Posted by Katrin on June 24th, 2007 — Posted in Events, Outdoors
Last weekend I had the pleasure of having half the day off in order to go to the O2 Wireless Festival. I came straight from work and enjoyed a beer while laying on the lawn in Hyde Park listening to Cat Empire. That has to be the most perfect way to start a weekend!
The whole thing was huge and my mentioning „I am off to see a concert“ just a tad understated, but I had honestly no idea what was waiting for me. The more surprised I was to arrive in a wide open space spreading out in Hyde Park, with various stages, food and drink stalls and even caroussels! Note to myself: must do better research.It started of slow, everyone still having a look around, but you know when you’re in London even the warm up bands are great.
For me the highlight was Gotan Project with an awsome mix of classical instruments and tango inspired electrical dance music. They are a group of musicians from Paris and Buenos Aires and even though I was familiar with their music before, I wasn’t entirely aware of them. They were fabulous on stage! The best thing of the whole festival if you ask me.
Faithless came last as the headlining act everyone was waiting for. Great sound and vibe and an enormous amount of people around us. Everyone in quite a friendly mood which is relaxing but I always feel a bit unwell in such a massive crowd (sorry if that makes me completely uncool…).
Make sure to give it a go when the festival comes round again! It’s definitely worth it.
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Posted by Tom on June 17th, 2007 — Posted in Art, Travel
On a recent trip to San Francisco I had the chance to experience two different hotels. One was the usual business hotel although with a nice, young and stylish twist but the other one was a true San Franciscan delight: Hotel des Arts at 447 Bush Street.
Curiously enough the website “warned” me that the Hotel des Arts does not offer the same level of comfort than other hotels in the chain. But it was one of 5 staff picks in the Lonely Planet guide and these guys usually know their business, right? On arrival a sign told me the reception is on the 2nd floor (which I found odd until I remembered that Americans called the ground floor the 1st floor. Strange country.) Once I found my way there I was immediately surrounded by interesting, modern art. The front desk staff was friendly and explained there would be free breakfast in the mornings in room 203.
At the Hotel des Arts all rooms are painted by different contemporary fine artists (if you’re interested in buying, all art on display is for sale and starts from about $400). Mine had a green and black comic style theme to it. I found it a bit childish but actually very appealing. All walls were painted even the bathroom featured one of these quirky comic characters. The bedroom had a decent size and was equipped with everything I needed: a large bed, a fridge, a microwave (did not need that, though), a bathroom with a bath and toilet. The only downside was that the basin was in the main room. To my surprise there was also free wireless internet. But then this is San Francisco, hub to the Silicon Valley, so I guess that’s kind of expected if you want to attract the Mac geek crowd.
After a good nights sleep in Hotel Jeremyville, as my room was called, I tried room 203 for breakfast. Really funny as it actually was a normal room, only the bed was missing. On one side of the room was a buffet with bagels and muffins, coffee, tee and orange juice. I guess to make life easier for the cleaners, there were carton cups and plates so after I had finished everything went into the bin. Not exactly the best Californian initiative to help reduce carbon emission.
But apart from the environmental nonsense, I really enjoyed the hotel. Having each room painted by a different artist is appealing even though you can’t really select the art you will be surrounded by. Also a plus: the room for just $100 a night at a great, downtown location. The Hotel des Arts should definitely be on your itinerary if you like art, are a bit adventurous and own a Mac.
More things to do in San Francisco:
Hotel des Arts
447 Bush Street
San Francisco, CA, USA
Hotel des Arts
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Posted by Katrin on June 3rd, 2007 — Posted in Restaurants
Two nights ago we tried Imli, an Indian Restaurant with a twist in Soho. I had read about it some time ago and it was mentioned again in one of the Time Out newsletter which I receive every week (very handy to see what’s on – in a nutshell, so to speak). It is very different to any Indian Restaurant I have ever been to. It serves tapas style food but even though it looks different to what you would expect it has the flavours of India in every single dish.
The restaurant itself is pretty stylish, I liked the warm but very modern decorations and the phrase painted on the wall that good food is best enjoyed with family and friends – a true mixture of traditions and modern city life.The only downside was that it is extremely noisy. It is certainly not a location for a first date or romantic evening, but for dinner after work it is just fine (do prepare yourself for some repeating what you said though).
We tried the tasting menu which served 9 dishes and rice. The first four looked very experimental and tasted wonderful. They were served as a first round and had a ‘starter feeling’ to them. The five which followed were more traditional dishes, very spicy (could have been a little less for me) and I enjoyed especially the variety in small portions.
Go and see for yourself!
Imli
167-169 Wardour Street
London, W1F 8WR
Tel: 020 7287 4243
Fax: 020 7287 4245
Opening Times: Monday - Sunday 12.00 - 11.00pm
Imli, 167-169 Wardour Street
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