A new cupcake place is opened at Westend City Center in Budapest.

 Bought banana-strawberry and Oreo-cupcake to take-out.

Stored them too long, 4 hours, in my fridge - should have eaten them straight away... 
Delicious looking, aren't they?

Réka's Cupcake Factory at Westend, almost opposite the Starbucks - great combination!

Happy Valentine's!

Started the day with cupcakes...

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends!

History of Valentine's Day:

It was not until the 14th century that this Christian feast day became definitively associated with love. It was Chaucer who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.

In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are linked:

For this was on St. Valentine's Day, 

When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.

 Valentine's day gifts at the museum shop of Vizcaya.

More about impressive and unique Vizcaya coming up soon.

Cupcakes & More

Found this small cupcake place on Dessewffy utca 30.

Lovely!

The entrance is not so charming but 

when you peek through the window 

a whole new world opens up.

Preston torta
VI Budapest
Dessewffy utca 30

Cupcakes

No trip to London without eating cupcakes!

Delicious special Lavender cupcake

from Humingbird Bakery

on Wardour Street
.

Bought 2 of them...

..and also 2 of chocolateones with vanilla icing
.

Hummingbird Bakery, again

Bought 2 more cupcakes to take-away

at Hummingbird Bakery

.

Red Velvet & Vanilla-chocolate cupcakes
- fantastic!
.

Hummingbird Bakery on Wardour Street
- similar black interior as in South Kensington's

(Remember Wardour Street well

as Marquee Club used to be a great

venue to check out the new bands,

at least at the 80's...)
.

Hummingbird Bakery

155a Wardour Steet

Soho

London
.

Crayfish & mango salad

with coconut-chili sauce

- bought at M&S's

- really good!
.

City Walk

Whit Monday didn't start so sunny

but by noon it was already partly clear

- still windy but nice & warm in the sun
.

Made a rather long walk

starting from Islington...

Just love this kind of typical London houses!

...passing by St Paul's,

heading to Covent Garden by Fleet Street
.

Had to taste the Primrose Bakery's
Rose cupcake!
- not a disapointment!
- all the 3 tables were taken
so sat outside on a bench
.
Took the tube from Holborn
back to Angel
after walking in Covent Garden & Soho
.
Great evening view from the roof top terrace
.

Ottolenghi's

Lovely Sunday afternoon

on the rooftop terrace...

.

...reading the Sunday Times

& eating some take-away bought at Ottolenghi's

.
Asparagus salad
with goat cheese & roasted potatoes
- very tasty!
.

The cupcake of the day:

Ottolenghi's rasberry-lemon cupcake

- gorgeous!
.

Ottolenghi

287 Upper Street

London N1
- very busy place,

people queing for getting a table there
.

Hummingbird Bakery

Hummingbird Bakery

on Old Brompton Road

.

On this rainy Saturday

wanted to give a treat for myself:

A cupcake & a cup of tea

at Hummingbird Bakery's

- almost like the green ones at

Magnolia Bakery in NY
.

The place has only a few tables

so had no place to sit down

as it was pretty packed

- had to eat the cupcake quite fast

- great place for take-away cupcakes

- Gwyneth Paltrow's favourite bakery in London!

.

Hummingbird Bakery

47 Old Brompton Road

London SW7

- the first branch is located on Portobello Road

www.hummingbirdbakery.com

.

Primrose Bakery

Time for a cupcake!

As was in the neighbourhood

went to Primrose Bakery

in Covent Garden

.

Chocolate-banana cupcake

- ok, but not to die for,

quite ordinary

- perhaps should have chosen the rose cupcake...
.

Nice small place with only 3 tables,

decorated with pastel colours

- there's also a tiny shop selling

birthday candles, cute t-shirts

& other small things
.
Primrose Bakery

42 Tavistock Street

London WC2

www.primrosebakery.org.uk

.

New York on Tuesday

Light breakfast at Cafe Metro

Fruit salad, yogurth & tea

.

Metro from Grand Central to Bleecker Street.

Walked along Bleecker Street,

had a drink at Cafe Angelique,

317 Bleecker Street

cupcake at Magnolia Bakery,

401 Bleecker Street

http://www.magnoliabakery.com/

found "Great Gatzby" at Biography Bookshop,

opposite of Magnolia

shopped a pair of shoes at Marc Jacobs

403 Bleecker Street

http://www.marcjacobs.com/

and

continued walking in Village.

.

Famous Mangolia Bakery

.

Best cupcake!

Cupcake rating:5/5

.

Village houses

.

Wooden house at the corner of Bedford St & Grove St.

.

Lunch at Zoe in SoHo

.

Spinach salad with thin slices of cheese & mushrooms

- presented nicely & differently

- mild flavours mixed with rather dstrong taste of cheese

- very good

During this journey had been eating a lot of spinach in salads!

Rating: 3,8/5

- good service

- very average interior, nothing special

.

Zoe

90 Prince Street

http://www.zoerestaurant.com/

.

Dessert from Dean & Deluca:

mini banana cupcakes

560 Broadway

http://www.deandeluca.com/

.

Kidrobot is a must if you like odd things!

Wanted to buy a Smoking Bunny,

but no place in the suitcase

118 Prince Street

http://www.kidrobot.com/

.

Looked for Bond Street no:9

to buy a bottle of special New York scent

Bought "Astor Place"

- absolutely fantastic scent:

soft & fresh

http://www.bondno9.com/

.

.

Had some tiramisu at Sambuca's Cafe in Little Italy

- delicious!

.

Mulberry Street in Little Italy

.

Took metro from Chamber St to 52nd Street

Had a rest in hotel before going for dinner at Balthazar

- went there by metro from 52nd Street to Spring Street

.

Started with a glas of Taittinger

.

King crab

.

Grilled branzino with sauteed fennel

.

Lemon mille feux

.

Pouilly Fume

.

Absolutely perfect!

Ratings: 5/5

Been there before & liked the atmosphere

Professional pleasant service

There was nothing complicated in the food,

simply just the real thing

.

Balthazar

80 Spring Street

http://www.balthazarny.com/

.

Took taxi back home = to the hotel

Culture & cupcakes

Royal Academy of Arts

Byzantium 330-1453

(Main Galleries

25 October 2008 - 22 March 2009)

.

Very interesting exhibition about the Byzantine era.

Lots of information and the texts telling about the different decades and centuries were captuavating.

.

"This ground-breaking ehibition, a collaboration between the Royal Academy of Arts and the Benaki Museum in Athens, provides a grand-scale survey of 1000 years of histora.

Highlighting the slendours of the Bysantine Empire, "Byzantium 330-1453" incorporates over 300 objects, some of the works have never been displayed in public before."

.

Royal Academy of Arts

Piccadilly

London W1J 0BD

admission: ₤12

Time for a cup of tea

and a cupcake

at Valerie's

.

One of my favourite patisseries!

.

Patisserie Valerie

15 Bedford Street

Covent Garden

www-patisserie-valerie.co.uk

.

More culture:

the National Gallery

.

Free entrance to see paintings from 13th-century to 20th-century.

.

Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio, Rubens, Velázquez, Rembrandt, Goya, Cézanne, Monet, Van Gogh....

.

Finnish painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela's

"Lake Keitele"

is on display there.

.

The National Gallery

Trafalgar Square

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

.

Christmas tree at Trafalgar Square

(a bit dark though)

...

More cupcakes:

Blueberry cupcakes

bought at Ottolenghi's

.

- absolutely one of the best delis!

.

The place, run by chef Yotam Ottolenghi, looks as good as it tastes.

Teaming a long white communal table with crisp white, orange and yellow Panton chairs and wooden floors,

it serves mounthwatering, Mediterranean-inspired seasonal soups, salads, quishes, main dishes, breads and cakes.

.

Ottolenghi

287 Upper Street

Islington

http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/

Party in Islington

A friend's 50th birthday party in Islington on Saturday.
Absolutely a great party.
App 100 guests, spacious roof garden, lots of champagne, BBQ, great weather...
One of the best parties ever. Stayed there untill 3am!

Views from the roof top garden of the penthouse:

On Friday had a long walk in the parks of London. The wheather was perfect
- sunny, hardly any clouds

Green Park

Hyde Park

Italian Garden

Before the party had some time to do a bit shopping for the autumn:
Black thin woolen coat from Prada
Black flat heel boots from Prada
- Old Bond Street
Colourful woollen Missoni scarf from Liberty
- Regent Street
Greyish-beige handbag from Miu Miu
- New Bond Street

At this point no more money left.
Just some t-shirts from Abercrombie and a cashmire sweater from Gap.

Dinners & Lunches out

Café Gallipoli Again, Upper Street, Islington
- good Turkish meze and nice athmosphere

Med Kitchen, Upper Street, Islington
- nice international food and interior

+ Burger Union, Pret A Manger...

Halloumi Burger at Union Burger

Pret A manger's enviromental friendly delivery van


Tested some cup cakes:

Patisserie Valerie, 162 piccadilly

- delicious Lemon Cup Cake

Otto Lenghi, Upper Street, Islington

- gorgeous blueberry cup cakes!

Starbucks

- Sicily Lemon cup cake - well, not really for me

Of course bought a selection of macaroons in Designer's Guild box at Laduree!

71-72 Burlington Arcade

Stayed 4 nights at Hotel Hilton Islington

53 Upper Street

- good basic hotel

- can recommend it

Room in Hilton


Terminal 5 at Heathrow is absolutely fantastic!

What you cannot find there you won't need!

There are shops like:

Gucci

Prada

Dior

Coach - the first in Europe!

Mulberry

Harrods

+ several bookstores, Beauty Shop with brands like Jo Malone, Benefit, Victoria's Secret, Kiehl's, Molton Brown and all the major cosmetic brands!

London feels always like a home.

At Burberry's on Regent Street they were playing Solitary Confiment by Sham69.