sam's notebook

århus :: denmark

 

We just spent a lovely long weekend in the picturesque university town of Århus on Denmark's Jutland peninsula. With lots of gorgeous old buildings and houses, wonderful little cobbled shopping streets full of cozy shops and cafes and very friendly locals, I highly recommend a visit!

Just before Christmas was such a nice time to visit too, with Christmas decorations and lights only adding to the already charming atmosphere. Can you tell that we loved Århus?!

Highlights included the shopping and cafes (especially in the Latin Quarter), Den Gamle By (The Old Town), ARoS art museum, the beautiful old residential areas close to the centre of town, and of course catching up with our friends Rikard and Amalia who were actually the main reason for the visit to Århus!

 

 

 

 

 

Images by me.

 

babylonstoren

 

This absolutely beautiful farm hotel in South Africa has such stunning grounds - the garden, accommodation and restaurant all look quite wonderful. I wouldn't mind a holiday here! Right about now would be perfect, it's freezing, grey and miserable outside but I just looked up the weather in Cape Town and it's 31°C and sunny.

Can you imagine having gardens like this?! The grounds include a manor house dating from 1777, an ornate chicken coop, pigeon loft, bell tower, vegetable and herb gardens, fruit orchards (in the soft stone fruit orchard the paths are paved with peach pips!!!!) and forty-eight pergolas of climbing roses. Wow.

You can see the equally georgeous architecture and interiors of Babylonstoren here and here. Go on, it's worth a look!

Found via one of my favourite blogs, 16 house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All images © Babylonstoren

 

bar centro :: great coffee in gothenburg

 

Unless you happen to be travelling in Italy, we've found that great coffee can be hard to find when you are away from home. Not impossible to find, just hard to find. So on a recent weekend away in Gothenburg we were so happy to find Bar Centro, a small espresso bar located right in the very centre of town. Recommended by our good friend Mark, the coffee, service and atmosphere were all fantastic. And according to our resident croissant expert (Charlie), Bar Centro's chocolate croissants are quite good too!

On a small side street next to department store NK, Bar Centro is so popular that each time we visited it was completely jam-packed, with customers hanging out on both sides of the street outside - a good sign indeed, especially when the weather was as cold and rainy as it was that weekend!

Bar Centro
Kyrkogatan 31
411 08 Gothenburg

Image from Bar Centro.

 

gorgeous copenhagen blog :: heart with companion

 

I was searching for the opening hours for our favourite Copenhagen brunch cafe the other day (Kalaset in Nørreport, see last pic below) when I found this wonderful blog in the search results. Tora (Danish) and Scott (Canadian) are living in Copenhagen with their sweet daughter Venus and Heart with Companion is Tora's blog, filled to the brim with beautiful photos of their Copenhagen life and travels to places like Paris, London, Stockholm, Montreal, Seville, Tel Aviv, Berlin, Kiev... These guys really get around!

I loved all the photos, but here are just some of my Copenhagen favourites below. If you are thinking of a trip to Copenhagen, definitely take a look at Tora's blog. She is spot on with her Copenhagen coffee/restaurant/shopping recommendations, you can't go wrong really!

Scott blogs at The Reluctant Banker, lots of gorgeous Copenhagen photos there too!

 

 

 

 

Photography by Tora at Heart with Companion.

 

boutique hotel sweden: wreta gestgifveri

Located in the small town of Ålberga, this beautiful hotel looks well worth a visit! It would make a great weekend break from Stockholm (Ålberga is about a one and a half hour drive south of Stockholm). I wish it was closer to Malmö though - the five hour drive makes it a bit of a stretch for a weekend visit...

Found via lovely blog Le Voyage Créatif.
 





 

 









Images from Wreta Gestgifveri.

 

paris: marché aux puces de clignancourt

Seventeen acres and two thousand vendors. Need I say more?
 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

Images by me.

