My January Adventures in London
I set some goals for 2017 at the beginning of the year and I wanted to give you an update on how they're going.
A big one was to get out and explore London, whether it's trying a new restaurant (we know how much I love food), visiting a new area or doing something out of the ordinary. Every week last month I achieved it, and managed to do something I hadn't done before. Here's what I got up to.
The first week of January I headed to the Ballet, to see the Nutcracker with a couple of friends. This was a late birthday present and the perfect way to start the year. I love Christmas, so getting to hold on to that for a little longer, and beat the January blues, was ideal. The show was stunning, so if you get the chance to see it next year don't miss out!
My next new place to visit was the restaurant, HotBox, in Spitalfields. This place caught my eye last year and has been on my wish list ever since. I managed to get a table booked for a Friday night and it made the perfect venue for Date Night! We both had THE most delicious burgers and shared a side of chips and macaroni and cheese. Naughty I know, but it was followed up with a round of crazy golf to burn a few of those calories! If you get the chance to visit, head downstairs to 46 & Mercy, for a cocktail too, they host an impressive menu with something for everyone.
Week three was soon upon me and my busiest week yet. During the week I met with some friends and went exploring around the Winter Lights Festival, at Canary Wharf. The event was free and home to thirty light installation projects, my favourite was the 'Angels of Freedom'. After strolling around for an hour or so we headed over to Chai Ki to warm up with some yummy Indian food. We had a table in the Toddy Bar and Kitchen and shared a selection of dishes, I could have eaten everything on the menu twice over! Their cocktail menu is also one to try out; my strawberry, guava and coconut water mocktail was so refreshing and the perfect accompaniment to wash down those spices!
At the weekend, I caught up with some friends from university. We spent the morning wandering around the Natural History Museum and hanging out with the dinosaurs. All that learning had us working up an appetite so we headed over to the Big Easy for a late lunch. I'd never had lobster before and thought now was as good as any time to try it. I opted for the Mac n Cheese with lobster and a cheeky glass of prosecco. I hadn't expected the lobster to be as meaty and sweet as it was, and I'd definitely have it again!
The following week was a pretty quiet one for me but I still managed to squeeze in something new. My housemate is from Australia, so on Australia Day we headed out in London Bridge to find his fellow Aussies for a night of celebrating. Before hitting the beer (yes I may have had one or two) we found a quaint Pizzeria called Alma's to line our stomachs.
Did anyone else's January fly by as quickly as mine? I'm not sure how it's February already but my last adventure of the month involved (yes you guessed it) even more food! This time we headed to Benihana, in Piccadilly, for Teppanyaki. Our dinner was cooked in front of us, on an iron griddle, by the super talented chefs. The speed at which those prawns were top and tailed was nothing short of impressive! I opted for the tuna steak followed by tempura ice cream and was not disappointed!
As well as eating my way through January I have also been training. I've created some workouts, that target specific areas of my body and I'm trying to stick to them each week. I'll be sharing them soon so stay tuned.
At the end the month I also went on a 'Blogging Basics' course at General Assembly. The course was led by Julie Falconer, who writes a travel blog, A Lady in London, and was really informative. I'd recommend it to anyone starting out, like me, needs a little help and guidance.
I hope you've enjoyed reading all about my month. I'd love to hear what you've been up to, comment below or tweet me, @chinupcharles, with your favourite adventure from January!