Many
people who are asked to name the most popular cities in the worlds will
include London in their list, which is no different when considering
Christmas shopping. Christmas is often an exciting time that involves
many steps for preparation, which includes plenty of Christmas
shopping. Being aware of why London is one of the best cities for
Christmas shopping will help to determine whether it is worth making a
trip.
Shopping centres
London comprises a number of different shopping centres that make
for ideal shopping arenas, allowing many different goods to be found in
one place. The variety of sizes available makes it possible to find one
suited to your needs, which will offer the added benefit of car parking
to make travel easier.
Famous streets
Known for its famous streets, England’s capital city draws many
shoppers who are keen to wander along the likes of Oxford Street, Bond
Street or Carnaby Street. The associations that often oversee the
running of these areas will ensure that the opening hours of shops
correlate to ensure that shopping trips are made convenient for the
public. The decoration that also adorns the streets during the
Christmas season will create a perfect backdrop for any period of
shopping.
Markets
There are a diverse range of indoor and outdoor markets that are
available in London, which offer a wide variety of goods to shoppers.
Specialist stalls and events are often also created during the winter
season in order to cater to Christmas shoppers. Wondrous decoration and
delightful entertainment will also not be unusual with this type of
shopping.
Extensions and alterations
Among the best things about Christmas shopping in London is the
changes that businesses make in order to attract custom. Extended
opening hours are commonplace in many shops around the Christmas
period, ensuring availability to shoppers who wouldn’t be able to
attend otherwise. Gift wrapping and delivery services will be made
available by many stores in order to ease the burden of the shopper.
Photo: Oleksandr Tkachenko – Fotolia
Just because you’re not in the US there’s no reason why you can’t
enjoy a slap-up feast on Thanksgiving. Here are some of the best places
to find your turkey fix… Anybody fancy a turkey dinner this Thanksgiving? There are plenty of places to find one in London (Picture: Alamy)
It’s that time of year when Americans gather round the dinner table
for Thanksgiving, a holiday which dates back to 1621 when the first
celebration was held in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
And although the holiday originally had religious roots, these days
it’s more commonly seen as an excuse to get together and pack away as
much turkey and pumpkin pie as your stomach will tolerate before
settling down to watch some American football courtesy of the NFL.
But if you’re not in the US or Canada – where the day is also marked
– it doesn’t mean you have to miss out on your Thanksgiving feast, as
there are plenty of places offering celebration dinners on this side of
the pond.
Whether you decide to eat out or whip up your own special meal at home, you won’t go far wrong with one of these… 10 The Savoy Grill
For a posh twist on the traditional Thanksgiving feast head on over
to this Gordon Ramsay-owned restaurant housed within one of the
capital’s most famous hotels.
Head chef Andy Cook’s three-course dinner will set you back £55 but
includes such delights as maple-roasted turkey and pumpkin pie with
cinnamon ice-cream (if you have any room left that is). Feeling hungry
yet?
100 Strand, London, WC2R 0EW. www.gordonramsay.com/thesavoygrill/ The Savoy Grill will be among those places dishing up Thanksgiving delights (Picture: File)9 Ffiona’s
This British restaurant has been adding a Thanksgiving twist to its
menu for the past 18 years, and this year is no different – offering
hungry patrons a three-course Thanksgiving feast for £39.50 per head,
which can either be eaten in-house or taken away.
Options for starters include calamari and pan-fried halloumi,
desserts range from sweet potato meringue pie to ginger cheese cake –
while the turkey comes with stuffing, mashed and roast potatoes, roast
pumpkin and cranberry sauce. If that isn’t a good warm-up for Christmas
dinner we don’t know what is.
51 Kensington Church Street, London, W8 4BA. http://www.ffionas.com/ 8 Jetlag Bar
If you’re looking for more than just a Thanksgiving dinner, you
could do worse than head to this Fitzrovia spot where the traditional
turkey will be dished up alongside an afternoon and evening of
entertainment.
As well as screening the classic Thanksgiving comedy Planes, Trains
and Automobiles, the bar will be showing back-to-back NFL matches for
you to watch while you work your way through a menu which also includes
pumpkin soup and pecan pie. All for the very reasonable sum of £30 a
head.
125 Cleveland Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 6QB. http://www.jetlagbar.com/ 7 Hix Mayfair
Hix, located at Brown’s Hotel in Mayfair, may be a British eaterie,
but Mark Hix and his team will be pulling out all the stops to make
sure that you get your fill of Thanksgiving food.
At £52.50 this three-course option isn’t cheap but your money will
get you pumpkin soup, turkey with baked sweet potatoes and pecan and
bourbon pie for afters. You’ll need to book it in advance though.
Brown’s Hotel, 33-34 Albemarle Street, London, W1S 4BP. www.thealbermarlerestaurant.com Whole Foods Market is a good place to stock up on Thanksgiving treats (Picture: Tony Buckingham)6 Whole Foods Market
If you can’t be bothered to seek out a restaurant this year and
don’t mind doing the cooking, why not whip up your own Thanksgiving
dinner at home courtesy of this US market chain?
The store has a number of branches across London including Camden
and High Street Kensington – all well-stocked with turkeys, side
dishes, pumpkin pies, cranberry sauce – well, you name it. And they’ll
offer you tips on their website on how to cook it all too.
Various branches. www.wholefoodsmarket.com 5 Villandry
It might be Belgian-owned now but you’ll still get an
American-flavoured Thanksgiving dinner at this West End eaterie, albeit
with a more European twist as the likes of shallot tarte tatin with
goat’s cheese nestle alongside the turkey and stuffing.
There’s options for vegetarian celebrants here too, as well as a
range of desserts including American-style pies and brownies – all for
£45 each.
