Hello lovelies, 

my Interrail ended on September 18th but I don't feel like I completely settled into my old life yet. I keep yearning to see the ocean or spend a day at an art gallery. Getting into a daily routine seems hard too but at least all the cats seem to remember me this time and Sheila is back to demanding her daily cuddle sessions.

I hadn't finished my stories of London, there was so much to tell that I spit it up into two parts. The next two days are a bit slower but I am getting ahead of myself.

Day 13

At noon I went to Camden market in my new and flashy Angelic pretty dress. The last time I was in Camden, we spent the whole day there and enjoyed ourselves immensly. This time I was alone and just mechanically walked through the stalls, not really interested in anything, or when I was interested, it was just too expensive.

But at the first vintage shop I found a super cute white dress. I didn't try it on and just hoped it fit. It was only 10 pounds as it was on sale and went for it. I remember the cashier telling me, that the dress would fit me perfectly. Yes, I thought so too! I tried it on a few days later and it fit perfectly. Hooray!

I strolled around but the weather was weird and I guess unusual for Britain (?); very humid and warm during the afternoon and cool in the morning. I was also the only person wearing a mask, as always.

At St. Cyr vintage I also got two new books but what I found weird was that most vintage shops had more mens' clothes than women's. Usually it is the other way round. The books I bought were about taking care of vintage clothing and bobbin lace. 

For lunch I had fish and chips but it was not that good. It was very oily and bland. 

With just a small haul, I went back to the hotel to rest a bit. I was feeling unwell but still wanted to meet my friend in the evening, whom I haven't seen in probably 10 years. My bed was so comfy and I fell asleep for a little while, then got ready again to meet my friend. When I came to our meeting point, Liverpool station, I checked my phone and found out that I was an hour early. My laptop clock did not change to the British time and it was the clock I had checked. Damn. I waited and waited and suddenly the weather changed and it got really cold. And I didn't bring a jacket with me, only a thin cardigan. Great. I walked a bit around and then my friend appeared and we went to grab some smoked BBQ meat. I got the blackened ribs and french fries but couldn't finish it even though it was really delicious. For dessert I got the toffee pudding and it was so good but I couldn't finish it once again.  

Afterwards we headed off to a bar. At first I was confused because it empty but my friend said a password and suddenly we were lead to an underground bar through a fridge called scaredy cat town. 

 

It was cat themed and the cocktails looked so good but, because I didn't feel my best, I just had a small cider. After I made my first sip I realized something a British friend of mine told me once, that cider was sweet in Austria but bitter in Britain. But of course I haden't remembered it beforehand. Damn, now I was stuck with a bitter cider. We chatted for ages at it was almost 11pm when we decided to head back.

I caught the train to the hotel and decided to rest and not go to Bath the next day. That was something I really wanted to do but I didn't feel well enough. No sleep came to me until the early morning and I was cold and hot at the same time, sneezing but not coughing, feeling very miserable and but I didn't have a fever. It was probably a cold because of the cold aircon in the trains.

Day 14

Being sick is bad. Being sick alone is the worst. Most of the day I slept, woke up, drank some water, then slept some more. The worst part about that was not being able to go to the Fashion- and Jane Austen museums in Bath but my health was more important. I had to beat this sickness before it ruined my whole trip. 

I had a small bag with medication with me for almost all ailment. But I had drank the last of the cold medicine and by noon, there was none left. I just had a few Neo angin left, but I tend to eat them like candy when I have a sore throat. And I get these a lot; at work because the aircon was too cold or it was too drafty, same with train rides or anything were I am colder for a long time. 

When I woke up again in the evening, I still had a very runny nose but apart from that, I felt fine again. Having consumed almost no food all day, I decided to go out and look for food, water, and a pharmacy. The room felt like it was filled with germs and it was probably for the best to go out and have some fresh air. 

