`Capital` by John Lanchester: Hilarious, moving & suspense-packed book about Londoners & financial crisis

I have already read a lot of books, articles and blogs about the everyday wonders of life of normal (and particular) Londoners. But no book captured the daily struggles and beautiful moments and feelings and interconnections between residents of the capital so beautifully as John Lanchester did in his book CAPITAL.

I finished the book wanting to read it again just to dwell in my favourite chapters. John Lanchester describes the happenings concentrating mainly on one London road, Pepys Road, with a thrilling, weird threats-postcards-addressed-to-all-residents side-story. He connects the lives of workers, (a Hungarian nanny or the Polish painter working for the rich, an English banker, his shopaholic wife and their sweet two boys as well as a  young football star from Senegal, and the immigrants, an extended Pakistani family (owners of a local shop) of uncles and brothers and wife and their wonderful little children, and police force and the pensioners, an elderly woman dying of a brain cancer and loads of other Londoners, describing their life, feelings and interconnections, outside and inside happenings, so neatly that you often believe he is not writing fiction. This all just sounds so warm and human that it feels like you already know and have met those people in real life.

My favourite residents are:

London's best kept budget-books secret: Southbank Centre book market

Southbank Centre book market under Waterloo Bridge

I have always been a book worm, starting from a tender age of four when I wasn t even able to really read - didn t matter, I would still take out my favourite books and pretty accurately tell each story word by word to my younger siblings - by heart.

This passion has not really changed, although nowadays I have less time than I wish for curling up with a thick novel....

One of my favourite London budget-books markets is under Waterloo Bridge, right in front of BFI Southbank: Southbank Centre book market.

Passing London Eye
on my way to the market

You can get almost all genres, novels, poetry, cooking, children's books - the list of 2nd hand and antique books is infinite. Prices vary, you can get smaller books for 1-3 pound, heavier or newer books and depending on the genre the price can be higher.

Beautiful view on London Eye

As far as I know, the market is the only outdoor second hand and antique book market in London.

Address and opening hours:

My Old Dutch restaurant in London: Delicious poffertjes (dutch-style mini-pancakes)

Did I mention that I love eating? Oh and I have a sweet tooth as well......

Overall I just absolutely adore how in London you can have almost any food and drinks people ever invented on earth, in just one single city. A continent at a time, my friends and I used to joke. African Nigerian sweet buns or Angolan funge with grilled tilapia on Monday. Japanese omelettes or sushi on Tuesday. Turkish Kebab or Persian Grill Plate on Wednesday. Brazilian feijoada or Spanish paella on Thursday. Traditional German pork knuckles *_* on Friday. Taiwanese Bubble Tea on Saturday. Aaaaand British Sunday Roast - obviously on Sunday ;)

This time I`d like to tell you about an amazing place in London, cheap but good food. And kind of a European classic, favourite and simple dish at the same time: Of all of my friends, almost everyone loves pancakes and this time I`d like to introduce you to particularly good ones: Dutch poffertjes!

I had mine in a My Old Dutch restaurant in London (the one in Holborn) and chose to have it with strawberries and cream *_* excellent choice, I still sometimes dream about it.

The restaurant itself is simple but cosy, no problem if you would like some tap water with your dish instead of paying for a drink, just ask one of the lovely waiters and you`ll get it with a smile and as quickly as the dish you ordered.

I went there around 1pm during the week and was quickly led to a table, it was pretty busy, people having coffees, lunch and snacks, I believe they also have free wifi, although it didn t work when I was there.

Pricing is fine as well, I paid around 5 pounds for a pretty filling, delicious and very authentic Dutch dessert-lunch-snack....

Here more information about the restaurant:

Kyoto Garden in Holland Park & exposition of "Jane Austen generations" paintings

Check out the huge goldfishes!

Before heading to the Persian restaurant, my friend Honey Girl and I had a stroll through Holland Park and decided to have a short pick nick in enchanting Japanese-themed Kyoto Garden.

Kyoto Garden in Spring

Beautiful huge Magnolia tree

Paintings exposition in Holland Park's flower garden

We then went on exploring Holland Park and its flower garden and stumbled upon a beautiful exposition of "Jane Austen generations" paintings.

























Here most paintings of the exposition:

Cosy 'Candid Café', Candid Arts Trust in Angel, London

On quiet Friday afternoons, I often turn to my favourite study and reading resort in Islington: Tucked away down a shy side street just next to Angel tube station, Candid Café and Courtyard is by far the cosiest café that I have come across during my student years in this area. This rather small café-restaurant is backed by the Candid Arts Trust which promotes the arts and arts education.

I usually have a strong, steaming hot Ginger tea and throw in one or two fat, brown sugar cubes that leave that amazing caramel taste on your tongue. Although I brought a book with me with me last time, I just started day-dreaming. Not sure why, but this place always leaves me in this state - quite lovely state I have to admit, and probably one of the reasons I would describe the café as my magical secret London gem.

