Country: Finland
Location: The Finnish Church in London, Rotherhithe
Event Frequency (twice a year - at Christmas and Easter). 2010 dates are 19th to 27th November.
This is a very popular event, with queues down the street to get in when I went back in 2007. The church has Finnish products for sale downstairs and a cafe upstairs.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Oh Canada, our home and native land
Country: Canada
Cost: Free
Location: Trafalgar Square
Event Frequency: Annual on 1st July (location may change in 2011)
Another Trafalgar Square event, with bands, food and drink stalls, a hockey tournament and mounties!
Here's some more about Canada Day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Day
Cost: Free
Location: Trafalgar Square
Event Frequency: Annual on 1st July (location may change in 2011)
Another Trafalgar Square event, with bands, food and drink stalls, a hockey tournament and mounties!
Here's some more about Canada Day: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Day
Friday, November 12, 2010
Galicia Restaurant - Notting Hill
Country: Spain
Location: Portobello Road
Cost: £7 - £15 for a main course
A lovely little Galician restaurant in the heart of Notting Hill
Location: Portobello Road
Cost: £7 - £15 for a main course
A lovely little Galician restaurant in the heart of Notting Hill
Bollywood in Piccadilly Circus
Country: India
Location: Piccadilly Circus
Cost: around £10 per ticket
If you want to watch a Bollywood movie you can't get more central than Piccadilly Circus' Cineworld in the Trocadero Centre on Shaftsbury Avenue.
www.cineworld.co.uk
I saw Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tk4DtG_iEs
Location: Piccadilly Circus
Cost: around £10 per ticket
If you want to watch a Bollywood movie you can't get more central than Piccadilly Circus' Cineworld in the Trocadero Centre on Shaftsbury Avenue.
www.cineworld.co.uk
I saw Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tk4DtG_iEs
London Mela
Countries: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Cost: Free
Location; Gunnersbury Park
Event Frequency: Annual in August (location may change in 2011)
Broadcast on BBC Asian Network this was one of my favourite events of 2010. It'a huge event, with several stages, a funfair, loads of stalls, celebrities and things going on.
www.londonmela.org/mainstage.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51inq-pMBAg (Begali Remix of Mumzy Stranger's Fly with Me)
Next year I'm going to go with a big group of friends and dance til my feet hurt.
Cost: Free
Location; Gunnersbury Park
Event Frequency: Annual in August (location may change in 2011)
Broadcast on BBC Asian Network this was one of my favourite events of 2010. It'a huge event, with several stages, a funfair, loads of stalls, celebrities and things going on.
www.londonmela.org/mainstage.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51inq-pMBAg (Begali Remix of Mumzy Stranger's Fly with Me)
Next year I'm going to go with a big group of friends and dance til my feet hurt.
Thai Festival organised by the Royal Thai Embassy
Country: Thailand
Location: Trafalgar Square
Cost: Free
On the big stage there was a Thai boxing demonstations, traditional music and folk dancing. I had fresh coconut water to drink from one of the stalls.
I'm not sure if this will be back next year or if it was a one off event. I will keep my eyes peeled in June 2011.
Location: Trafalgar Square
Cost: Free
On the big stage there was a Thai boxing demonstations, traditional music and folk dancing. I had fresh coconut water to drink from one of the stalls.
I'm not sure if this will be back next year or if it was a one off event. I will keep my eyes peeled in June 2011.
La Bodeguita Restaurant
Country: Colombia
Location: Elephant and Castle
Cost: between £8 and £12 for a main course.
This started off as a trip to Mamuska, the Polish restaurant just round the corner from La Bodeguita which was temporarily closed when we arrived. So we celebrated a Polish girl's leaving party in this Latin American restaurant instead.
I had Bandeja Paisa which was really tasty. I felt as though I was going to burst by the end of the evening, as the portion sizes are very generous.
www.labodeguita.co.uk/restaurant/index.asp
They also have a deli and a shop.
Location: Elephant and Castle
Cost: between £8 and £12 for a main course.
This started off as a trip to Mamuska, the Polish restaurant just round the corner from La Bodeguita which was temporarily closed when we arrived. So we celebrated a Polish girl's leaving party in this Latin American restaurant instead.
I had Bandeja Paisa which was really tasty. I felt as though I was going to burst by the end of the evening, as the portion sizes are very generous.
www.labodeguita.co.uk/restaurant/index.asp
They also have a deli and a shop.
London's only LGBT Mediterranean Club Night!
Countries: Greece, Turkey, Egypt among others
Cost: £7
Location: Higbury and Islington
Event Frequency: Monthly
www.salla.co.uk/3.html
Quite a small venue, not very busy when I went, which meant we had plenty of room to dance. It was like the DJ had broken into the secret soundtrack in my soul and played every song on the shelf. Their website says they're London's only LGT Mediterranean Club Night. If you know of another one, let me know and I will be there in a hearbeat!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH-ceG9fJW (to give you a little flavour of the music)
Cost: £7
Location: Higbury and Islington
Event Frequency: Monthly
www.salla.co.uk/3.html
Quite a small venue, not very busy when I went, which meant we had plenty of room to dance. It was like the DJ had broken into the secret soundtrack in my soul and played every song on the shelf. Their website says they're London's only LGT Mediterranean Club Night. If you know of another one, let me know and I will be there in a hearbeat!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH-ceG9fJW (to give you a little flavour of the music)
Brazilian Clubs
Country: Brazil
Cost: depends on the evening you go
Location: Holborn (Guanabara) Old Street (Favela Chic)
No photos from these but I'm sure I'll be back at some point and will write more when I do.
1) Guanabara
www.guanabara.co.uk
Have lots of different events/themes, for example Zumba classes on Tuesdays. I've been twice, once for a free Samba class (I was pretty terrible) and once for Brazilian guy's birthday. Check the website, but I think it's generally free entry before 9pm.
