Categories
Travel

Coming home

On a Swirling Descend over City of London...
Photo by Reji

I think I’ve mentioned this before: I find it interesting that coming back to London after a trip feels so much like coming home.

It’s true that my house and my work are in London, but I have only lived here for 8 years. I was born in Russia; I lived in Panama and grew up in the north of Portugal; I lived in the south of Portugal for 8 years; I lived in Belfast for 18 months.

All this moving makes it hard to answer the question of where I’m from. I’m not Russian; if I say I’m from Portugal that leaves out my Panamanian side — and I don’t live there anyway —; but I’m not from London. Or am I?

I’m writing this as I sit on a plane from Bucharest, where I was working for the past week. Knowing that soon I will be landing in London fills me with a sense of joy that I don’t remember feeling of any other place. Or maybe I’ve just forgotten it.

Categories
Food Going out Kids

East Village

Rafael running around E20
Photo by me

Typical weekend conversation in my house: “What shall we do today?” “Don’t know.” “E20?” “Sure.”

The site of the 2012 London Olympics has everything we need to hang out with Rafael: cheap parking (or more expensive parking if we feel like charging our electric car), nice coffee places, large enough areas that are safe for a toddler to scoot and run around, green spaces, ducks, a playground, it’s not too far from home, Westfield Stratford shopping centre for some more hardcore shopping, the Sunday market, a bike shop, a kids shop, nice restaurants. I could go on.

We usually try to think of something different to do, somewhere else to go, but the fact of the matter is that E20 is becoming one of the best places to spend a few hours with my family. And we keep coming back.

Categories
Food

Leyton Food Market

Leyton Food Market in Coronation Gardens
Photo by me

Our new ritual every Saturday afternoon is to go to the Leyton Food Market in Coronation Gardens and either grab some lunch or a coffee and some sweet treats (or both!). Rafael gets to run around the park for as long as he wants, and we get to enjoy Leyton in a very pleasant setting. The first time we went, I was surprised at the number of babies and children that were there — it seemed like all the children in Leyton had descended into Coronation Gardens, which was very lovely.

Recommended especially on a sunny (or just dry) day, for anyone looking for something to do. Bring the kids!

Categories
Food

Yardarm

Yardarm in Leyton, Francis Road
Photo by me

Here is another Leyton gem, and probably the local business we spend more money on (if you exclude Rafael’s nursery…).

Yardarm, in Francis Road, started as a wine shop and now it has expanded into a very friendly wine bar (soon to have its own beer garden). But the thing is they don’t just sell wine. They sell beer, gin, vodka, bread, cheese, sausages, croissants, custard tarts, chocolates, coffee, water, and many, many other delicious treats.

The shop is dangerously close to our house, but luckily it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, so we can only empty our wallets there on the other 5 days of the week.

They sell Rafael’s favourite bread, my favourite wines, and Nicklas’s favourite beers. We go there often, sometimes for a loaf of sourdough, more often than not for bread and wine, and other times for a cheeky G&T (Rafael is in love with the tonic water). I love how you can just grab any bottle from the shelf and know it will be delicious (tip: try the Portuguese ones!).

If you’re ever in the area, be sure not to miss it.

Categories
Food

Marmelo Kitchen

Photo by Calum Pringle
Photo by Calum Pringle

There are a handful of gems around Leyton where we love to go for a coffee, a glass of wine, or food. One of them is Marmelo Kitchen, in Francis Road, where you can taste the most delicious eggs and other brunchy bits on Saturdays, roasts on Sundays, and sharing plates on Thursday and Friday evenings.

Marmelo is dangerously close to our house, but luckily enough, it gets full very quickly (it’s not big).

I think Rafael ate his first piece of meat there!

Categories
Food

Palmeira

Delicatessen Palmeira in Leyton
Photo by me

Following my last post about Oceano Restaurant, I think it’s appropriate to mention another key factor that led me to move to Leyton: the Portuguese delicatessen in High Road Leyton, Palmeira.

I go there any time I need a quick fix of Portuguese goodness, be it a galão, a rissol, a cod cake or a delicious beef sandwich. And at £1.10, it’s home to one of the cheapest espressos you’ll find in London.

Categories
Food Going out

Oceano Restaurant

Sardinhas assadas
Photo by me

I am delighted that Oceano got the award for best restaurant in Leyton and Leytonstone in the Time Out Love London Awards. We have been going there since we moved to London — not as often as we wished, but as often as we can. The food is tasty and it makes me a little less homesick.

We tend to go quite early in the evenings, around 5.30pm so it’s usually quiet by then, but it can get pretty busy, especially if Portugal are playing and everyone is out to watch the game.

If you go there, don’t forget to try the soup.

Categories
Travel Work

Millennium Bridge

Londres
Photo by SDUBROCA

This is the view from my commute. I walk across the Millennium Bridge twice a day, four days a week. Sometimes the sun is shining; many times the rain is falling, hard. Lately, on my way back home, it’s been dark. But the view is always stunning, and it never gets old.

Categories
Kids

Smultronstället

Nicklas and Rafael in Islington
Nicklas and Rafael in Islington

Or Wild Strawberries. That’s the name of the Swedish Saturday school that Rafael attends every week with other Swedish kids and parents. I love that we can find this kind of activity in London — not so easy to find a Portuguese one though…

The sessions are in Islington, so they’re a great excuse to leave the house and have a day out in town. As the Swedish speaking parent, Nicklas is the one that takes him and stays with him for the duration of the ‘lessons’, but I’m more than happy to stroll up and down Upper Street while I wait for them.

Categories
Kids Travel

Our ‘new’ cargo bike

Our new cargo bike
Photo by me

It now feels like we’ve had it forever, but it was only two or three weeks ago that I decided to search on Gumtree for second-hand cargo bikes. I did find one, so Nicklas, Rafael and I went to check it out all the way down in Clapham the following day. We bought it, Nicklas brought it home the day after, and now we have a cargo bike.

It’s probably not the best time of year to fully enjoy it, but Nicklas and Rafael have been out in it almost every day. Rafael seems to enjoy it just as much as he does the normal bike — we’ve got a little comfy baby seat for him. He can be warm and cosy with blankets, and we can carry as many bags as we need to as well — even the stroller. Last week my mum, Rafael and I all sat on the wooden seats and Nicklas took us to dinner here in Leyton! (It’s not really the comfiest of seats though.)

We’ve ordered a rain tent so that Rafael can be even warmer and cosier, despite the weather outside.