Travel sparks – Page 13 – everydaysparks

Choccywoccydoodah

Posted on September 20, 2012September 19, 2012 by Cate

No, I’m not jet-lagged. Choccywoccydoodah is the name of a very cool chocolate and cake shop in the UK and we visited its London store for afternoon tea. If you can imagine Willy Wonka and the Cake Boss joining forces and then increasing their over the top-ness by the power of 10, you’ve pretty much got the idea. It’s a bit crazy.

Here are some of the cakes that were on display. Yep, they’re all cakes.

And then there was the upstairs cafe, with another giant cake on display (the rose one in this picture) along with a huge range of amazing-looking cakes on sale by the slice. Pretty much enough to induce a sugar coma just by looking at them. Most of the cakes were made of several layers, with a whole heap of marshmallows or sweets on top for good measure.

Like this one. It was a chocolate, gingerbread, coconut cake. But you can’t really see it, because the huge slice appeared on a plate under chocolate drizzle and ice cream. We also ordered a chocolate flapjack, in case one piece of cake wasn’t enough. We hadn’t realised the one piece of cake would be as big as my head.

Needless to say, we rolled out of the shop after eating as much as we could. Which really wasn’t all that much.

You can have a look at the amazing work of Choccywoccydoodah here. And just a tip – if you’re going for cake, don’t have breakfast, lunch or dinner that day.

Travel sparks

Things wot I saw in London

Posted on September 19, 2012September 18, 2012 by Cate

Here are some more pics from London – this time, less of the touristy postcards & more of the EverydaySparks.

Firstly, Wimpy Bar. I thought the name was funny and there was a certain sense of irony that the wimpy bar had closed. Then a man sidled up to me while I was taking the photo and said that the Wimpy Bar used to be the McDonald’s of London, back in the day. (The day before McDonald’s, presumably.) He said there were still a few Wimpy Bars around the UK, but most had closed as they couldn’t keep up with the bigger burger chains. I nodded and smiled at him, because in my experience it’s a fine line between a helpful stranger and a crazed lunatic. He must have sensed my disbelief as he grabbed his jumper where there was some sort of logo and said, “I’m a tourist guide with [somewhere]”. Oh, alrighty then, must be true – thanks Wimpy trivia man.

And here’s a great – if a little slow – way for your wedding party to get around London. The driver appeared to be a little underwhelmed by the festivities, but am sure he perked up when the tipsy guests started singing Land of Hope and Glory on their way home from the reception…

It was actually Fashion Week in London and we passed quite a few wacky looking outfits, but I’m not sure if they were fashionistas or just crazy loons. I think this lady with her incredibly bright pink hair was just a London local going about her business on a sunny day. You go, girl.

And just a tip – if you’re going to St Paul’s Cathedral, pay heed to the signs that warn you about the climb to the viewing spots. Even though I didn’t wear my trusty running shoes The Pinkies, I thought I’d be fine to climb up the stairs to reach the top…but it was hard going and we decided that 2/3 of the way to the top would be fine for this visit. Here’s a photo of the view from there – feel free to use it to show your friends and relatives to save yourself the climb.

And finally, if you’re in London and you see these machines, don’t believe them – they’re quite misleading.

Travel sparks

Allo allo allo

Posted on September 18, 2012September 18, 2012 by Cate

Short and sweet – here are some photos of our day walking around London. My feet tell me that we walked around a lot of London, but it was such a lovely day that it seemed a shame to spend it underground. Here’s the next instalment of my London travel diary – promise there are no more of that scary Mary, Queen of Scots.

LondonWander1 — Part of Buckingham Palace. (I think.)

LondonWander2 — Near St James Park. (I think.)

LondonWander3 — Something something building.

LondonWander4 — Big Ben. Sure about that one.

LondonWander5 — Nice day, thanks London.

LondonWander6 — Lots of people about. Lots and lots.

LondonWander8 — Everyone dressed up for the Olympics.

LondonWander9 — Guess it was an olympic sport – ping pong tables were all over town. Even the hipsters were at it.

Travel sparks

Mary Queen of Scots, my roomie

Posted on September 17, 2012 by Cate

In London to visit my lovely friend Immy and I had booked a hotel online, which is always a bit of a gamble I guess. Turns out that it’s right across the road from the grounds (well, the back entrance) of Buckingham Palace, which is not a bad place to be. More photos of London wanders will follow, but this one is about my hotel room. On arrival, I was told that I’d been upgraded to a fancy ‘Royal Suite’…which, to be honest, was kind of wasted on me as I’m not a mad fan of the monarchy. But, whatevs, an upgrade is an upgrade and the promise of an exclusive VIP section, with swipe card access – “a hotel within a hotel” – sounded like I would finally be recognised as the Princess that I am inside.

RoyalHallway — The Hallway was like something out of the Titanic. Contrasted nicely with my Converse and cargo pants, I think.

RoyalRoom — Passed by rooms for Queen Elizabeth 1, some Dukes and other peeps before arriving at Mary’s room.

RoyalBed — Too much tartan is never enough, right?

Travel sparks

Our day in Galway

Posted on September 14, 2012September 14, 2012 by Cate

We’re over in Galway for a couple of days and here are some snaps from today. The county is in a bit of a state as they drew in the All-Ireland hurling finals last weekend and they have a re-match on next weekend. It’s a very big deal. We are staying at a fabulous hotel here in Galway – it was designed by famous Irish milliner Philip Treacy (you may know him as the guy who created Princess Beatrice’s hideous hat) and is very quirky.

GalwayCupcakes — Nothing says ‘welcome to the G Hotel’ like cupcakes. And they were delicious.

GalwayGHotel — G Hotel’s reception hall & bar feels very Willy Wonka. Or Legally Blonde.

GalwayGHotelHall — The strangest hotel hallway I ever did see. Pretty much pitch black, but for the little lights near the floor. (And this was taken during the day.)

And probably my favourite pic for the day is this slightly dusty looking politician who didn’t bother making too much of an effort for his campaign posters. I know ‘action speaks louder than words’, John, but so do photographs.