Go Find It

Onion-n / CC BY-ND 2.0

It’s easy to get stuck with the thought that you need to find new things to see and do while you are away, but not when you are at home. That’s probably because at home you have your normal routines and you don’t really think of the places around you. However, that’s a shame, you miss out on a lot of things when going through the day in a routine.

I got reminded of this on Sunday, when I and my friends went for dinner just outside our flat. We live in Battersea Park and there are a few restaurants that I walk past almost every day going to the bus. I never pay much attention to them and I never thought of trying them out but when my friends wanted a meal out we decided to try something close to us for once.

We ended up in place called La Bottega Di Noemi which we discovered was a real gem. It’s not really a trendy place but it has its own tacky charm and the service was really good. We got offered food that was not on the menu and it was really tasty. If you’re ever around Battersea Park try this small Italian restaurant out

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jen8601 / CC BY 2.0

When a friend of mine studied Art history in Lund I became involved in “Lundakarnevalen” - one of the largest student festivals in Sweden, always highly anticipated since it only happens every fourth year. At the beginning I only joined because the whole city was talking about it but later that decision became one of the best I had ever made. Why? Because it was mind-blowing.

Lund is a small and cosy student town in south of Sweden, very rich on student life. Here students definitely are the most visible population occupying every street corner and always organizing countless of social activities to get to know each other better. The festival is all that, only funnier. Already a year ahead students start planning the many categories where everyone can take part like for example the circus, cabaret, theatre and “train” (a long parade with trucks decorated in crazy imaginative ways with students dancing on each dressed up in a matching costume). So this means that a year ahead already students start knitting, painting and fixing, all in order to make the funniest, coolest and most original festival ever!

As she was part of a student theatre working with lights, food and painting as well as the large party committee which organized parties for over 2000 people I got involved in that too. And I have to tell you, this is something incredible to be part of. Most of all because you get to meet so many different people, all working together to make the festival worth remembering. There is this sort of feeling of belonging to something bigger than you. And I learned to be creative while having a good time with all kinds of personalities around me.

When the lights went out, everyone continued the fiesta but this time in a more intimate setting away from the buzzing crowd, playing guitar, singing and talking about how the day had been. And no one ever wanted it to end. Fortunately there would be another festival in four years.

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Pixelthing / CC BY-SA 2.0

As you probably know I was in Sweden for my Holidays a couple of weeks ago. One of my favourite things to do when there is to “fika”. That basically means hanging out in a cafe with one or several friends for ages, having a coffee or tea and drinking it insanely slowly whilst nibbling on something sweet. I love that, I love “fika” and I’m a bit sad that this concept doesn’t seem to exist here in the UK the same way it does in Sweden. Naturally I spent my holidays doing “fika” in different cafes and at different friend’s houses.

In Stockholm I have a few favourite cafés that I got to regularly. There’s thousands of cafés in each and every corner of Stockholm and I’ve tried quite a few but for different reasons I have some regulars.

One of them is Café tubby which I already written a post about, then there’s Bönor och Bakat (’Beans and Baked’) which has the best tasting blueberry pie a girl (or a guy) can wish for. It’s also very cheap for being a café in Stockholm. The atmosphere is okay and on the walls you can find graffiti inspired art work for sale. You can see a lot of young people here and if you’re lucky you can catch the sofa to hang out on.

One of my oldest and favourite cafés is Choklad koppen (’Cup of chocolate’). It’s a gay friendly cafe in beautiful Old town which is the oldest part of Stockholm. It’s quite small so it’s best to go there when it’s warm enough to sit on their terrace. Luckily you can borrow a blanket from them so you can sit outside for quite a long time during the year. I love the historic view, the great chocolate cake and their yummy sandwiches. Also, the staff are usually really sweet.

My newest addition is Cafe Mineur which is hidden in a cellar in Old town (as the previous one). What I like the most about this place is the interior which is odd bits and bobs from different decades. They match huge sofas with 50’s armchairs and narrow sewing tables. Nothing is the same, but it matches just perfect. It looks like a vintage furniture store…

Do you know of any good coffee places around London, please let me know and I’ll teach all my English friends how to do “fika”

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