2) Favela Chic
www.favelachic.com/london
Only been here once, but I really like the venue, not at all like an identikit West End place. I think it's generally about £5 before 11pm but it does depend on individual events
Cost: depends on the evening you go
Location: Holborn (Guanabara) Old Street (Favela Chic)
No photos from these but I'm sure I'll be back at some point and will write more when I do.
1) Guanabara
www.guanabara.co.uk
Have lots of different events/themes, for example Zumba classes on Tuesdays. I've been twice, once for a free Samba class (I was pretty terrible) and once for Brazilian guy's birthday. Check the website, but I think it's generally free entry before 9pm.
2) Favela Chic
www.favelachic.com/london
Only been here once, but I really like the venue, not at all like an identikit West End place. I think it's generally about £5 before 11pm but it does depend on individual events
Koninginnedag 2010
Country: The Netherlands
Cost: Free
Location: Trafalgar Square
Event Frequency: Annual on 17th April (location may change in 2011)
On 17th April 2010, I joined 70 000 people in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Queen's Day, a national holiday in the Netherlands. You can read more about the reasons behind the day here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koninginnedag
This was definately the most fun I've ever had in Trafalgar Square. There was:
- a pole vaulting demonstration.
- a huge stage with acts playing all day.
- a DJ in between the sets on the stage.
- free Holland House T Shirts if you could catch one.
- a giant conga line.
- stalls where you could buy Dutch food and beer.
- lots and lots of Orange.
- people jumping up and down and singing this song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnP4O-pG1kU (I challenge you to listen to the end without tapping your toes or nodding your head at least once)
Quote from one of the organisers "It's a hot day today, so make sure you stay hydrated. Drink some Amstel!"
Cost: Free
Location: Trafalgar Square
Event Frequency: Annual on 17th April (location may change in 2011)
On 17th April 2010, I joined 70 000 people in Trafalgar Square to celebrate Queen's Day, a national holiday in the Netherlands. You can read more about the reasons behind the day here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koninginnedag
This was definately the most fun I've ever had in Trafalgar Square. There was:
- a pole vaulting demonstration.
- a huge stage with acts playing all day.
- a DJ in between the sets on the stage.
- free Holland House T Shirts if you could catch one.
- a giant conga line.
- stalls where you could buy Dutch food and beer.
- lots and lots of Orange.
- people jumping up and down and singing this song:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnP4O-pG1kU (I challenge you to listen to the end without tapping your toes or nodding your head at least once)
Quote from one of the organisers "It's a hot day today, so make sure you stay hydrated. Drink some Amstel!"
The lowdown
I had a brief look to see if there's a guide like this already and I didn't find one yet. I did find a cool blog of two friends who tried to meet someone from every country in the world living in London and a photographer who tried to take a photo of someone from every country in the Olympics. You can find their blogs here:
www.worldinonecity.blogspot.com
www.theworldinonecity.net
As a little aside, I found it interesting that the two guys from the first blog said that they didn't know many foreign people in London before they started this project and found that the foreign people tended to have lots of friends from other countries rather than British friends.
My experience so far in London has confirmed this, though I've found myself in the second group (the foreigners). I hardly know any British people here in London at all.
I'm not going to give myself any time limits or a certain number of countries I have to find, I'm just going to travel the world without going further than Zone 6, without spending too much money and I'll share my experiences here.
I'm going away for a week to Germany and Spain so I'm going to start my world tour when I get back. As I've been in London for 8 months now I'll do a quick retrospective of my 'world travels' in this city so far.
Allons-y!
www.worldinonecity.blogspot.com
www.theworldinonecity.net
As a little aside, I found it interesting that the two guys from the first blog said that they didn't know many foreign people in London before they started this project and found that the foreign people tended to have lots of friends from other countries rather than British friends.
My experience so far in London has confirmed this, though I've found myself in the second group (the foreigners). I hardly know any British people here in London at all.
I'm not going to give myself any time limits or a certain number of countries I have to find, I'm just going to travel the world without going further than Zone 6, without spending too much money and I'll share my experiences here.
I'm going away for a week to Germany and Spain so I'm going to start my world tour when I get back. As I've been in London for 8 months now I'll do a quick retrospective of my 'world travels' in this city so far.
Allons-y!
Inspiration
Having discovered that I can't go to the Finnish Christmas market this year because I'll be away from London I started daydreaming about Finnish food and the things I'd bought there in the past:
Glögi,
Mämmi
Pasha
Pyttipannu
Some really good pickle,
Which made me really hungry. And as I have trouble keeping it to myself when I'm hungry I started asking my half Swedish colleague if any of these things exist in Sweden. Which made me wonder if perhap there's a Swedish Christmas market in London.
And there is! But it's also on whilst I'm away. So I looked for a Danish Christmas market, and there's one of those too!!
At this point I got totally carried away and thought, there must be something I can see/do/visit/eat/watch for almost every country in the world here! Without even having to leave London. And so, here's my blog's birth.
I have to confess I am a bit of a blog abandonner so I'll see how long this one lasts....
Glögi,
Mämmi
Pasha
Pyttipannu
Some really good pickle,
Which made me really hungry. And as I have trouble keeping it to myself when I'm hungry I started asking my half Swedish colleague if any of these things exist in Sweden. Which made me wonder if perhap there's a Swedish Christmas market in London.
And there is! But it's also on whilst I'm away. So I looked for a Danish Christmas market, and there's one of those too!!
At this point I got totally carried away and thought, there must be something I can see/do/visit/eat/watch for almost every country in the world here! Without even having to leave London. And so, here's my blog's birth.
I have to confess I am a bit of a blog abandonner so I'll see how long this one lasts....
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