 

paris: eighteenth arrondissement

Tombées du Camion (15-17 rue Joseph de Maistre)

Tombées du Camion is as wonderful as the photos in Paris: Made by Hand promise it to be. There are so many wonderful vintage finds crammed in to such a small space and shopping here was so much fun, especially since it was much more affordable than almost every other brocante we visited in Paris!

l'Objet qui Parle (86 rue des Martyrs)

There is just so much to look at in this very tiny shop, and the way the owners have arranged all the treasures inside is just magic. Highly recommended!
 

 

Image from bonjourboo.

 

paris: eleventh arrondissement

Les Curieuses (4 rue Oberkampf)

Our trek down rue Oberkampf in the eleventh arrondissement began with a visit to Les Curieuses, a wonderful shop with a great mix of new and restored furniture and homewares. The owners were very friendly and helpful and on our way back up rue Oberkampf later that day we stopped by to ask them for a restaurant recommendation for dinner - it's always a good idea to ask a local! They recommended the bistro next door (can't remember the name, easy to find though) and it turned out to be a fantastic choice, with great service and simple but delicious French food (and a tart tatin that was just divine).

 

Quartier du Marché Popincourt (rue Ternaux/du Marché Popincourt/Neuve Popincourt)

On our way down rue Oberkampf, about halfway between Les Curieuses and Atelier 154, we stumbled across a cluster of seven or eight brocantes around rue du Marché Popincourt - and we can thoroughly recommend a visit to all of them! We saw so many beautiful pieces here, the prices were so much better than the marché aux puces de Saint-Ouen, and the vendors around rue du Marché Popincourt were much more willing to haggle.

• Alasinglinglin (14 rue Ternaux)
• La Chose (19 rue Ternaux)
• Trolls et Puces (1 rue du Marché Popincourt)
• Belle Lurette (5 rue du Marché Popincourt)
• La Garçonnière (6-8 rue du Marché Popincourt)
• Pudding (24 rue du Marché Popincourt)
• La Maison Brocante (3 rue Neuve Popincourt)
• Recycling (3 rue Neuve Popincourt)

Atelier 154 (154 rue Oberkampf)

Our visit to Atelier 154 was one of the highlights of our Paris trip - we loved everything about it, from the location (tucked away in a quiet leafy cobblestone lane*), to the owner Stéphane, who was incredibly warm and welcoming and gave us a fantastic and informative tour of his two showrooms. I would have quite happily furnished our entire apartment from Atelier 154!
 

  

 

 

* We never would have found it if Pia hadn't included it in Paris: Made by Hand - thanks Pia!

 

paris: sixth & seventh arrondissements

Le Bon Marché (24 rue de Sèvres, seventh arrondissement)

We spent quite a few hours in this fabulous department store, and had a great deal of trouble dragging C away from the toy department (where the staff were absolutely lovely and encouraged the kids to play with all of the toys on display).

Do not miss the children's book/craft section at Le Bon Marché! I spent so much time in this section and found so many incredible books (I'll talk about some of the illustrators I found in later posts). In the end it was a good thing that I can't read French and that I couldn't convince G that I really really needed beautiful French children's books that I can't read, otherwise my wallet would have been much much lighter and my suitcase much much heavier.

Don't forget there is a branch of La Droguerie (buttons, ribbons, fabric, wool) on the top floor of Le Bon Marché!
 

Jardin du Luxembourg (sixth arrondissement)

A beautiful park with glorious flowerbeds and sprawling lawns, perfect for small children - entertainment for the small ones was sweetly old-fashioned (think carousel rides, puppet shows and go-cart rides). The park is scattered with lovely pale green chairs to relax in and comes complete with a stern uniformed park warden chasing cyclists who dared to ride through the park!
 

 
 
Image by me.

 

paris: third arrondissement

The Collection (33 rue de Poitou)

A lovely shop, well worth a visit. I was thrilled to see some of Hélène Manche's work in person here, including some of her mobiles and the Rosi Friese (a collaboration between Hélène and The Collection).
 

 

 
 
Galerie Et Caetera (40 rue de Poitou)

A beautifully curated collection of antiques - Galerie Et Caetera is definitely not your typical traditional stuffy antique store (of which I am not a fan). Ancient ship mastheads, moss-covered garden statues, old french mirrors, perfectly worn oak cabinets. Absolutely wonderful.
 

