geeks, I have a very own post about it (insert link to post) The Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter. See the sets, props, costumes, get the inside information and the behind the scenes stuff. Get a digi guide and you’ll listen to Tom Felton for 2-3 hours. Love.

Mari Clémentine

Where to go (and where not to) - Florence

So for Florence there are to places I will tell you about. One is the snack bar Cucciolo, with the world’s best pizza. I think I’ve said about three times only on this blog. It’s located in Corso and the pizza is only 3,50 – enjoy!
Then the hotel here we stayed: Hotel Medici. The hotel was the coziest ever, and the roof terrace and location is what made it worth staying at. It didn’t have aircondition and the bells of the Duomo rang all around at all times of the day, but it was worth it, I loved it enough to recommend it.

Then it is the “not to go” part, which I usually don’t have to do. It’s about a restaurant close to the Medici chapel with the worst service, the most terrible excuses and worst attitude ever. We actually saw people leave and asking the waiters to go to hell, so yeah. You can only imagine. It’s called Il procospino. AVOID IT! I mean, why bother going there when it’s so many good places to eat?

Mari Clémentine

Top 5 things to do in Florence

So for me the plan of going to Florence came out of nowhere, but when I first decided to go and started researching the city I understood it was not very much to do so I planned on a trip out of town (to Pisa) and was ready for some lazy days. The thing is that much like Venice, Florence is not about the museums and attractions, it’s about the vibe. And beside that the top 5 thing to do in Florence was not written with big bold letters on the web, so I decided to make my own list.

1. The Gucci Museum

As you may have read in my “They never told me Gucci was from Florence” post I was absolutely thrilled over the fashion museum by Piazza della Signora. It was the most refreshing thing we did in Italy and I recommend anyone up for something different a visit to a museum with no lines, a lot of space and great aircondition!

2. Climb to the top of Florence

Across the river Arno is a hill and a series of roads and stairs that lead to Piazzale Michelangelo, named after the most famous of Florentines. The ones that know me know that my favorite place in Paris is on the top of the city, so me enjoying the view from the top of the hill shouldn’t come as a surprise for anyone and I really recommend going up at night, instead of taking a bus in the hot sun. Have fun, enjoy the view.

3. Eat the world’s best Pizza at CuccioloThis is not a joke. The small pizzas you get for 3,50 at the snackbar in Corso is really the best I’ve ever had. Ever heard of. Tastes best when enjoyed on a rooftop c:

4. Look at the Street PerformersFlorence has the best street performers in the world. It’s not an understatement. The painters are fantastic, the men painting on the ground are even more fantastic and the musicians are amazing. Crowds of over a hundred gather around and make the evening unforgettable. To find them check in front of the Duomo,  Piazza della Signora and Piazza della Republica. You’ll be sure to find many.

5. Rub the nose of Il Porcellino (The wild boar statue)              Il Porcellino is a statue of a wild boar standing by Mercato Nuovo. It is said that if you rub it’s nose you are guaranteed to return to Florence. So if you liked it, rub away!

Mari Clémentine



A silent airport

Edinburgh – London Heathrow – Stansted – Home.

It’s not easy going home, but I think this might be the first time I’ve been a little homesick and as my mom said: “We’re arriving Stansted now,” and we went off the bus I felt delighted to be one step closer to home.
    What we saw when we came in was a sleeping airport. People lying on the benches, the floor, some with pillows, others without. Many looked like they had just fallen over and right now I guess I’m among them.

The adventures over for this summer, but I won’t stop writing yet, I think
Come back for more,
Mari Clémentine

A writer in Scotland

“Oh, good luck with ye book! Mari, was it?” I smiled at the old lady from Glasgow that I had been talking to half the tour.

We got an early start for once as we had to check out from our hotel, but then the Elephant House was just around the corner and I was ready for my morning tea. I’m not sure if I love the place because Rowling is said to have been writing at the café, or because of the amazing view of the castle. Okay, definitely the castle. We headed for the castle after tea and shortbread, but were kept by souvenir shops – we had to find a birthday gift for my dad – and in the end The Writers Museum. 
       

    “That tour departs in just 15 minutes,” I said to my mom and pointed at a sign outside the door. “Book Lovers tour”, Sir Walter Scott, J. M. Barrie, Arthur Connan Doyle, J.K. Rowling and so on. In the end I ran to get some money and paid the tour to Allan, a wonderful guide/writer that took us (a group of what? 8?) around Edinburgh talking literature for more than the 90 minutes we were promised.

   Among our fellow tourists was an old pair from Glasgow, an Australian couple, I think the woman was an editor, and to other women, one of them from Brazil. And that is what you’ll know her as: Miss Brazil.  

   

    “I find it easier. Italian.”
“The Italians pronounce the word, just like she said” said Miss Brazil. It was by coincidence we had ended up eating lunch together. She was going to the castle, we were going to the castle, none of us ever got there, all three were hungry so we invited the nice lady to eat lunch with us at some Italian place our guide recommended us.

     “I’m a pizza person,” I said and looked down on what looked like bread with tomatosauce on it. “In Brazil they make real pizza. If you ever come to Sao Paolo you must tell me and I will show you were to go!” I smiled as we exchanged contact information. New country, new people, new destinations.

Mari Clémentine

Ghosts of Edinburgh

“This way mortals!” the ghost of Burke, an Irish man who came to Scotland with his friend, Hare, got broke, started murdering people, took them to the Medical College were they paid for the dead bodies and was hanged (alone, his friend was the one who gave him over(and went free himself)) in the end.

    Edinburgh as I have mentioned about a million times is a magic city, but many people also say it’s haunted and there are plenty of ghost tours going around graveyards, down into vaults and the undergrounds. They all cost about 10-15 pounds per person and are probably great fun, but we – again – found a not so good kept secret. A free ghost tour starting right off High Street, turn left when you reach Starucks.
    The guy actually does it for a living and it was a wonderfully horrible little tour probably worth much more than the paid ones, but as he said: “If you give me 5 pounds each it will tell me that you liked the tour, if you give me 10 it will tell me that it was an excellent tour and if you give me 20 pounds each it will tell me that you’re all stupid. So I hope you’re all stupid!”

    It is a “must-do” in Edinburgh to go on a ghost tour and I highly recommend this one. For the rest of my day I basically spent it shopping a little, I bought this beautiful Buddah-statue of the nicest old woman, everyone’s so nice in Scotland! – and then we went to the Hard Rock Café to eat and for those of you who wonder what happened to my plans to go to Canton Hill or Edhinburgh Castle, I think  I did something stupid with my foot when I worked my way down the mountain and yes, no more hills on this trip.

See ye tomorrow morning, mortals,
Mari Clémentine