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"

We are ....??? Condé Nast Traveler

If you have heard from my instagram or on twitter, you may have found out that recently there was some very exciting news! Bloesem has become part of the Condé Nast Traveler family. I have become a contributor to this amazing travel website and I could not be more thrilled. 

Have a look here for the first 3 posts that has gone up on the site, the first about travel books, the second a guide to Tokyo and thirdly, a post about the rich colours of Kuala Lumpur. 

If you are a photographer or blogger and would like to collaborate with us on creating interesting travel posts, do drop us an email, we would love to hear from you.

Some of the upcoming posts you should look out for features beautiful destinations like Montigo, design hotels in Amsterdam and café hopping around Singapore. I promise a feast for your eyes and you may even find some places to add to your list for your next vacation spot!

Catch up on my first 3 posts as an official contributor of the Condé Nast Traveler:

1. 10 Beautiful Travel Books to Add to Your Collection
2. The Hipster’s Guide to Tokyo

.. and more of the beauty of Tokyo & Kuala Lumpur..

3. This Is the Most Colorful Place in Kuala Lumpur.

 

Meanwhile in Kuala Lumpur..

A few weeks back we met Ping & Cheryl, a very friendly couple from Malaysia while they were in Singapore. After chatting for awhile, we found out that they are the owners of the cafe LOKL in Kualar Lumpur! (Love the name of the cafe!) They are also connected to BackHome hostel (pictures below), which looks like a lovely place to stay if you are ever visiting KL.

LOKL is a neighbourhood cafe in the historic heart of KL. They serve espressos and local coffee, hot sandwiches with a local twist, and cakes and pastries. It is housed in a bright airy space with an internal courtyard that’s shared with BackHome hostel.  

BackHome is an award-winning boutique backpacker’s hostel located right in the heart of Kualar Lumpur, Malaysia. Located in the historic heart of Kuala Lumpur, you’ll find some of the city’s best attractions located within a stone’s throw away. They promise that you’ll get the same tender loving care as you do back home. That means personal attention, a good night’s rest and peace of mind.

BackHome is also home to the LOKL Coffee Co., it's own in-house café that helps sets a positive vibe for your stay in Kuala Lumpur. 

 Credits: All pictures by Loo Jia Wen ( i know her from Malaysia too ... bought ceramics from her! )

.. LOKL
..BackHome

Foundry in Singapore

Are you ready for visiting another shop with me today? This time we are going to Seah Street in Singapore. Just behind the famous Raffles Hotel and right in the arts and heritage district of Singapore. Here you will find a couple of streets with hidden gems ... like supermama, P5, the best chicken restaurant (I am forgetting the name as I am writing this post) and one of my favorite furniture shops, Foundry.

My friend Marjon Hoogervorst and I visited Foundry a while ago while making a city guide about Singapore. Just by coincidence we met the friendly owner and founder Felix. Marjon had the wonderful idea of making some extra images of one of Felix' own designs 'Loppa' a gorgeous paper lamp.

I recently bought one of the String shelving systems and will come back for other goodies.

[MORE IMAGES]

Foundry: 3 Seah Street
Unit 01/01
Singapore 188379

All images by Marjon Hoogervorst 

.. Foundry

‘A home at the end of the world’

Founded by Erik Wong in the Northern part of the Netherlands is Wongema ...  a multiple workstation for artists and designers and other creatives who would like to seek shelter for a couple of days to retreat, meet and greet or just to relax and find inspiration. 

But it is also a super location for spending a weekend with friends and have your own private pub and restaurant ... 

I found this magical place via Wij zijn Kees ... you remmebr I worte about them last week. You might recognise studio IJM's signature here  too ... :)

[MORE IMAGES]

 

Wongema
Tammingastraat 58
9978 PD Hornhuizen
The Netherlands

 

.. Wongema

All images by Jitske Hagens from ‘wij zijn kees’