Near the hotel was a tesco and I bought biscuits, a 2 liter bottle of water and some cold medicine. I didn't know they sold these at a regular tesco but that was a life saver, as I didn't have the energy to find a pharmacy anyway. Too bad I didn't find any lemsip, they usually get rid of any cold in hours. 

I decided to grab some Thai food and got some really delicious Tofu curry with sticky rice. 

 

Then it was off to the hotel and bed  again because I was supposed to leave with a super early eurostar the next day. 

Have a great week,

Auris Lothol

 

Hello lovelies, 

did you know that Prague has a lot of wonderful vintage shops? When I was visiting the city in October 2021 I made a small vintage shop tour, as seen in this video.

Be aware that this is the information from October 21. A lot can change over the time.

It's a vintage and second-hand shop but also hosts concerts, open mics, and karaoke. It has a wonderful mix of women's clothing, accessories, shoes, etc.

They specialize on modern retro bands like Hell bunny, Banned or collectif and have no true vintage or retro items.

 Hello lovelies, 

I don't know how but I managed to cut, do the audio and upload it on youtube in less than 5 days. That must be my personal record. But here is it, the video I made about Belgium. 

I used a stock picture for the preview picture because the weather was so bad. At least the light was great. 

Enjoy the video and don't forget to subscribe!

All the best,

Auris Lothol

 

Hello lovelies,
I am currently sitting on the train to Vienna - I am going home for 5 days to wash my clothes, cuddle my cats and then be off again. (I wrote this while I was on the train, but forgot to upload it.)

 Being on the road, or in my case, on the tracks, for almost a month was an interesting experience - from washing my clothes in the sink to running out of body lotion on the 9th day. Week 1-3 was totally fine but Week 4 was already very exhausting, in this last week I managed to go to 5 different cities (Marseille - Lyon - Geneva - Bern - Zürich).
Like Paris, I didn't go to seek out the popular sightseeing places in London, as I have been to the city multiple times. Instead, on the first day, I went to Cafe El&n.

 Their food and the location looked amazing and I wanted to try it out. It was cool and looked like rain when I walked to the shop. Google sent me a bit around in circles again but I found it in the end, and the location was pretty but not like in the pictures. Turns out, the beautiful flower wall was downstairs and it was not open. Boo. As for the food, it was really good and as pretty. 

I had the nutella hot chocolate and it was really delicious and very sweet. 

And a rose lemonade from Fentimans with real roses in an ice cube. I just loved their presentation and the details and dedication they put into their food. 

The cafe was located near the Victoria and Albert Museum, and that was my next destination. I had also visited it with M. the last time we went to London but we just peaked into the fashion section and then left again. This time, I made the full grande tour. And it was amazing. There were so many items to look at, small clips on the screens, statues, busts, furniture, and even a whole bedroom. 

The outside of the museum

A white cotton dress with an amazing embroidery at the bottom

After the museum, I went in the direction of the Wallace Museum but made a short stopover at Primark for some new eyeshadow, hand disinfect and a small souvenir and at Hyde park for a short rest. 

The Wallace museum was also free of charge and had an amazing art collection in an even better surrounding. All the rooms had different coloured silk wallpaper, elegant furniture and big chandeliers. 

 

 

The reason why I went to the museum was to see the painting "The swing" by Fragonard. And I couldn't find it anywhere? A guard then told me it was at the back and then down the stairs. Satisfied with this answer I went to grab some late lunch. I ate a big chocolate cake and two scoops of ice cream and some lemonade. Afterwards, I went down the stairs but the picture was nowhere to be seen, I asked another guard and he pointed me to the special exhibition which was super expensive. I thought about it and then tried to get a ticket but it was shortly before closing and he waved off and took me into the exhibition and in front of the painting. If I had paid it would have taken me about 90mins but the museum would close in 30mins. That was so kind of him. Plus, I finally saw the swing. and it is even prettier than all of the copies I have seen to date. The details were simply stunning. Too bad the shop didn't sell a poster or anything, I would have loved to buy one. The lady at the cash register told me I could buy myself a copy in the online shop, which was great but when I asked for shipping, she told me it was about 30 pounds. 30 pounds. for shipping? That's madness. Plus taxes (because of Brexit) and the cost for the poster it would be around 50-70euros? uh...no thanks.  