Le Petit Atelier De Paris (31 rue de Montmorenoy)

We paid very close attention to opening/closing times when we planned our wanderings around Paris, but unfortunately Le Petit Atelier De Paris was closed when we arrived, well within the publicised opening hours. Based on our experiences, here are a few hints regarding Paris opening hours:

• Call first! Especially in July and August, or if you have to go quite far out of your way to reach the shop.
• Don't arrive right at the listed opening time, and don't arrive less than 15 minutes before the listed closing time.
• Don't forget that some shops will close for one or two hours in the middle of the day. Avoid 12:30 - 15:00 if you're not sure.

This one will have to go on the list for the next trip to Paris!

 
Images from Hélène Manche and Galerie Et Caetra respectively.

 

paris: second arrondissement

 
Ultramod (2-3 rue de Choiseul)

Buttons, ribbons, fabric - worth a visit just for the interior/atmosphere alone. Ultramod is exactly the kind of shop I think of when I hear the word 'haberdashery'.

Opera Droguerie (16 rue St-Augustin)

A strange little shop where half of the floor space is devoted to kitchen gadgets and washing powder, and the other half is devoted to gorgeous things like bags, notebooks and postcards from la marelle éditions. I picked up quite a few notebooks here (with awesome covers by French illustrators Nicoletta Ceccoli, Miss Clara, Lyndie Dourthe and Fabrice Backes), some colouring books for C (including the one below by Nathalie Lete), and a great bag by French designer Mlle Héloïse.

The lovely woman working on the day that I visited had seen G and C continue on down the street when I came into the shop, and she popped a little present for C into my bag as I was leaving. She very sweetly explained in halting English that it was for my little girl. Nice!
 

Yaya (55 rue Montmartre)

Gorgeous clothes, friendly staff and a beautiful interior with cool signage, exposed brickwork, industrial fittings and fairy lights. How could you not love it!? Since it was sale time and therefore end-of-season in Paris, all most all of the sizes left were quite small and I'm guessing that many pieces had already sold out. I would love to visit Yaya as a new collection hit the shelves!
 

 
 
Images from la marelle éditions and Yaya respectively.

 

paris: first arrondissement

Alexia Hollinger (3 rue Thérèse)

Beautiful fabric handbags and other goodies including jewelery, badges and zippered pouches.

This was the first store we visited in Paris and it was here I purchased my copy of Paris: Made by Hand. I had ordered a copy online a few weeks before we left for France, but just two days before our flight I received an email saying that my order could not be filled. I was so disappointed but it was too late to order another copy. Fortunately one of my classmates from the Julie Arkell workshop had a copy, so I wrote down all the names and addresses of the shops I wanted to visit - thanks Jone! I had planned to buy my own copy when I got back to Sweden, but it just wouldn't have been the same. You really do need more than just the names and addresses of the shops - Pia's hints and tips that she includes in the book are invaluable.

 

Astier De Villatte (173 rue St-Honoré)

If you are in Paris, do not miss Astier De Villatte! This has to be the most beautiful shop I have ever seen. The interior is just stunning, and everything they sell is absolutely beautiful. Just don't expect good service - this was the only drawback to an otherwise perfect shop (although they were nice enough to let me take photos).
 

 

La Droguerie (9-11 rue du Jour)

Another one of my favourite shops in Paris, with an unbelievable selection of ribbons and buttons. I nearly peed my pants with excitement when I stepped inside... Somehow I managed to restrain myself and only purchased a few pieces of Liberty tana lawn and one or two meters of ribbon. I also visited La Droguerie on the top floor of Le Bon Marche, but my favourite by far was the store at rue du Jour.

Junku (18 rue des Pyramides)

A Japanese bookshop with a fantastic selection of Japanese craft/interior magazines and books. This was a great find since there are no Japanese bookstores in my neck of the woods, and I purchased a few books I have had my eye on for a while, including the very lovely (and handy!) Paris Brocante (Jue de Paume, ISBN978-4-07-260400-7).

