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York is the best city in the UK.

love York. I went to university there, where I spent three years running around finding myself, bars, boys and bookshops. It was an amazing backdrop to my little life, and is my all time favourite place in the UK, if not in the world. So much nostalgia! So many memories!

I was back up there over the bank holiday weekend to visit my wonderful best friend, who is rocking an amazing little flat behind Museum Gardens. We spent our time in and out of beer gardens, pottering around cobbled streets and lazing around in gorgeous parks. York is such an idyllic city, and I can’t think of anywhere better for wiling away my time.

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I’m not saying I’m an expert in what to do in York, but an enthusiastic three years of trial and error does give me a cheeky advantage. My recommendations for spending time in York would be:

Eat:

The Lime House, Goodramgate for dinner. Some seriously good food with a cheeky set menu for those on a budget.
Trembling House of Madness,  Stonegate for a boozy lunch. Incredible decor, to-die-for burgers.
The Sitting Pig, Walmgate, or “The Sticky Pig”, as I like to call it. Sweet, simple cafe with a killer breakfast menu.

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Drink:

The Habit, Goodramgate. Gorgeous hidden gem that fills nooks and crannys with wonky stools and a great pint. Rekorderlig on tap, for the softies too.
The Hop, Fossgate. Live music on Saturdays and a gloriously wood-and-stone cavernous pub feel to it. Plus, cheap gin- win.
Dusk, New Street, for cheap and cheerful cocktails. If you can’t afford Evil Eye’s concoctions, head here for a MilkyBar Kid and thank me later.

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Shop:

Charity bookshop galore. Oxfam on Petergate and Amnesty International on Goodramgate are total goldmines. Take an empty rucksack, you’ll need it.
Zesty, Market St. Cheap makeup conveniently wedged between the Superdrug and the Boots, so as to curb your spending.
Goodramgate is home to the greatest collection of charity shops ever known. Go. Explore.

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Avoid:

Il Paridiso Del Cibo is not worth the hype. No amount of pesto can make up for rude customer service, and there are defintiely better Italians in York- go to Piccolino on the bridge instead.
The Old White Swan, Goodramgate. Cocky bouncers, slow service, no personality and a crap pint. Walk two minutes up the road and go to the Habit instead.

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Do:

Just hang out in Museum Gardens. Picnic, people watch, squirrel watch, whatever. Beer garden your days away. They love a good beer garden in York. Find one, any one, and set up camp. Lamb and Lion is a goodie. Marvel. Spend your entire time, whether it’s a weekend away or a lifetime, wandering around and marvelling. Touch the ceilings of buildings on The Shambles, wander through Rowntree park, lose your balance on cobbled Mickelgate. You’re in the best city in the UK, make the most of it.

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Photo Diary: Walk through Brick Lane

I had my mum and sister come and visit the other weekend, and knowing how much my sister loves hipster vintage stuff, and my mum loves great street food, I thought we could discover Brick Lane together.

Brick Lane is a national institution in London. The Shoreditch end is caked in amazing graffiti art, market stalls, tonnes of incredible smelling food and some real life hipsters to top it all off.

 

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As you can probably tell, this is also the weekend I discovered the macro setting on my camera. I’m getting used to all the extra buttons and options on my Olympus now, so expect better quality images as we go on. :)

 

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Getting high in London

The thing with London is, there’s just so much of it. It takes an hour to get just halfway across it, there’s always new must-see places being added to your to-do list, and finding time to experience is tough- come the weekend or evening you’re already pooped from battling with three hundred other people for your place on a stinky tube.

Trying to catch a breather can seem like a near-impossible task, unless you’re a fan of locking yourself in your house for the whole day. Which, incidentally, I’m not/no one is. But I don’t need to worry that the constant honking of car horns, the never-ending bustle of the rush hour tube or the blaring of Evening Standard distributors is going to drive me a little bit mental. Because I’ve discovered a secret.

Getting high in London is not only super easy, it’s also seriously effective. All you need is a lift, a big ol’ building and preferably a fancy cocktail bar waiting for you at the top.

The Shard

I’m lucky enough to work in The Shard- London’s most famous pointy building- and the views are incredible. My office is only Level Three, so there’s no view to speak of there, but I do get to nip upstairs every few months for pay-day drinks. My number one recommendation for visiting The Shard is to skip The View. Though I’ve heard great things, it’s much more time/booze-effective to haul yourself up to floor 32 for a cocktail at Oblix or Aqua Shard.

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 The BT Tower

I was lucky enough to be invited to head up the BT Tower for a fancy-schmancy professional networking event. I was there to schmooze with big bosses, and managed to make a fool of myself by stalling mid-pitch, in front of two CEOs, to shriek “Oh my God, we’re moving” when I realised they’d switched on the 360-floor rotation. The sensation of being slowly spun around in the sky took a little getting used to, but the views it afforded was well worth the vague feeling I’d just been on the world’s slowest rollercoaster. You also get a nifty certificate so you can add something to your CV. Naturally, the fact that I was supposed to be working didn’t stop me from taking a selfie.

(Unfortunately, the Tower isn’t open to the public , so you’ll have to just gatecrash the next fancypants event they hold there.)

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Heron Tower

I am in love with Heron Tower. It’s not the most funky skyscraper in London- it doesn’t have The Shard’s edginess or the BT Tower’s revolving floor- but I have totally fallen for this badboy. Namely because it is home to the most delicious food I’ve ever tasted, and some of the most incredible views you can find of London’s skyline. I’m going to do a full review of the restaurant gets me salivating. I’ve not been to Sushi Samba, which is on the floor below, because I haven’t been able to convince anyone to pay for me (…yet). The lift is so fast, and because you have a full view of London as you soar up, some people I’ve been with felt kinda funny going up and down, but I loved it.

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There are a million other places I want to get a good old view from- I’m determined to get inside the Gherkin, I’m going to go for coffee at Centrepoint, and one day I’ll fork out for a whirl on the London Eye. Looking across the skyline is a gorgeous way to get a real idea of the city, and to take a much needed breather from all the business of the tiny, tiny people down below.