It can get quite crowded at times, but if you arrive before the usual 'rush hour' afternoon tea, you can almost always get a place on one of the cosy sofas (next to some excited arts students discussing their latest project maybe ;)) or on one of the romantic candle light tables next to the windows - just for your own pleasure or to share it with a good friend or loved one.... It's the favourite hangout when reuniting with my London-German friend Seyfried Girl (she really looks a lot like Amanda Seyfried, sometimes it is almost scary!) and I once had lunch there, they do simple, but delicious and filling dishes and rather mediterranian cuisine.

Future London projects: The first gigantic River Garden bridge worldwide

Planned location of the Garden bridge

How awesome is that! I just listened to the Vanessa Feltz Show (or well, the collection of her latest podcasts) and heard about a probable future London project: A garden bridge next to Temple underground station! Direct link of the city with the Southbank through a pedestrian bridge which at the same time is a beautiful park! An absolutely brilliant idea! Some might say that well, there already is a pedestrian bridge in the neighbourhood (a bridge that I'd rather avoid during windy weather as it tends to swing a tiny bit :D - yes, it is the dear Millenium bridge linking the Globe theatre, Tate Modern and Bankside Gallery on the southern end with St Paul's Cathedral and the City of London), it really cannot be compared, especially due to its wonderful combination of being something very useful and convenient (connecting the two riverbanks and often cramped tourist points) with something so peaceful and yet serene as a park. Definitely something to look forward to in the next few years, of course just in case it all works out. In case they get planning permission, the project could start in 2015 and take about 2 years to complete.

The brilliant inspiration comes from actor Joanna Lumley who was being interviewed on the Vanessa Feltz show and whose initial dream was that the Garden bridge would turn into 'a place with no noise or traffic where the only sounds are birdsong (...) bees buzzing (...) wind in the trees, and below the steady rush of water'. OK, I have to admit that I am getting quite excited and all bubbly inside right now while I am imagining this, I really hope that it will work out and as the horticulturist promises, it will hopefully soon be another natural London source of 'peace, beauty and magic'!

Oh, by the way, just a little bit of information about the technical and gardening architects for those who are interested:

Parcel post delivery in Brazil like bus bunching in London?

It is one of the funniest (but at times also most annoying) phenomenon of London buses. You keep waiting AGES for a bus... and then two or three often even with the same destination come along at once. They called this phenomenon bunching as far as I remember.

My mum's autumn surprise parcel

We are talking about buses, right. 

However, here in Brazil parcels seem to fit into the same bunching category it seems. You feel like no letters or parcels from home are arriving when people finally ask whether you got their (SUPPOSED TO BE) SURPRISE parcel, both of you already believe some of them got lost(or stolen-used (my favourite soft toothbrush that my mum had sent by parcel) or eaten (Lindt chocolate), depending on the delicious content :D lol)  which did happen at times. 

Berlin Girl's surprise parcel

And then, out of nowwhere, when all hope was lost, during two or three days ALL parcels are delivered in groups or one day after another. That’s what happened with Berlin girl’s and my mum’s parcels more than once. Berlin girl had even sent a yummy chocolaty replacement care package for the last care package which did arrive (last parcel blogpost with Big Ben notebook) <3 this time with two yummy Ritter Sport with the chocolate flavours Nugat and Halbbitter 50% Kakao) which arrived today together with a lovely autumn surprise parcel that my mom invented <3, I could almost smell the perfume of German autumn with its wet and windy weather and dancing colourful leaves!.... 

Parcel bunching it is.

Fish and Chips at Spotted Horse pub in East Putney

After my afternoon park stroll with Culture Girl, she headed off to get some work done and I decided that it was time for an afternoon snack - or well, catch up with a proper lunch-dinner meal! I decided for an English classic this time:

FISH AND CHIPS!

Quite some time since I had my last one so I was really looking forward to it!

I decided to just go to a pub right here in Putney, quickly went to boots to get some stuff I still needed to stock up on and quickly found a nice, traditional pub called THE SPOTTED HORSE, on Putney High Street quite close to Putney train Station.

You need to order at the counter and then they will bring whatever you like to your place, if you first want to have a look at the menu, no worries, just get the drink and then sit down somewhere - that's what I did with my coke although in fact I already knew what I wanted to eat but wanted to check out the menu anyway ;).

