Somserset house, London

Even though most of my time in London saw me shuttling between Bloomsbury and Central Camden, I've visited the beautiful Somerset house at the Strand on many occasions. It is a huge pale-washed Neoclassical building and a great delight to just relax by the side with a book or some doodles. It overlooks the River Thames and the Waterloo Bridge, and many Brits perched themselves on chairs facing the sun for some much needed summer sunshine.

Aesthetics aside, the Somerset House serves as an Arts and Cultural centre of London. They provide contemporary art programmes and host art exhibitions which range from paintings to graphic design to photography, as well as workshops and guided tours around the different wings - check them out here. It is also the home base for London Fashion Week. In winter, the fountain area doubles up as an ice skating rink (R's friends saw Emma Watson at this very ice skating spot!).

My favourite place within the premises would definitely have to be the fountains in the Edwond J. Safra Fountain Court. Located in the heart of the building and facing the Strand entrance, it's a grand sight to behold. The fountain jets are constantly in play throughout the day, and there's just something about the sound of water that is musically therapeutic to the ears. In  the warm(ish) summer, they are a huge attraction with the kids.

Brought my family there when they came over as well.

Al-fresco coffee and tea.

The in-house Rizzoli Bookshops offers a spectrum of artsy collaterals and subject books, ranging from fashion to architecture and interior design. They also have stationery from local British local designers (albeit the hefty prices) and programme booklets for exhibitions. Worthwhile to pop by anc check them out, got really tempted to purchase a few merchandise many a times.

Landmark: The Fields of Photography exhibition.

Stairwells

My doodle notebook.

The security guards are very friendly. I was sitting precariously on the railings (was very careful but would plunge about 2 storeys down if I were to fall back), and the guard came over to tell me to be careful and we struck up a conversation about acute mental disorders and the psychology. We spent some time talking before we split ways, and he insisted to help me take a picture with the grand building.

 Ah, the beauty of conversations with strangers.

It's definitely a place to just relax - perfect for a book and cuppa tea on a cool summer day. Will be back for Winter ice skating, hopefully soon - ciao!

Strand, London WC2R 1LA

United Kingdom

London ice bar,

After reading about Ice bar in a travel magazine and having a close encounter in Sweden (we didn't have enough time to find the place and also got lazy), we decided to visit the one at Heddon Street in London! We invited Nav along because he was visiting from Oxford, that guy never fails to be great company :') 

We arrived slightly early, admittedly I was beyond enthused to get in even though sub zero temperatures ain't really my thing. Tucked away in a cosy corner of Regent Street, Ice Bar (as the name speaks for itself) is a quirky bar designed out of entirely ice. It is kept at -5 degree celsius everyday, and they alternate the design experience regularly. The ice is specially shipped over from Sweden (supposedly Tome River's purest ice) and carved out in sculptures. I must say that it was quite a unique experience! 

A £14 ticket gets you for about an hour and a free drink, visitors are also provided with a dark blue thermal cape and gloves to keep warm. It was frosty alright, but the unique setting was quite a distraction. The cocktail menu was limited (some were really aptly named: Arctic Freeze), I barely even remember what I had - probably something tropical since it was yellow.

Loved how even the cups were made of ice, no more warm beer worries!

Hands on Ice table challenge.

Red noses and tearing up because of the cold.

"The Ice is pure!"

Although it was a unique sensory experience (oh come on, I come from the tropics and we don't have winter here), the ambience was definitely not the best. It was a pretty small room, and there were many patrons. We had fun but perhaps it was just novelty at its best (or just great company) - I'm actually quite curious to whether the Sweden one would have been different, as the concept originated from the Swedes.

Ciao!

London Ice Bar

31-33 Heddon St, London W1B 4BN, United Kingdom