It took me an hour to walk back to the hotel but I didn't want to spend more money on public transport. Once again, my feet were painful and swollen and I had walked 23k steps. 

The haul: The inspiring disney book and the swing bag from the wallace museum and the rest from Primark.

Part 2 will follow soon.
All the best,
Auris Lothol

 

Hello lovelies, 

 

June is way gone but I wanted to write something about the Stoffmesse (a kind of fabric exhibition) at Arena Nova. My interrail tour is still ongoing but I am currently resting for a week in Austria and need a bit of fresh air and ideas. 

Arena Nova is located in Lower Austria, about an hour away from Vienna and not really reachable by public transport. I had been there for a work event and was not fond of the location, it was really ugly. 

We paid 9€ per person to enter and that's super expensive for a small exhibition.

A good overview on where the shops are located

 

I had been to the Stoffmesse before when it was in Vienna and it had been very small with only a few shops. But as it has been in only a small location, it didn't feel out of place. Arena Nova, on the other hand, was a huge location and it felt very empty with a lot of open space. 

That was the view from the back to the front of the hall. I did not exaggerate with it being empty.

This was not a shop but a small exhibition on quilting and the opportunity to get more information on quilting and maybe join the quilting club. The pieces made there were amazing, from abstract to really intricate ones, I was intrigued.

Three more pictures show the emptiness and the booths. There were fabric shops, some that sold accessories and others that sold sewing or overlock machines. It was a really good mix of everything. 

We found one shop, Maixner Ars, that sold handmade fabric from the Czech republic and M. bought himself a meter of their lovely cream coloured-linen. 

There were workshops held but we were too late for one, even though we arrived on a Friday at 4 pm.

M. and I talked about grabbing some food but decided against it as we were not really hungry and left after going around three times. 

I decided to only come back to Stoffmesse if it's back in Vienna, as I hate going to places with the car. It was not really worth the time and the money for gas. It would have also been nice to have even more shops, programmes or workshops. Something to create a buzz of excitement! 

All the best,

Auris Lothol

 

 

Hello lovelies, 

I left Amsterdam in the afternoon to go to Paris and I didn't book the coach for the first class because my SO had planned to join me. But because of his covid sickness he couldn't join and I had to go all by myself. The train was full and nothing like the thalys before with the good service. It's a fact that you pay more money for comfort and service in the trains. 

I arrived around 7.30pm in Paris and went straight to the hotel. After Amsterdam, Paris was quite the shock. There were only a few cars and so many cyclist. It was quiet and quite safe going around in Amsterdam, and as soon as I left Gare du nord I heard all the noise of the cars, inhaled the bad air and it made me so uneasy. 

The hotel was only a few minutes away from the train station and I could check in immediately. I was in dire need of something to trink and went out to get myself something at the next supermarket. I found a nice chinese restaurant just outside the hotel and opted for some take away. I came back to my room with two entrees, one main dish, one liter of arizona ice tea, and another liter bottle of water. It was a feast as I was starving. 

Day 8

I slept in and then went off to find the next mariages fréres because I wanted tea. I don't know what happened but my allergies hit with full force and my nose literally started dripping and my eyes burning. But only when I was near or in the hotel. When I was somewhere else, I was fine. 

When I reached the tea shop I chose what I wanted to get and tried to pay, just to realize, that I left all of my cards in my other bag. And the other bag was in the hotel. Oh no. 

I was so lucky and carried a bit of cash so that I could pay that, but it made me feel so bad. It was almost Italy 2020 all over again (I had forgotten my whole purse and had no cash or cards). The next stop would have been the Angelic Pretty store but without cards and cash I would not be able to buy anything. And therefore I went back to the hotel to get the cards. After I had them, I was finally able to go to Angelic Pretty. The staff was so nice and we chatted a bit. In the end I bought the lemonade float JSK in pink with a green ribboned delicious lemon necklace and the happy garland necklace. It was more money than I wanted to spend but that was my big spending instead of going to Disneyland, which I was really salty about. 