It was a feast of a fish and chips dish, I did not actually manage to eat all of the chips, it was just too much for me, but very yummyyy. They have special daily offers on individual dishes, I believe Friday is the Specials Day for fish and chips, but I am not sure anymore. Oh, and of course they have free wifiiiii as well ;) 

A lovely afternoon in Putney: Limonade at the Boathouse & a stroll around Bishop's park & Fulham Palace herb garden

Putney Bridge

The first time that I set foot in Putney was during my young student years, my second stay (language school holidays) in London where I stayed at a lovely English lady's home in Putney a few years ago. Even though the first day started off rather on the wrong foot (at that time I had not that much knowledge of most English words so self-catering was innocently interpreted as Selbstbedienung (German for kind of just like just serve yourself of what's available), unfortunately it is kind of the  opposite :D.

After solving this little issue,  my kind host and I had a few wonderful weeks together and she showed me around the wonderful areas in Putney.

The Boathouse

Limonade & 

That's why Culture Girl and I decided to meet up in Putney this time for some limonade and tea at the Boathouse. It was a really lovely day, sun all day - at least in this part of London.

Anyway, after our relaxing stay at the Boathouse, we decided to take advantage of the wonderful sunshine and off we went to the nearby Bishop's park for a short stroll. A lot of people around, kids and dogs running around and sharing the love.

Culture Girl and THE RIVER

(I even got a bit of a sunburn and when I went home later to meet up with another friend in North West London, let's call her Holiday Girl: she looked at me with an open mouth and asked "where the heck did you get this sunburn today? It was cloudy and rainy ALL DAY LONG!" Well, not in lovely Putney :D).

Fulham palace - drawing room café

We also had a look at Fulham Palace, now a mix of museum, art gallery and drawing room café.

Fulham Palace herb garden

There is a beautiful herb garden close to the Palace. It reminds me of what I had in mind for the "original Secret Garden" scenery, especially the romantic entrance really enchanted me and Culture Girl.

Here local people are allowed to grow their own vegetables, fruit and flowers, we observed some mainly older people peacefully caring for their veggie plants, I really wanted to get my hands into the rich-scented, dark garden soil as well I have to admit....

A true gem!

Great supermarket product (basket) price comparison site (both UK and US)

A few days ago I stumbled over this (seems-to-be) fantastic supermarket product (basket) price comparison site http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/ (UK and US supermarkets) such as UK based Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco, Waitrose, Aldi.... I have only had a look at the UK version and quickly went to check out my favourite supermarkets and had a short research on the different basic products that one would need to get round in let's say a few weeks or so.

The comparison site enables you to parallely compare the total sum of your whole basket of goodies for each individual supermarket and immediately puts the cheapest of the supermarkets on top as soon as the sum changes with a new product. I have to admit that I quickly got lost researching some of my UK favourites: marmite, clusters cornflakes, crumpets *_*....

I thought I might as well run a quick test example for you with a shopping list that might be ours (just simple food and household plus some dog related items - shopping for a few weeks' to month's use depending on the items):

I pretty much included almost all monthly shopping, 113 items, including food (just would have to get fresh fruit, veggies, dairy and bread during the week), cleaning, laundry, beauty as well as dog related items.

It was almost exciting to see the first three shops moving up and down along the listing, I kind of expected those top three (1st Asda, 2nd Tesco, 3rd Sainsbury's) in exactly this line but still, it is really interesting how some shops offer the same products for a significantly higher price.

Here an example with a simple, single product comparison, the choice of product: My favourite Cathedral Mature Cheddar =)

My first afternoon tea at Kensington Palace's Orangery

English Orangery Afternoon Tea

It is probably one of the things that every true Londoner-at-heart hopes to experience at least once in a lifetime: A real British Afternoon Tea. I researched quite a few places, but finally decided for The Orangery at Kensington Palace and off I went for my first High Tea experience together with my London friend Culture Girl. The Orangery is a beautiful baroque building and located in one of the most beautiful parks in London, Kensington Gardens and just next to William and Kate's home, which of course left my friend and I giggling and wondering whether we might catch up with them during afternoon tea but unfortunately they did not really decide to join us this day so... maybe next time :D

The Orangery entrance

Walking towards the building on the straight path aligned with trees leading to The Orangery, I almost felt like a royal princess myself. Almost ;) We arrived quite early, about 10 minutes after official opening times, but almost all tables were occupied, so probably it really would be best to get there quite on time to be sure to get your table. And we went on an ordinary Monday afternoon so... As far as I remember they don`t do reservations. At the entrance, a lovely receptionist welcomed us and immediately led us to a free table, next to a lovely American couple and their teenage daughter.

Having had a look at the menu online, we had already decided on the sort of afternoon tea we wanted to have (The English Orangery Afternoon tea), so we were served quite quickly. I just adore the delicate dishware and heavy (silver?) cutlery, it really makes you feel like you are experiencing a true English tradition and maybe the food tastes even better when you use such pretty plates and cups ;). As far as I remember you can even buy dishware, plates and cups at the Orangery or the Kensington palace's online shop.

