Travelogue-Blog: 5 Things We love about London and France

After a wonderfully busy year, it was high time for an adventure. So it was off to London and France for artistic renewal and a little fun under the Continental sun.



Here are a few of our favorite things:

London

1. The Koko London



The Koko (built 1900) is a famous hub of music and nightlife in Camden Town. Artists from Prince, Madonna and Coldplay have played the venue, as well as some of our recent faves like Janelle Monae and Little Dragon.

But on this night, we came to see the soulful London crooner, Jamie Lidell, who put on an amazing show.


(The Koko Bar)


2. Saatchi Gallery


(Dan Perfect's, "Village.")

The Saatchi Gallery is a great space to discover emerging and established contemporary artists.



One of the standout works included Steven Bishops's humorous "Christian Dior -- J'Adore" (Mountain Goat), created from a taxidermied goat, concrete and chalk.


3. OMG -- It's Banksy.... No, it's just Ben, The Gum Painting Man


(The scene in Picadilly square)

Everyone thought they were witnessing a rare Banksy sighting...


Ben Wilson, The Gum Man

Turns out he's Ben Wilson, a rather interesting artist who beautifies London by painting tiny works of art on pieces of gum stuck to the ground.


4. Crunchy Nut Cereal



I have to say that The Ritzy located in the London borough of Brixton (which boasts a cinema, bar and very cool scene) would have topped our list. We were taken there by our new friends Comfort and Buni -- but alas we didn't take any photos to properly capture the experience. So coming in 4th on the list is... breakfast food.

We practically overdosed on Crunchy Nut cereal -- a delicious Kellogg's treat currently solely distributed in London. I can only describe it as Frosted Flakes for adults. There's rumors of it making its way to America in 2011. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed. And if the rumor isn't true, I would personally make the trek back to the UK for a few boxes. Trust me, it's that good.


Americans in Paris




4. Musee de Lourve (The Lourve Museum)

We came to the Lourve especially for the Egyptian antiquities collection, which is the largest collection of vestiges outside of Egypt.



The artifacts are breath taking, each telling its own story.


(A gorgeous little hippopotamus of the Moyen empire)

From the sarcophagus', to the cutlery and jewelry, examining the collection was like being transported centuries into the past.

These are a few of our favorite things...watch out, Oprah!

--Nee