Words About Things

Spending Christmas in London is always memorable, with events and attractions springing up all across the city. From swimming in the Serpentine to the world’s most famous Christmas tree, London has plenty to offer those seeking festive fun in 2010!

South Bank German Christmas Market

Enjoy those seasonal culinary specialties – Bratwurst Sausage and gingerbread hearts, washed down with a large glass of Glühwein (German Mulled Wine) at the annual German Christmas Market. Of course there’s plenty of opportunity for shopping too. Take a wander amongst the traditional wooden chalets to find a wide variety of unique hand-crafted gifts and unusual Christmas presents!

Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree

Don’t miss the famous tree lighting ceremony, held on Thursday 3rd December. Each year since 1947, the people of Norway have clubbed together and sent the people of Britain a giant spruce tree in gratitude for our help in the Second World War. The tree takes pride of place until the twelfth night of Christmas, when it’s quietly taken down and shredded for New Year compost.

Hyde Park Ice Skating

No, it’s not because they forget to grit the footpaths – Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland will once again feature London’s biggest outdoor ice-rink. The rink is open from 10am to 10pm daily. Skaters are advised to book their preferred time slot in advance, as sessions always sell out quickly!

Covent Garden Royal Opera House

The Royal Ballet’s Christmas Season is a longstanding tradition, with a great programme of shows including Cinderella and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Meanwhile, the Royal Opera present Hansel and Gretel. If you wait for New Year, you’ll find quite a contrast. Anna Nicole Smith the Opera opens in February!

Greenwich Park 5K Santa Run

The Greenwich Park 5K Santa Run is held on Sunday 6th December and includes a free Santa suit for each participant. 2,000 Santa’s are expected to take part and no previous athletics experience is necessary! If you’re still feeling energetic by Christmas Day, traditional morning swimming is again taking place in Hyde Park’s welcoming Serpentine Lake.

Guest post by Ben Piper of UK Tickets.

Previously I wrote about how Nike had lauched an iPhone App called True City. The application features recommendations from local ‘tastemakers’ and content added by users. It covers 6 European cities, listing interesting places to visit which might otherwise be overlooked. The idea is that the guide is written by those in the know and can be constantly updated unlike traditional guide books. There app features small restaurants, cool boutique shops, non-chain coffee shops and independant record stores.

At the time of writing the previous post I hadn’t had the opportunity to test out the App but I recently traveled to London and put it through its paces. I go to London quite often and thought that I had quite a good knowledge of places to visit. Using the App I found that there were interesting shops and restaurants hidden away where I would have never found them. Using the True City app was quite straight forward, you just click on the area of the city you are in and scroll (or flick) through the recommendations. If something captures your interest you can save it to your list of l0cations. The areas of interest can be organized by type or by location and you can of course add your own suggestions.

There are ways in which the Nike True City Application could be improved, for instance it could have setting which allow you to be notified if you went within a short distance of a location you might be interested in. For example you could set the app to notify you if you passed any of the recommended independent coffee shops. Another useful feature would be to include transport information which may be useful to visitors. For example Nike could partner with a travel site to include information about flights to London or train times out of the city.

Perhaps the app doesn’t need more features, I’m sure as it matures and new content is added it will improve. There are plenty of travel related iPhone apps but most are not as slick as True City. It also feels like it has been updated by those in the know rather than out of touch travel writers. If you have used this (or, in fact any other travel related) app please add your comments below.

[This post was also featured on wordsaboutthings.wordpress.com]

A new guide book aims to be an eccentric guide to the coolest spots in five of the coolest European cities. We have all read stuffy guide books which haven’t been updated in 20 years which point out areas of historic interest but lack a personal touch. Le Cool (what an awful name) was created to offer an up to date alternative with details of all the best hard-to-find spots and hidden gems.

If you want to find cheap hotels in London or car hire in Barcelona these aren’t the guides for you. But if you want a locals guide to the best record shops, undiscovered pubs and art galleries then Le Cool is the guide for you. The design is adventurous and the tone is light which isn’t something you could say about most guide books.

The London guide is edited by former Suade bassest Mat Osman. He says that the guide is for

“…people who love the city. People who love scooter shops that turn into coffee shops, and flats with aeroplane wings through them, and manga libraries, and doll’s house furniture shops, and bubble-and-squeak stalls, and hairdressers-cum-art galleries-cum-nightclubs, and rollergirls, and so on and so on …”

More info on the Le Cool website.