The Orangery Menu

As usual, I had my favourite of all black teas, Earl Grey, with milk and sugar. Starting off with the sandwiches, I absolutely loved the salmon and cream cheese ones, but the cucumber and egg sandwich were really delicious as well.

We then continued with the scones - first time for me there - and I was absolutely stunned how filling they are! Although I had prepared for quite a feast and did not even have lunch before we went for our Afternoon tea, I did not actually manage to have both, I stopped after the first one as I was afraid that I wouldn t manage to try the cakes as well :D As there is a little fight of which one of the toppings comes first, I decided on the following :

Stanage Edge! Such diamonds are rocks and mountains!!!

Stanage Edge!!!! As written about it half a year ago, I actually went to visit Stanage Edge in the Peak District during my Europe tour =) It was absolutely amazing, also due to the fact that I went with a good friend from uni, let's call her honey girl! And she is true honey, a sweet, lovely and incredibly kind and intelligent woman with whom I had wonderful and mind juggling conversations that I love to remember until today. We started off in London, stuffed our bags with vinegar crisps and bananas at the next tesco and drove off by car (about 3h distance - as much as I remember...).

Which was a very sensible decision as:

London ABC: Travelcard and Buspass - adults and students

It is kind of the first thing you need to think about when arriving in London - how will you get around, and will it be by bus, tube, train or even cycling or walking?

For most tourists it will mainly be the tube and buses for those who feel a bit more confident to explore London and maybe get off somewhere unfamiliar.

ADULTS

TUBE

That´s what tourists (and adults in general) are going to pay for the Oyster travelcard -> tube (as well as train, overground and DLR) depending on which zone*¹ they are planning to use and whether you wish to pay per journey or periods of time, such as a week or a month:

Oyster/Travelcard - tickets for tube, train, overground and DLR

A dream come true: London's outer circle line

One of my dreams came true in December. No, it wasn't the flat somewhere close to Hampstead Heath ;) But what happened made Hampstead Heath much more accessible for everyone, no matter where they live in London:

My favourite London radio programme - the Vanessa Feltz Show

When I am not in London, it doesn´t mean that I cannot listen to London radio shows whenever I feel like it.

My absolute favourite is the Vanessa Feltz show, part of BBC Radio London. She discusses anything concerning enjoying and surviving life in the capital, current hot topics of the various London boroughs.

This week she discussed Londoners´ thoughts on the Paralympics, exaggerated beauty regimes of many UK kids and Christians fighting for their right to wear their crosses at work.

The show goes out Mon-Sat from 9am-12midday on 94.9fm. You can also listen to the best bits in the podcast section:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/vanessa

London on a budget - food

I guess almost everyone of us has lived through those days, when at the end of the money there were still many days of the month left. Being in that situation in London is a lot worse, as food in general is more expensive than in most other places.

Here a few tipps and tricks how to survive on a tight food/eat out budget in London, let´s say about 100-150 pounds per month for a couple.

Let´s say you spend about 25 pounds per week, then try to sort your shopping the following way: 6 pounds for veggies, 5 pounds for fruits, 4 pounds for grains, 4-5 pounds for proteins, 4 pounds for dairy and 1-2 pounds for oils and other foods:


Cook at home

My Top 5 favourite places in London

Those are my current Top 5 favourite places in London

1. Hampstead Heath 

My favourite London Park (Tube: Hampstead) and the area where I wish to have a small garden flat in the future. It is the place where I´ve dreamed alone, had picknicks with friends and where I can renew myself after a tiring day – whether working or when coming back from the busy centre

2. The British Library 

(Tube: Kings Cross) 
Researching, browsing or just enjoying free time over free classics of British literature and the whole atmosphere of reading people surrounding you, also offer free internet, lovely to meet other fellow literature/book fans. I also love tiny side street book shops, often just stumble over them during a shopping or sight seeing trip. Oh and the (under) Waterloo Bridge Second Hand book market is fantastic as well!

3. Whereever my beloved Zouk-Lambada, Samba and Kizomba classes take place

London ABC - airport-to-city transfer - Stansted Airport & Heathrow Airport

STANSTED

Terravision airport and city bus stop locations

99 % of my flights to London are cheap Ryanair flights to Stansted, so I thought I'd tell you about my choice of airport transfer. In general, I choose a return ticket from Terravision Coach, £ 14.00 to the city centre or even £ 11.00  to Stratford! So when your destination is North or East, your best options are Liverpool Street Station and Stratford and when heading to South or West London, it might be best to choose Victoria Station. Airport transfer alternatives are the Stansted Express (train) and cab, both no option for me as they are not really faster but much more expensive. The only real advantage with the latter is that you have your suitcase with you at all times. When using the Terravision Express, you have to put your luggage in storage boxes in the "lower belly" of the bus and can only take small backpacks upstairs with you.

Here a few tipps to avoid luggage theft: