Noisy Hanoi

I arrived in Hanoi the local way - taking a bus with its doors always open (even when travelling at speeds of about 100km/hr) in order to pick up/drop off various waifs and strays along the way. My bag was shoved in what I suppose served as the boot, alongside a mucky-looking spare tyre. Two hours of torrential rain later it was handed back to me, soaking wet and coated in mud. Which is even more fun when you have to mount it on your back to walk to your hotel...

The rain had cleared at least though - small mercies. Once I had deep-cleaned myself (the bag was beyond hope), I headed out to explore the city.

I got lost almost immediately. The Old Town is a maze of tiny streets, each selling a particular thing, from mirrors to dried fruit to gravestones - and, at this time of year, there's even a Santa Street. Crossing the road is difficult enough here, let alone when trying to avoid motorbikes carrying oversized Christmas trees as well as the standard three passengers they cram on the back.

My detour was nevertheless highly interesting - a street devoted to coffee sellers turned into a street selling gorgeous silk items, which then turned into a street selling oversized cuddly toys (I had to resist the temptation, although the next street - selling luggage - would have easily solved any transportation problems).

I ended up at the opera house and somehow managed to find my way into the stunning Sofitel Metropole hotel next door. After a good three seconds of trying to resist, I gave in and took their chocolate afternoon tea buffet. Incroyable. Endless truffles, cakes, crepes, cookies, ice cream...plus a few savoury things thrown in for good measure. While I was there, I overheard a small boy telling his mother that "5-star hotels just aren't the same as 6-star ones". It may have lacked caviar and a few other trimmings, but I thought it was superb.

I walked off a small portion of the indulgence with a stroll around the West Lake, before diving into yet more specialist streets. I watched the sun go down as an outdoor performing arts competition took place, involving - you've guessed it - yet more karaoke performances, with endearing attempts to mimic the lyrics of Western pop songs through a series of meaningful mumblings. Although the prospect of listening to an evening of Vietnamese Vengaboys imitations was a tempting one, the Australian friends I'd made in Ninh Binh invited me to meet them at a rooftop bar with the most incredible views of the city. As motorbikes revved, horns beeped, people shouted and singers warbled below, we raised a toast to this frantic but fantastic city.

gourmet grotto

Today my lovely friend Anna and I went to Well Walk Tea Rooms for tea and cake and a jolly good catch-up with each other's news. Inside they have a Santa's Grotto full of gorgeous Christmas decorations and the decor and crockery is almost as delicious as the homemade cakes they serve...

arty tarty

On our last morning in Amsterdam, Tom and I got up early to visit Anne Frank's House. It is situated on the beautiful Prinzengracht, next door to a beautiful church and overlooking a canal - it's so sad to think that when the Frank family were forced into hiding they became deprived of such lovely sights.

Our afternoon was a stark contrast with the sad reminders of the war we encountered during the morning - we had cake at De Taart van m'n Tante, which has fabulously over-the-top decor with brightly coloured flowers and cakes adorning the cafe, which is world famous for its extravagant cakes. We chose their poopy seed, chocolate and hazelnut and chocolate amaretto truffle varieties, which certainly lived up to their outrageous reputation!

MOMOoching around

I began my second day in Amsterdam with a morning stroll along Utrechtsestraat, stopping for breakfast in a cute patisserie with beautiful handmade cakes, before visiting the Tassenmuseum (Museum of Bags and Purses). The collection is exquisite, with wonderfully crafted gems dating from the 16th century onwards, and it also had a very pretty tearoom overlooking a canal.

Tessel, Tom and I met for lunch at De Drie Graefjes on Rokin, where we gorged on New York cheesecake, red velvet cake and tiramisu muffins from their American bakery - heaven.

We came back to the apartment to make some incredibly white chocolate Bailey's truffles (as if our sugar levels weren't high enough already - recipe here, if you dare...), and then Tessel worked her magic on my hair to beautify me for a fabulous night out with my friend Myrthe.

 



We met for lychee and watermelon martinis at Momo before having dinner at The French Cafe, an amazing restaurant in de Pijp. We both had sole with lemon and ricotta tortelloni, which was to die for!

We went back to Momo for another drink with some friends we had got talking to earlier, and then stopped by at Door 74 and Chupitos for some very inventive shots!

back in the big smoke

After seven weeks in Asia I returned to London to be plied with endless amounts of familiar food, shop in Western stores and soak up the lovely London sunshine without sweating horrendously!

My boyfriend and I had fabulous dinners at Wright Brothers Oyster and Porter House, Black & Blue, the Gallery at Sketch and The Pantechnicon, as well as a morning stroll around Borough Market that involved heavenly cheeses, smoothies, cakes and pastries...

Savoury cacao crepe with duck, dried cherries, dark chocolate, creme fraiche, coriander and cacao nibs at The Rabot Estate, Borough Market

I returned to Sketch with my girlfriends to have afternoon tea in the Parlour to celebrate my friend's birthday, and had an incredible chocolate mousse cake decorated with golden popping candy!

We celebrated my boyfriend's birthday at a club called Public, where the drinks come in inventive boxes to share...

My friend Alison and I went on a sunny Boris bike ride along the Thames, past Buckingham Palace and through Hyde Park before having a picnic and a compulsory frozen yoghurt to satisfy my ongoing addiction...

In the afternoon we wandered around Knightsbridge, had tea and sfogliatelle at Patisserie Valerie, and looked at the gorgeous jewellery displays at the V&A.

Whilst at the V&A we tried on their amazing costumes and found the handbag of my dreams...

 

a scholar's feast

On our second day in Bangkok, we took a boat down the rather brown river to the Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Having seen the colour of the water, we weren't so keen to try the seafood delights being sold at the pier...

We wandered around the beautiful Mandarin Oriental hotel, which is famous for afternoon tea in the Authors' Lounge. However, the lounge was being used for a very fancy Jo Malone perfume launch, so we had to settle for tea in the gorgeous lobby instead.

yummy yummy :)