Jardin des Tuileries (Place de la Concorde)

Not far from our hotel and a nice stop at the end of a day traipsing around Paris. Especially good for the little one who deserved a carousel ride or two after putting up with a day full of shopping!
 

 

Le Pain Quotidien (18 place du Marché St. Honoré)

Our daily breakfast stop - can't recommend the coffee, but the pain au chocolat and croissants were pretty darn good! Oh, and the tartines. Perfect if you are craving something other than the sugar sweet pastries on offer! One thing I particularly loved about Le Pain Quotidien was that the menu was predominantly organic, which of course made up for all of the sugar and butter we consumed. Ha. If only.

I wander what's going on with the coffee in Paris? We tried a lot, and it ranged from mediocre to downright awful. Maybe it's the slightly sweetened long-life milk they use? The Parisians can do food, there is no doubt about that (we ate fantastic food the entire week we were there), I just wish the coffee situation had been better. If anybody has any coffee recommendations for Paris, send them my way please!!!!
 

The images of the Liberty fabrics are from Liberty of London.
All other images are by me.

 

i want to move to paris

Paris is my new favourite city. And I can't wait to go back. We wandered around beautiful neighbourhoods, visited lovely shops and flea markets, ate great food, sipped wine at outdoor cafes while watching the über-stylish Parisians flit by, and probably spent a bit too much money in the process!

We decided to avoid the usual tourist stops* and instead used Pia Jane Bijkerk's absolutely gorgeous book Paris: Made by Hand as our guide. It was the perfect way to see Paris - visiting the boutiques/ateliers recommended by Pia, then exploring the surrounding neighbourhoods to discover more delightful shops, stunning architecture, cosy cafes, lovely parks, etc, etc.

I will list some of the wonderful places we found over the next few posts. In the meantime, here are some photos from Paris. Enjoy!
 



 















* Except for the Eiffel Tower - couldn't miss that one!

 

coming up soon: the paris report

Image by me.

 

the second week: briançon

G and C made the long trek from Malmö to Verteillac the day after the Julie Arkell workshop finished and the three of us stayed for one week at Briançon as B&B guests - which meant that I was lucky enough to enjoy one more week of Katie and Mike's beautiful house and garden, their wonderful hospitality, and of course, their absolutely amazing cooking.

We spent the week exploring the local area, relaxing by the pool (well, as much as you can relax with a three year old who is nuts about the swimming pool), picnicking in the garden, and just taking it easy really. It was such a lovely week! 

And as an added bonus, we also got to know Katie's lovely sister Susie and her husband Robin, who were also staying at Briançon that week. C and Susie got on like a house on fire and Susie spent quite a bit of time entertaining C, for which G and I are forever grateful! C was rather heartbroken when Susie left Briançon to head home and we are still fielding questions (some two weeks later) as to Susie's whereabouts...
 

 











 



















 

















































Images by me.

 

midsummer

this could be the perfect spot

Image from Stockholm Skargardsstugor.

 

which one to choose

Our summer holiday for this year is already booked, but next summer I would love to stay at one of these places in the UK. Hard to choose which one though! Beautiful B&Bs, country houses and self-catering accommodation - all the listings at Unique Home Stays are just gorgeous.

(1)   Chydane (Helston, Cornwall)
(2)   Oriental Cottage (Lamorna Cove, Cornwall)
(3)   Northcott Beach House (Bude, Cornwall)
(4)   The Oyster Shack (Whitsable, Kent)
(5)   Ford Mill (Umberleigh, Devon)
(6)   Minstrels Manor (Hay-on-Wye, Wales)
(7)   Wincanton Farmhouse (Wincanton, Kent)
(8)   Mawgan (Watergate Bay,Cornwall)
(9)   Oberon House (Buckinghamshire)
(10) The Old Bear (Cirencester, Gloucestershire)
(11) The Tower (Edinburgh, Scotland)
(12) Pentonwarra (Trevone Beach, Cornwall)
(13) The Cliff House (Port Issac, Cornwall)
(14) The Beach Hut (North Cornwall, Cornwall)

Images posted with permission from Unique Home Stays.