Old Compton Street is one of the main arteries in Soho, and appropriately filled with restaurants and cafés. We visited Boulevard Bar and Dining Room (what a monster of a name) for a quick dinner.
As any London goer knows, you really can’t beat the location of Soho. It is in easy reach from everywhere and the atmosphere is just splendid, busy and still somehow relaxed. The restaurant mirrors the feeling quite nicely. The interior is modern, but not too flashy and there is some privacy, especially when the restaurant is not fully packed. Try to get a window table, so you can admire the street life while eating.
The food is okay, nothing superb but more than just eatable. The prices are reasonable considering the location. Service is fast and friendly, but fortunately not overly so.
www.boulevard-dining-room.co.uk, 55-59 Old Compton Street, London, United Kingdom, +44 871 075 2374
Last weekend I finally had some free time, and visited Helsinki city centre with my family.
The annual christmas fair had been opened in the Esplanadi Park, and we found surprisingly many gifts from the small stalls… There were toys, candles, crafts, foods and all kinds of stuff.
This year, they have changed the orange tents to wooden mini-huts that look that much better. The earlier version was a sorry sight, looking more like a refugee camp than a Christmas fair.
If you happen to be around Helsinki this season, go to Esplanadi to check the stalls.
The most stylish computers (at least currently) in London are sold on Apple Store on Regent Street. The store is located in an impressive Victorian building with large windows decorated with ornaments. Inside, the style changes instantly to the so well known Apple style; a lot of white and glass, computers on display sparsely set on tables, and so on.
Britain is not the cheapest country to buy computer hardware or software, and Apple store has never been very strong on discounts — so don’t go there looking for bargains. Instead, the atmosphere and ability to study the selection at your own pace is worth some pennies at the end.
www.apple.com, 235 Regent Street, London, United Kingdom
Soho’s Original Bookshop is a chain of small bookstores that sells leftovers and other bargainly priced books on the groundfloor and has an adult store on the basement. Their original store is located on Brewer Street, in middle of busy Soho. The neighbourhood might be a bit too much in the most pure purists, but rest assured that it is a safe enough area.
The bookstore has books from various genres, including art, fashion, fiction, style and travel. The selection is not huge, and the prices are not that bargained, but sometimes you can make real finds there. I, for example, have bought several Iain Banks books from this specific store with unbeatable prices.
www.sohobooks.co.uk, 11 Brewer Street, London, United Kingdom, +44 20 72873844
Enholm & Co., the strategic marketing agency that my company Exove is co-operating a lot, had their pre-Christmas party on last Friday in Porvoo.
For the uninitiated, Porvoo has one of the best preserved medieval old towns in Finland. They have been able to commercialise the area, and it’s now full of small shops, cafés and quality restaurants.
Once again, I had to leave the party early, just after dessert, as Aapo was once again ill, and in hospital with Sanna — fortunately just to have some hospital grade medicin… We got home on midnight and Aapo has been getting better since.
I seemingly have no luck with Enholm & Co. parties. Last time we were dining out, I need to leave after the main course, as I got a stomach flu and threw up immediately I got home. Maybe next time I can mingle a bit after dinner and then attend an emergency.
Waterstone’s at Piccadilly is the seventh heaven for any bibliophile. Seven floors, filled with books that deal almost with any subject published on Earth, makes the bookstore the biggest on Europe. The location of the store couldn’t be better, it’s a couple hundred meters off Piccadilly Circus, nearby giant HMV and Virgin.
Fiction, including sci-fi and mystery, is well presented on the aisles. The newest of the new are available right after the entrance for easier selection. Several floors are dedicated to non-fiction books, such as computing, business management, self-help and others. The basement floor has an excellent magazine selection.
There is a lounge bar on the upper floors that has nice views over London rooftops. It’s an excellent place to savour some coffee and study the purchased books.
www.waterstones.co.uk, 203/206 Piccadilly, London, United Kingdom, +44 20 7851 2400
Nothing could be labelled more British than Burberry in the world of Fashion. The brand mixes the countryside elegance with chicness of London and does it in style. One of their London fashion complexes is located on Regent Street, one of the busiest shopping districts in the city.
Burberry caters for all ages and genders. The selection consists of clothes, shoes, bags, fragnances, and accessories. Dogs are not forgotten either — you can buy a water cup or a leash sporting the Burberry tartan.
The prices of certain items, such as bags, are affordable to most of us. The clothes may make you think twice before purchasing.
www.burberry.com, 65 Regent Street, London, United Kingdom, +44 20 7968 0000
I’m writing this in United Red Carpet lounge that doesn’t live up to my expectations of airport lounges. There are no sofas or comfortable chairs, no free booze and generally no nice atmosphere. My memories of the lounge from 2002 were much more positive, maybe they have remodelled this place or my memory is beatifying things.
I’m also too cheap to get an overpriced T-Mobile WLAN access for an hour, so this will be posted later.
Monday and Tuesday was spent with all kinds of business activities, so not too much to say about those days.
On Wednesday the trip continued to San Jose. I had reserved a car from avis.com and surprisingly enough I got exactly the car I had ordered with the same price. As there were some extra time on the day, we spent the morning in Muir Woods — an excellent nature reserve to see some old redwoods.
In the afternoon we drove to Gilroy to visit the 145 outlets in Chelsea Premium Outlets village. We didn’t step into every single of those, but anyhow a formidable number and spent surprisingly little for the amount of stuff that we bought.
The outlets were boasting huge discounts for the black Friday, but fortunately we visited them already on Wednesday; there were no huge crowds and most of the discounts were already in place. After shopping, we arrived to San Jose just before darkness fell, and I had an evening meeting.
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