How much is that doggie in the window?

Sorry that is just such a cheesy song, which is extremely difficult to stop singing, once you hear it.
But I couldn't help myself, when I passed this little dog in a shop window in Marylebone High Street. Luckily the little Japanese shop, the Eclectic Gallery, will soon make you forget all about the song. It's such a delicate, beautiful, bright little place with Japanese sweets, music, art and design.


Gallery Eclectic
66 Marylebone High Street, london W1U 5JF
eclectic66.co.uk

The Darkroom

London just have a way of hiding unique and cool shops in small pockets. Lambs Conduit Street is one of the places where a stroll will give you strange feeling of being in a small yet extremely hip village.

First of all let me lead you to the designshop THE DARKROOM, which changes decor a lot and displays arty design, which you don't find everywhere.

The next couple of months the parisians also have a chance to check out the Londons shops eclectic range of bags, jeweleries, art, fashion and interior decor.

For the entire months of November and December 2010, you can find The Darkroom as a pop up boutique in La Galerie Imaginaire, top floor of Paris's charming department store – Le Bon Marché.

www.darkroomlondon.com

Rose Bakery - a treat on the top

I passed by the Rose Bakery on Rue des Martyr in Paris a week ago. It was completely booked and my friend and I were too hungry to wait. But this week I made it up to another friend, who came to see me in London.
Rose Bakery is hidden on top of the avantgarde Dover Street Market (owned by Comme des Garçons), which has taken shopping to a whole new level with exceptional and very expensive labels such as Lanvin, Danish Camilla Skovgaard and Alexander McQueen .
It's a tiny cafe, which serves rustic organic tarts, vegetables and a carrot cake worth ordering with your other food. Just to be on the safe side. On busy days they seem to run out of several dishes on the menu. But that is not a part of the charm and the feeling of being in a country kitchen.
Think home made hearty food with a view of roof tops in the middle of London and of course COMME des GARÇONS T-shirt in the shop. Certainly one of the best, charming cafes in London.

www.doverstreetmarket.com

Dover Street
London W1S 4LT

Tuna in a can - Paris part 2

Feeling slightly hung over ( a visit to the Hotel Amour will do that to you) eating something salty was top on my list the first full day in Paris (and the second for that matter). I imagined some "frites", but after a browse in the Isabel Marant's shop on Rue Jacobs on the left bank we found ourselves sitting amongst local people in the old bistro La Palette. It opened in 1902 and is still as original and French as you could ever wish for.
I have been there before and the local woman who took me there the first time preferred this old haunt to the two more famous Cafe Flores and Les Deux Margots, which attracts more tourists.
Well back to my craving for something salty.
La Palette has one of those typical French bistro menus where everything seems to come with an egg.
I ordered THON BLANCH avec PAIN GRILLé. And that was what I got. Nothing else.
Just take a look at the photo. You have to love French simplicity.

The best thing was that the quality tuna was actually quite salty.

Isabel Marant
1, rue Jacob
75006 paris
www.isabelmarant.tm.fr

La Palette
43 rue de Seine corner of Rue Jacob

Join the circus of cool

A phantasmagorical cabaret of physical theatre and puppetry brought from the other side of life, a show inspired by circus, love, life and death with a hint of Latin humour.
I didn’t come up with this amazing sentence, but I am definitely curious to see what it’s all about. For a start I can tell you that it is just one of the interesting events taking place in the basement of the coolest shop in East London. Just of Brick Lane you’ll find this rare independent boutique Beacon Street Project. With a lot of different and unique design which you don’t find in every other shop.
They stock my favourite American designer Jane Moyle, who accordingly to rumours sadly has decided to end her busy soon.

Sign up for the newsletter and check out this fabulous place on:
www.baconstreetproject.com