Brighton on the weekend

So this weekend its apparently meant to snow in london- well thats what the guy on the radio is saying, a little too often if you ask me! considering it probably won't happen I am not planning my weekend around it. Instead I am going to the ragtrade pop-up in brighton to get myself some designer bargains! allbe it secondhand- designer and bargain all the same. What better reason to go to Brighton too and have a cosy pub lunch.. mmm.

xx

http://www.ragtradebrighton.co.uk/

@ Viktor Wynds Museum of Science

Attended a lecture, like the learned person I am and failed to realise that everyone there would know who William Burroughs is. I do too now in fact and the lecturer- Oliver Harris had some interesting thoughts on his work and also on the relationship between him and his publisher. While it was all very intellectually stimulating when we left, I could help but wonder about a few things that were not discussed- Williams Burroughs acidentally shot his wife whilst re-enacting a play..I wanted to know more..

back in London-town

after being in florence, where my senses where overstimulated, so much beauty, both in the art and natural beauty I thought 'how am I going to be satisfied with London?' But the weekend I returned I discovered so many new things. For once I returned it seemed that the season had changed and the leaves had turned. The beauty of Autumn had descended and I eased back in to London life by strolling to the old bookshop around the corner- full of ancient looking books on the history of London- Victorian London, Edwardian London it was all there.. the journey didn't end there.. the next day I strolled(in this habit from walking the cobblestone streets of florence) to a new part of my neighbourhood- Primose Hill, the cutest area I have seen in a long time. Quaint coffee shops, a market with fine cheese and wine, even a shop with original Matisse, Chagall, Picasso prints and sketches along with and amazing bookshop, gorgeous park where you can see all of London and the museum of everything! fantastic day out and it restored my faith in London. London I still love you, you still got it after a whole year of being near to you xx

more on Florence..

whilst it rained consecutively for two days when we first arrived it was interesting to see a city that is new to us under a blanket of water.. it gives you a whole new perspective and I thought it was kind of special. We saw the ponte vecchio with hundreds of tourists with a sea of umbrellas, we went to the Boboli gardens at the Palazzo Pitti and witnessed the beauty of the rain falling on amazing fountains such as the neptune fountain and were able to take in the beauty and mystery of the somewhat abandoned garden.

Florence and the machine/elevator

Arriving by train to Florence, even though it was raining when we left Pisa, I assumed it would be sunshine and blue skies in Florence. It wasn't unfortunately and it rained non-stop the whole day. We checked into hotel Alessandra, a gorgeous little Pensione down a side street near the Ponte Vecchio. With luggage in hand we stupidly climbed the stairs as I did not trust the ancient looking lift in the middle of the stairwell (would you?). Anyway, that lesson was learnt pretty fast but not without it's dramas, I think everytime I stepped into the narrow coffin-like interior, my heart skipped a beat or two.. not to mention the alarm (and I'm not just describing my state of mind but a literal alarm) that went off upon entering and exiting the confined space, just adding to my panic!

me much happier outside the cage of doom

although somewhat apprehensive..

Tuscany, amore mio!

In order to celebrate(or more like ignore) my birthday, I took a trip to the beautiful region of Tuscany. Starting in Pisa, from the second we arrived, took in the smells and the vibe of the city, we were at home. Being from italian backgrounds, I think Cosi and I both automatically relax when in this sort of environment. Strolling along to the leaning tower was quite a surreal experience, within the space of a couple of hours we had gone from a darker, icier London to a warmer climate where coconuts were presented with water flowing over them.. like a coconut fountain.. I was thirsty at the time so this scene, whilst obviously for the benefit of stupid tourists looked particularly attractive to me. Tourist gimmicks aside, the tower was seen and was not as tall nor grandiose as I did expect. I had the impression it was literally in the middle of nowhere in all its glory. This was not the case, it was right next to a cathedral, a baptistry and the Camposanto which to me where equally impressive buildings. Ok I will admit, the lean was pretty cool. The tower really is leaning at a crazy angle it looks like it could fall any minute and it is a pretty building in its own right. There was a big dose of cheesy tourists doing the whole 'Im holding up the tower' pose when really they just look ridiculous. A massive pizza, chianti wine (for 6€ only!) later, combined with a few espressos (drank at the bar of course) some fine art, market stall perusing.. and that was Pisa. Next on the tour, Florence!

Tame Impala gig @ heaven

I arrived at this gig with no preconceived ideas or expectations. I knew of tame impala, hearing their songs on the end of T.V shows, and cosi played them at home every now and then. I had the impression they were interesting and a bit cool..

So intrigue, (and cosi buying tickets so we could go with some new friends from Australia) led us to Heaven in SoHo apparently a raging gay hotspot. The club itself is quite cool.. underground.. when we arrived it was absolutely packed and we found a spot upstairs to view from the balcony.

The music to me gave off a long, continuous psychedelic dream feeling, I think the haze and the lights added to this vibe. The actual music was controlled chaos at times and yet flowed so smoothly from one song to the next. The control they had made them seem beyond their years. These guys are young.. early twenties yet they played with timing and expertise of a band that had been around for many years. I was impressed and transfixed (even though the girl in front of me was dancing completely inappropriately for this kind of music, shaking her booty all over the place) it had a nostalgic feel with a modern spin.. it sounded very authentic and not at all like I had heard it before like a lot of bands sound who are influenced by the sixties sounds. Highlights for me were when they would go into what seemed like unplanned jam sessions.. 'half glass full of wine' and I do like their version of 'remember me'.

Overall a great gig, and to top it off I saw Noel Fielding at the bar looking exactly how I would expect with a black feather coats and skinny jeans and boots, perfectly styled hair and make up. First proper celeb sighting.. made me a bit giddy. Lets not forget though Tame Impala were the real scene stealers and I look forward to listening to them more and seeing what their bright future may bring!

yeasayer @ the roundhouse

tonight I ventured out literally down my street to the roundhouse to see the awesome yeasayer. From the moment they came onto the stage there was movement through the crowd which gave the impression of being somewhat uncontrollable. The cool looking band with equally cool lighting and electronic sounds to me, was otherworldly. I was transported to a place where I was the only person watching this band as though they were the only thing that existed and I just wanted to take them in as wholly as possible. The beats were chilled but energetic and some had an almost reggae sound. Then just when you thought it couldn't get any better they played 'the one' and nobody could not, not dance, everyone looking at each other with knowing mutual affection for the tune whilst moving and dancing out how they were feeling. love love loved it. awesome gig and I left with a smile on my face and fabulous songs in my head.. and walk down the street and home.