Trisha Travels: Around Barcelona

Sun-drenched beaches, boundless culture, unbeatable food, mythical architecture and dubbed as "the city of marvels" by many, Barcelona is indeed one of the most charming cities. Have a different perspective of this city through the eyes of popular Instagrammer, Trisha Toh. You will realise that Barcelona is also filled with many other amazing coffee, arts and architecture spots that you might have just missed! If you haven't taken a look at Trisha's London City Guide, you can have a peep here or the latest issue of the Bloesem Gazette! 

View the Barcelona City Guide after the cut..

Craving Caffeine 

Taranná Café 

Taranna is a small corner full of personality in the heart of Sant Antoni. This cozy place offers an amazing array of homemade cakes, healthy breakfast options and organic juices.

Carrer de Viladomat, 23

Federal Café

This laid back café located in the trendy and hip neighbourhood of L’eixample is a perfect place for breakfast or brunch. It brings natural light, stylish décor and friendly staff. Truly remarkable. 

Carrer del Parlament, 39

Satan’s Coffee Corner

Do not let the name scare you, the café was named because like Satan, the coffee is dark. Serving probably the best cup in the city, this gem has made its mark as a well known name in the coffee scene of Barcelona.

Carrer de l'Arc de Sant Ramon del Call, 11

Flax and Kale 

This stylish and trendy place is a paradise for those seeking for a healthier way of enjoying food. The menu is tailored for the vegan and vegetarians as it explores some delicious raw options and uses vegetables in all of their dishes.  The fresh and cold pressed juices are the café’s biggest hit.

Carrer dels Tallers, 74

 Arts & Culture 

MACBA Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art

Not to be missed! The MACBA houses some important works of international artists in changing exhibitions. The surrounding area and architecture outside of the museum is well-known for modern skateboarding.

Plaça dels Àngels, 1

CCCB Centre of Contemporary Culture Barcelona

One of the most visited exhibition and arts centers in the city, the CCCB’s core theme is within the city and urban culture.  It features a mirror façade that reflects the courtyard at the top.

Montalegre, 5

Fundació Joan Miró 

Joan Miro was a respectable Catalonian artist and his work are characterized by its strong colours and simplified forms. The Fundació was built in a Mediterranean style with an emphasis on natural light from the sun in the exhibition rooms. 

Parc de Montjuïc

Festivals and Festivities

La Tomatina Tomato Festival 

The world’s biggest tomato fight which often takes place on the last Wednesday of August each year where more than one hundred metric tons of over-ripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets.

Fiesta of Near Death Experiences 

The oddly named festival takes place as homage to Santa Marta in gratitude for allowing the participants to avoid death after a close encounter. 

Images courtesy of Trisha Toh.

.. Trisha Toh
.. Read the Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue"

Trisha Travels: Around London

Travel is something we all love and we always feel that the Bloesem Gazette will not be complete without a nifty city guide for our readers. In the recent volume of the Bloesem Gazette, we had the pleasure to have popular Instagrammer, Trisha Toh, to take us on a virtual ride around 4 cities in Europe. We start off this week with a vibrant city bustling in their music, arts and historic scene —London. Be prepared for a visual feast as Trisha takes us to her favourite picks for cafes and other hotspots! Stay tune for more city guides by Trisha for the next 3 weeks!

View the London City Guide after the cut..

Craving Caffeine 

Workshop Coffee Co.

Opened with four locations, Workshop Coffee Co. serves excellent coffee prepared by friendly and knowledgeable baristas. Their sandwiches are tasty and ample in size.

Various locations

http://www.workshopcoffee.com/

Tap Coffee 

Short for Tapped and Packed, TAP has three outposts in central London, each with a familiar simple and relaxing vibe. There are just six coffee choices on the menu, with a simple list of teas and homemade pastries - definitely something for everyone.

Various locations

http://www.tapcoffee.co.uk/

Kaffeine

Highly regarded by the locals as one of the best coffee-bars in Europe, this laid-back café takes their coffee seriously and has friendly baristas that are pleased to share their knowledge with you.

66 Great Titchfield Street

http://kaffeine.co.uk/

Monocle Café 

Culture magazine, Monocle, opened its doors to their first London café, completing the London coffee scene with well-dressed staff that fully traverses Marylbone. The space itself is airy, bright and remarkably modest. The coffee packs a punch and so do their cakes and pastries.

