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.

Rue Ste-Catherine, Bordeaux

I was looking for new ideas of places to let you know about, folks, and I remembered that a friend of mine spent an entire year in Bordeaux. I’m pretty sure you’ve already heard about this area because of the eponymous wine but you might not know a lot more about it.

Bordeaux is a nice city, the seventh largest metropolitan area in France, according to Wikipedia, full of students and cool places, according to my friends. And it’s for this last part that I thought it could be good to give you inspiration for your next holidays while asking my mate what are the good places to go to…

To make all of you guys happy, I asked her to provide me with a nice place to have a coffee, a nice place to listen to good music as well as a nice place to improve your mind.

Let’s start with the cultural part. If you enjoy contemporary art galleries, it’s worth the trip to go to the Tinbox. The Tinbox is gallery that supports both French and international artists. They also have a studio and, here comes the amazing part, they even have a small mobile gallery that regularly move to various locations.

After having admired nice pieces of art work, what about having a coffee to share your thoughts about it with your friends? If you are in the mood to enjoy a sunny terrace (yes, at this period of the year, it’s still warm in the South East of France), well, this cool café seems to be the right place to chat with your pals as well as the regular customers.

To finish the day, since you were chilling under the sun, I’m sure you will have enough energy to enjoy a visit to Le Cat and jiggle on to The Clash or The Arctic Monkeys guitare riffs. It is apparently the place to go if you are a massive fan of rock music! Very tempting, isn’t it?

I really enjoy going to gigs and listening to unsigned bands; there are so much talented people out there. That’s one reason I really like Joiners Arms and Debaser that I wrote about earlier, and that’s also why I’ve been looking for good venues in London. I found a few, for example Last Days of Decadence which seems nice as well as 12 Bar Cafe.

I would love to know what your favourite gig venues are! Leave a comment and I’ll try them out sometime

Today I’m feeling a bit unfocused, I’m still in holiday-mood and I’m dreaming of all the places I want to visit and experience. I thought that having a look on the Go Find It map would help my daydreaming a bit. It sure did: the map is filled with so much stuff I wish I could do and see. I’d love to save up a huge amount of money and just travel the world. Clearly I won’t have the money to do this for a very, very long time but planning for the future is never wrong

Italy caught my eye and I got stuck looking for places there, it seems like such a lovely country.

I would love to experience some Italian shopping (who wouldn’t?), this store is one I’d like to visit. Then I’d love to go to an art museum and also look at some of the street art Italy has to offer, this one seems quite nice, don’t you think? Finally I would have to have dinner, I love Italian food so I don’t think I would have a hard time finding a restaurant, but Fuori Luogo seems like a great place. Of course I would also have to try out the night life: Tunnel in Milan is probably a place I’d like since underground clubs is my thing.

Oh, lovely dreams, I better start saving straight away…

yXeLLe ~@rtBrut~ / CC By 2.0

If you have been reading the Go Find It blog, I’m sure you already know that I regularly go to France, especially to Paris. However have I mentioned that I lived there for a while?

There is a place where I was used to go with my friends that I highly recommend to you, it’s called La Flèche d’Or. And I think I would be pretty happy to include a new visit there in the music trip I’m still planning, because it is really the place to go if you like music and good parties. To help you to figure out what I’m talking about, I would say that La Flèche d’Or is a both concert hall and a club where people go to with the last metro on a Saturday night and leave to take the first one early morning on a Sunday.

Whatever kind of music you fancy, you will always find a band that you can enjoy. It is not rare either to hear or to read that up-and-coming DJs or Indie-Rock bands started their careers there.

However, even if you really like to dress-up on Saturday night, remember not to wear shoes that are to fragile, first because it is often full of enthousiastic fans of good sounds and also because I’m sure you won’t resist jumping everywhere like I usually do.

I have never been a big fan of Jazz music or, to be fair, I should say that I never took the time to attentively listen to this music genre but today I have a bit more to tell you about this.

Indeed, I am currently planning a new trip to Paris (I know, I know…) but I would like to do something else, something different rather than the usual sunny terrace or the modern art museum. I’m really far away from being bored with this but it would be silly to content myself with always doing the same kind of things since Paris is so huge and so full of new places to discover!

I spend my time with music in my ears but, actually I always listen to the same bands. I thought it would be nice to plan a music trip and I started to email a couple of friends reputed to be ‘the’ experts on the subject amongst my pals.

