Tunes are a popular budget hotel chain in Asia and Tune Liverpool Street is their second hotel in London has just opened. (The first was
Tune Westminster.)
The location is superb: right next to
Spitalfields Market and the fun of
Brick Lane, Hoxton and Shoreditch. It's actually right opposite
Denis Severs' House on Folgate Street which is a quiet and atmospheric street with Victorian gas lamps.
I've already been to stay at Tune Liverpool Street - doesn't take me long, eh? - so I can tell you what it's really like to stay at this budget hotel. See my
Tune Liverpool Street hotel review...
Image: © Laura Porter (do note that chap on the bed of 6'5"!) | London Travel Blog | Join me on Facebook | Follow me on Twitter
Even when traveling we want our home comforts and what better way to have them than to stay in a real home. I'm not talking about sharing with a host but renting the whole apartment as your temporary home.
Previously it's been hard for both apartment owners and travelers to find each other but
HouseTrip.com has a clear and easy site with profiles of thousands of properties around the world with guest reviews showing strong satisfaction.
They've got properties in many areas of London (as well as the rest of the world) ranging from budget to pure luxury and the site makes it easy for you to make a safe and secure online booking.
Find out more about HouseTrip.com.
Image: © HouseTrip.com | London Travel Blog | Join me on Facebook | Follow me on Twitter
Horrible Histories is an outstanding TV and book series that may be aimed at children but has succeeded in making learning history cool. It's history with all the gore left in which is probably more realistic than the sanitised versions we generally learn about. Where else will you see the Grim Reaper singing his Stupid Death song? Or see "Rah Rah Cleopatra, Famous beauty coming atcha!" which is certainly more enlightening than most history textbooks.
Following acclaimed productions of
Terrible Tudors,
Vile Victorians,
Awful Egyptians and
Ruthless Romans, Birmingham Stage Company present the world premiere of
Horrible Histories - Barmy Britain, set in "loathsome London".
British history is full of barmy people who did nasty things to each other. With blood, battles, murder and mayhem, the show explores stories from Roman, Tudor, Stuart, Georgian, Victorian and WW1 periods and features famous characters such as Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Guy Fawkes, Florence Nightingale and General Earl Haig. Roman Mankychef will impress us with how to cook roast dormouse and the Georgian Crime School will be the place to learn about the worst of Georgian life.
It's going to be gruesome but the kids will love it, and so will the grown ups. I think it's a great way to have fun while learning and I'm really looking forward to seeing the show. Barmy Britain is on at the Garrick Theatre in the daytime (while Chicago is on there in the evenings). The show opens 14 February and runs till 1 September 2012 and is best for those over 6 years old.
Image: © Birmingham Stage Company | London Travel Blog | Join me on Facebook | Follow me on Twitter
I've tested the Tep pocket wifi rental in London and across the UK but over Christmas I tried it in Europe with a short trip to
France. As data charges are so high it means most of us switch off data roaming while traveling but this takes away the convenience of our smartphones.
Tep offers smartphone and mobile wifi rental. The pocket wifi device is smaller than my phone and I simply popped it in a zipped compartment in my handbag and was able to get online when I needed to so I was still able to stay in touch with friends and get information quickly as I would at home. See my
Tep Pocket Wifi Review.
Image: © Laura Porter | London Travel Blog | Join me on Facebook | Follow me on Twitter