18 Chiltern Street

http://cafe.monocle.com/

Monmouth Café 

Roasting since 1978, Monmouth Coffee maintains world-class standards for sourcing, roasting and brewing beans, and is still one of the most talked about coffee shops in London.

Various locations.

http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/

Arts & Culture 

Natural History Museum 

One of the three large museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the museum is home to life and earth science specimens housed in a Romanesque style façade.

Cromwell Road

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

British Museum

A museum dedicated to human history and culture, the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court impressed me the most. Designed by engineers Buro Happold and architects Foster and Partners, the Great Court is the largest covered square in Europe.

Great Russell Street

http://www.britishmuseum.org/

British Library 

There is one main exhibition area called The Treasure Room where visitors can find a copy of the Magna Carta, original song lyrics written by John Lennon, drawings by Michelangelo and plenty of great historical items. It’s free and open to all.

96 Euston Road

http://www.bl.uk/

Festivals and Festivities

London Short Film Festival 

This celebration of short film is the most looked forward to event that showcases cutting-edge UK independent film makers today.

http://www.shortfilms.co.uk/

Coopers Hill May Bank holiday Cheese-Rolling 

The extreme sport of UK’s festivals, the rolling takes place on a grassy hill where dozens of contestants compete in chasing a 9lb Double Gloucester cheese.

http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/

The Alternative London tour 

Take the road less travelled and discover the London you won’t find in any guidebooks. Tour includes Street Art, Modern Architecture, Finance District and so much more.

http://www.alternativeldn.co.uk/

Images courtesy of Trisha Toh.

.. Trisha Toh
.. Read the Bloesem Gazette " The Conversation Issue"

The Working Capitol

Dubbed the sexiest new working space in Singapore, The Working Capitol is a real stunner. We are in awe of the beautiful photography done of the space and we'd love to go down and have a look for ourselves! Singapore has so many up and coming spots to check out.. next time you start to think the place you live in is getting boring, we suggest you have another look around. There just might be something new that will inspire you.

.. Photos courtesy of The Working Capitol

Fit for home

I first spotted this beautiful image on Justin Chung's blog and the caption simply said: " Truck Furniture, Osaka, Japan." That was not enough for me, this shot was far too gorgeous. Of course I had to get to the bottom of it and see if this one gorgeous image led to many more. And of course it did.

Truck is a furniture store founded just outside Osaka, Japan in 1997 by Tokuhiko Kise and Hiromi Karatsu. Their aim was to make furniture that was classic and that they would love to have for themselves.

Well they definitely acheived their goal.. and much more. 

Image credits: Top image by Justin Chung, All other images via Truck Furniture.

... Truck Furniture

Mondays Off

Haji Lane in Singapore has changed massively since the last time I visited and a few weeks back Irene told me about a great shop she had visited there, so of course I had to take my wednesday off and go see it for myself. Well, she was right! Mondays Off is definitely one of my favorites on the street. Leyna, chief dreamer at Mondays Off, actually popped by Bloesem awhile back and it was so great seeing her again.

The store is beautiful both inside and out, don't you agree? That is one beautiful store display!

  

You can find a quirky mix of home and garden merchandize, as well as tons of cute things that make great gifts. The store is so colorful and full of items that you just want to take a closer look at, so i suggest you make a complete round before you decide which items are going home with you.

One of my favorite things that Leyna said while I was there was that, to her, the store is home. And I feel exactly the same way about Bloesem.

So the next time you find yourself with some time off, or around Haji Lane, make sure to visit Mondays Off at 76 Haji Lane, Singapore. I'm sure you won't regret it.

.. Mondays Off 
.. Catch Mondays Off on Facebook

Chalk it up to Chipwood

A couple of interior architects told me it was impossible to find chipwood here in Singapore or Malaysia ... of course I thought that was truly hard to believe but had to accept it ... so when I discovered this home today designed by Jonathan Poh (see his own home here, as beautiful as this one) i was happily surprised! We do have chipwood here!!

I love the way the chipwood is used in the kitchen, matching perfectly with the long white walls. 

And if you ever get bored you could always paint the chipwood in a dark color, the texture of the wood will give the wall some character!

 Credits: All photos taken from here.