One of them mentioned a jazz club close to Châtelet-les-Halles. Well, actually the interesting thing is there are in reality two jazz clubs: the Sunset, dedicated to electro jazz and the Sunside, for the acoustic jazz fans. It’s a pretty good way to discover a new universe rather than just one kind of music. In addition to this: they apparently have concerts almost every night! I am really looking forward to going there and coming back with thoughts and feelings to share with you.

I know I’ve already tweeted about this but I think Debaser (one of my favourite clubs) deserves a whole post and not just a tweet.

There is 4 Debaser clubs in Sweden, one in Malmö and three in Stockholm: Medborgarplatsen, Slussen and Humlegården.

I’ve never been to the one in Malmö but I’ve been to the other three and I like them all, but my favourite is definitely the one in Slussen.

It’s not the easiest place to find if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s hidden underneath a bridge and the only thing giving it away is the queue outside. Well, to be fair,  in the summer the terrace gives it away as well.

When you get inside you’re greeted by a dark interior, great indie/rock music and occasionally a live band (the bands are mostly playing at Debaser Medis though). All the people look gorgeous and the dance floor is always packed. Mind that there are not too many places to sit and the beer is served in plastic glasses. But that somehow adds up to the feel. Besides, there’s no need to sit at Debaser as the music makes you want to dance all night long.

I’m off to Sweden on Sunday and I’m going to make sure to get my dose of Debaser. If you’re in Stockholm (or Malmö) you should do the same.

Today will be my last post as I’m leaving London after 6 amazing months! Living abroad is a great experience: I’ve met a lot of new people and I’ve been to many cool and quirky places, mainly in trendy Shoreditch.

So what’s next? I’m always looking forward to new challenges and new experiences, hopefully my next one will take place in Berlin (I admit I must practice my German before though). In my opinion London and Berlin are the most exciting cities in Western Europe. They’re both well-known for their eccentric and vibrant nightlife and their capability to reinvent themselves.

1 year ago, when I visited Berlin for the first time, I went to the most legendary underground club of the city also touted as the best club in the world: Panorama Bar / Berghain. I turned up at 6pm in front of this massive building located in a former power plant and I had to wait for an hour before getting in. Once inside the immensity of this warehouse blew me away, the music was loud and the crowd filled with party animals and freaks dancing tirelessly until dawn. The feeling was amazing and it definitely rocked my socks off!

Oh by the way, keep in mind that this club is just for extreme clubbers and that many people get denied to get in (the door policy is really strict). Anyway, if you’re one of the lucky ones, you won’t regret this moment of pure madness.

I wish you all a happy summer,

Bertrand

Last night I had a good excuse to go out, as one of my friends was playing with her band in Islington. The venue called Buffalo Bar is quite easy to find, just a few meters away from Highbury & Islington station and is famous for the quality of its indie rock gigs. I found the atmosphere quite friendly. The stage is in the middle of the room so you can get really close to the bands playing.

The event was held by Koko Von Napoo who was celebrating the launch of their new EP alongside with a bunch of up-and-coming indie rock bands. The music ranged from dreamy electro pop to punchy rock. I enjoyed the show, although I was a bit disappointed by the lack of support from the audience.

This venue is also quite famous for its flavoured vodka shots, including strawberry, cherry, pear, pistachio, and choc-mint. If you’re a beer amateur, be aware that there are no draught beers available, only bottles. Anyway, you should really give it a try as it’s one of the most entertaining places in Islington!

Last summer I spent 10 days in Berlin with a group of my friends. It was our first time in Germany and we loved the city; Berlin has a really interesting mix of the modern and the historical, it’s exciting because among the modern buildings many of the historical sites are still being restored.

When the sun goes down in Berlin the city really comes to life. The diverse origins of its population make it possible to enjoy as many different atmospheres as you want. Among all the great bars we visited in Berlin, we particularly loved one: YAAM – Young Afrikan Art Market. This bar has a Jamaican style and is located near the East Side Gallery in one of the most visited areas in Berlin. We loved this bar so much that we spent most of our evenings (and late nights) there. Why? Because tucked away inside was an entire basketball court where people always play around, the walls were full of nice street art, there’s a half-pipe to skate on, live Reggae music every night, a sandy terrace and lots of great people! A lot of things on offer for a bar – that’s why I find Yaam such a great social meeting point, and why I’d recommend it to everyone.