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

Jamie's italian: Covent garden, London

Walked around Covent Garden when my family came over for a visit in London and we settled for a cosy lunch at Jamie's Italian. The bright colours and open dining concept caught our eye - and also because while we were spoilt for choices in lunch options, many were really expensive restaurants.

The portions were large, we ordered 3 mains and a side to share so we could leave room for some to-go snacks later in the day. The Pumpkin soup was served in a petite porcelain cup, with toasted bread on the side. The consistency was rather thick because of the pumpkin fibre, hence it was good for sharing with my sister. However, it tasted flavourful and was naturally sweet so we thought that it was a good complement to the savoury mains we had ordered.

The Free-range chicken primavera was one of the more popular dishes in the restaurants and my dad's favourite. It comes with a blend of peas on top, and baked free-range chicken sitting on top of creamy baby potatoes and asparagus.

The Fish'n Chips dish was huge, but there wasn't anything particularly fancy about this dish considering we were in the UK with tons of good Fish'n Chips options around. What we liked about it, however, was the butter and chives spread that came along with the dish. While it complemented the fish really well, it got pretty heavy going after a while.

Ciao!

Jamie's Italian

11 Upper St Martin's Ln, London WC2H 9FB

United Kingdom

Brighton-ing up our day,

Armed with nothing but a 15 pound ticket on the Southern railway and spontaneous plans, the Carpenter court flatmates embarked on a day trip to Brighton. Yvonne and Lina were horrendously bombarded with deadlines but Ana was bound for US soon, so we decided to go ahead in summer without full strength. It was close to about a 2 hour rail ride from London (Victoria train station) to Brighton, but we were happy campers with our coffee and to-go breakfast ♥

Emerging out of the train station, we were immediately greeted by the Clock tower which was turned into an art installation by Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen for the Brighton Festival. We didn't think much of it (except that it was rather odd, so we knew it had to be some social cause or art exhibit of sort). Named Time Passing By, the installation was constructed solely from second-hand clothing donated by the locals. Though seemingly ambiguous, the art work symbolises associations of collective memory, history and personal loss. It certainly makes a statement in the heart of the small city. Find out more here if you are interested.

Brighton is a beautiful seaside town that boasts of its pristine pebble beaches, which are extremely popular with the Brits during summer. Love the sound of the pebble gravel scrunching beneath my feet with every step and the colourful deck chairs which juxtaposes against the azure blue sky ♥ 

Even though it was summer, the beach stretches a long way and there weren't many people crowding around for space. Definitely a great place to unwind and enjoy the sea breeze (and the company of the sea gulls of course).

One of my favourite shots of us, which I still hang up on my wall till this very day, miss you girls ♥

The Brighton Pier was known to be the Palace Pier before 2000, and spots a great recreational sea front for both locals and visitors. There were amusement park rides, arcade games and lots of food options! We packed our own lunch because we were on a budget.

There was the Artists' Quarter which sold prints and paintings, a Fishing Museum and many cafes, bar and restaurants to hang out in. If the weather is good, there are sports options to check out, such as rollerblading and watersports. Otherwise, it's just a great place to walk around and soak in the atmosphere, be silly and enjoy the view!

Gazing upon Ana's castle:

Summer ice cream after many months of winter! The seagulls were aggressive at the pier so we decided to have them by the beach.

The famous Brighton wheel.

Wandering about :)

Stumbled past Volk's Electric Railway (England's oldest!) along Madeira Drive while walking towards the Brighton Marina. You can catch glimpses of the fine Regency terraces along the way. It's a token fee of about £3 per way.

Had a short rest the park, will definitely miss these beautiful green belts around the city!

Walked onto some off-beaten tracks and found the Royal Pavilion at 4/5 Pavilion Buildings, Brighton, East Sussex BN1, 1EE, United Kingdom. It's really amazing how we stumbled upon so much just by walking around the nooks and corners, Brighton is no doubt a walking city.

The Pavilions are the former Royal residences, and was used as a seaside home for Prince of Wales in 1787. They sport an exotic oriental exterior, and is a distinctive landmark within the city. The exterior appearance has influence from the Indo-Saracenic style in India.

Now, it has been preserved and open to the public for a token fee. It holds fine collections of chinoiserie styles (European with Asian influence) in the UK, and may be worth seeing. Check out their website here.

Us being us, we settled for some relaxing and nesting under the sun by the Royal Pavillion with girl talks and Facebook cards (thanks Sean!). Also realised that Bluff was pretty much a universal game in our 3 cultures. Good times.

Lina threw grass on me face.

If you're into shopping, check out The Lanes in the downtown area as they offer window shopping in local stores, as well as pubs and cafes.

Coincidentally, as we were scuttling about to find some cheap takeaways and beer for a dinner picnic, we realised that it was the Brighton Fringe city festival (4 May to 2 June 2013)! This happens every May, and is the 2nd biggest Art festival in the UK. Many vendors come down to put up exhibits, rides, food and music gigs - unfortunately we were only there for a day and only stumbled upon a small gig going on. It was extremely crowded though!

We had an early dinner with takeaway pasta and cheap beer in the gardens, before getting some drinks in a pub near the train station and heading back to home sweet home. Would definitely like to go back during the warmer days to enjoy the waters!

Ciao!