 

There was a Japanese restaurant just around the corner and it was there that I ate lunch. I hat takoyaki and a spicy chicken bowl. It was a bit too much but I ate it all. 

Then I just got some more water and then went back to the hotel. 

Day 9

Unsure of what else to do and because I didn't really want to do touristy stuff, I went on a small Jose Rizal hunt through Paris. I think, I even found all the places he worked and lived in. There was also a small bust of him that was relatively new.

1) Lariboisiere Hospital - just outside the gare du Nord. I didn't want to enter it because it's still a hospital and I felt that it would be disrespectful

2-4) Rue de Maubeuge 37+55 +  La place José-Rizal  - There was a plaque at number 37, but not at 55? I am unsure why and if I maybe missed something. The small bust is at the la place José Rizal, it's in front of a restaurant.

5) Le bon Marche - the market was just down the street of the hospital

6) Hospital Laennec - again, I only filmed and took pictures from the outside. This time I could not even enter if I wanted to, because there was an access control.

7) 55 Rue du cherche-midi - Rizal trained here under Dr. de Wecker in his clinic.

8) Historical Marker at 124 Rue de Rennes - where he stayed during his stay in 1883

9) 65 BD Arago - there is a plaque for Juan Luna who stayed at this adress. Rizal is not mentioned, but it is known that he stayed at his place for a short while.

The whole walking tour can be found here on google maps.

 

The bust at la place José Rizal

For lunch I ate pizza with salmon and white sauce and tiramisu, both were very good. But the waiter was a bit too flirty.

 

Day 10

The weather was to be hot, really hot and to combat the heat, I went to the Schiaparelli exhibition at the musee des arts decorativs. 

 

And wow, I did not know this designer but her dresses are just amazing. She took ideas from all over; astrology, religious aesthetics, historical dresses, etc. I loved the embroidery on the dresses, I wish I could do it too. 

This floral embroidered top was one of my favourite.

I will do a separate post with pictures of the exhibition, because I fear, it would be just too much for a travel blog.

The rest of the museum was nice too but just a bit confusing and I got lost a few times because I did not know were to go next as there were no signs or something. Also, I didn't have an audioguide and all the information was only in French, there was no English translation, except for the monitors placed in a few rooms.

In the afternoon I had a reservation at Laduree. I can't believe that I really made it to Laduree. I had always wanted to go there but had either forgotten or didn't have any time. 

I got the afternoon tea which included 1x tea, 2x finger sandwiches, 1x tartelette, 3x macarons and 2x special macarons to bring home. The waiter was so kind and explained everything to me in English even though she really looked stressed out. The cafe had probably also staff shortages, like everywhere else. I got a cold laduree tea, a pastrami and a spicy tuna sandwich, a strawberry tartellete, rose, marie-antoinette, and raspberry macarons. The spicy tuna sandwich and the raspberry macaron were my favourite. (The sandwiches look small, don't they?)

I took the Metro 1 to the Hôtel de ville and went to a few vintage shops, but sadly did not find anything. Weirdly enough, I found that the shops had more men's than women's clothing. Usually it is the opposite way round.

Then back to the hotel and try to not sneeze to death. If that is even possible. 

Day 11

Finally a lazy day! The booking for the eurostar was at 5pm and I didn't really want to do anything else, so I checked out late, went for lunch, then still had 3 hours at the train station. 

 

It was the first day for me to not reach 10.000 steps and I think my feet were really happy about this.

I got dinner on the train, and of course I picked the dish which had raisins in it. Yucky. But apart from that the food and service was immaculate again. 

I reached London with only a slight delayed and was very happy about the hotel being just the street across of the station St. Pancras.