170 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 5QB. www.villandry.com/ Villandry offers a Thanksgiving feast with a European twist (Picture: Tony Buckingham)4 Christopher’s
For an uber-posh Thanksgiving menu with a difference (costing £45
for three courses) head on over to this Covent Garden favourite. As
well as the traditional turkey steak and lamb dishes on offer, there
are also vegetarian options – to say nothing of a range of
mouthwatering desserts. Chocolate and peanut butter tart anyone? Don’t
mind if we do…
18 Wellington Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7DD. http://www.christophersgrill.com/ 3 Thanksgiving Season at Harvey Nichols
If you want to combine your Thanksgiving dinner with a little
shopping, the upscale Knightsbridge department store beloved of the Ab
Fab duo has a host of options on offer, with a £30 dinner at its
fifth-floor restaurant (make that £45 if you want three glasses of
American wine thrown in) or a three-course dinner and live music at the
Fifth Floor Cafe for £25. Almost too good to resist. Bodeans takes top honours for hearty Thanksgiving fare at an affordable price (Picture: Dillon Bryden)
109 – 125 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7RJ. www.harveynichols.com/london 2 Cut at 45 Park Lane
For those who seriously want to flash the cash on Thanksgiving, a
meal at this Wolfgang Puck-owned restaurant will set you back a
whopping £85 (make that £125 if you’re planning to wash it down with
some American wine).
That price will get you a veritable feast including the usual
turkey, various ‘slider’ style pies for dessert (basically small pies)
plus a cranberry and pomegranate cocktail to kick it all off. Your
wallet will certainly be lighter at the end of the night – even if you
are not.
45 Park Lane, Mayfair,London, W1K 1PN. www.45parklane.com 1 Bodeans
When it comes to Thanksgiving fare in London there’s certainly
enough to choose from, but ultimately this small chain of American BBQ
restaurants takes top honours for providing not only a traditional and
delicious approach to the day but also offering it for the sort of
price which won’t break the bank.
All four branches – Soho, Fulham, Tower Hill and Clapham – will be
offering a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for £20.95 each, plus you
can watch NFL coverage while you tuck in. And with that kind of price –
to say nothing of the excellence of the food – you can’t go far wrong.
Various branches. www.bodeansbbq.com
Liputan6.com, Manila : Topan Haiyan menyerbu
sejumlah wilayah di Filipina Jumat 8 November pekan lalu. Dampaknya
sangat dahsyat. Korban tewas diperkirakan mencapai 10 ribu orang.
Ribuan rumah hancur rata tersapu angin super kencang.
Topan
'monster' ini telah melalap habis 6 pulau di Filipina. Banyak bangunan
dan perumahan yang hancur. Sebagian besar korban tewas terjadi di Pulau
Leyte. Bencana ini juga membuat aktivitas warga lumpuh. Listrik mati
dan jalur transportasi tak bisa dilalui.
Besarnya efek dari Topan
Haiyan ini disamakan dengan bencana tsunami pada 2004 silam yang
menimpa kawasan Samudra Pasifik, di mana dampak terbesar terjadi di
Aceh.
"Kerusakannya
sangat besar. Banyak mobil rusak seperti dilempar. Jalanan dipenuhi
dengan puing-puing. Fenomena ini sama dengan tsunami beberapa tahun
lalu," ujar anggota tim penanggulangan bencana PBB, Sebastian Rhodes
Stampa mengacu pada tsunami 2004 di Aceh, seperti dikutip dari Nine MSN, Senin (11/11/2013).
Stampa
mengatakan hal ini setelah mengunjungi Kota Leyte, salah satu kota yang
paling hancur usai dihantam topan Haiyan yang dihuni oleh sekitar 220
ribu orang.
Tsunami 2004 terjadi pada 26 Desember 2004 pukul
7:58:53 WIB, yang diawali gempa bumi dahsyat di Samudra Hindia, lepas
pantai barat Aceh.
Gempa berkekuatan 9,3 skala Richter tersebut
merupakan yang terdahsyat dalam kurun waktu 40 tahun terakhir. Sekitar
230 ribu orang tewas di 8 negara, di antaranya Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
India, dan Thailand. Ombak tsunaminya setinggi 9 meter. Haiyan Picu Longsor Vietnam
Setelah menyerang Filipina, Topan Haiyan menerjang
Vietnam pada Minggu 10 November kemarin. Dampaknya pun tak kalah
dahsyat. Palang Merah Vietnam tengah mengevakuasi 100 ribu orang,
termasuk orangtua dan anak-anak.
Topan Haiyan memang sedikit
melemah saat menghantam Vietnam. Jika di Filipina kecepatannya mencapai
315 kilometer per jam, di Vietnam kecepatannya hanya 120 kilometer
hingga 150 kilometer per jam.
Namun, tetap saja sejumlah
kerusakan terjadi, bahkan menyebabkan tanah longsor pada pukul 04.00
waktu setempat. Palang Merah Vietnam memprediksi badai ini akan
menyebabkan hujan lebat dan banjir di Hanoi, Ibukota negara itu.
Banjir
diprediksi akan setinggi 20 centimeter hingga 30 centimeter. Banjir
utamanya diprediksi akan terjadi di Vietnam utara, dekat perbatasan
China. Kemungkinan banjir akan terjadi Senin malam nanti. (Riz/Tnt)
Many
people who are asked to name the most popular cities in the worlds will
include London in their list, which is no different when considering
Christmas shopping. Christmas is often an exciting time that involves
many steps for preparation, which includes plenty of Christmas
shopping. Being aware of why London is one of the best cities for
Christmas shopping will help to determine whether it is worth making a
trip.
