bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Life in general

Personalised easter egg, foxes hanging in a hotel bar, the diet of a Coeliac, 
odd pig statue, dissertation was finally handed in, so shopping ban was lifted, 
fringe was in need of a cut, business cards were made for the blog, matching nails & trousers,
parents (&dog) came to visit, hot chocolate with everything on top, and my favourite chocolate shop in Kendal.

As the ‘Instagram Weekly’ posts I did kinda fizzled out, I haven’t really posted anything since, unless you check out the sidebar widget I have. So I thought I would post some pictures from the last few weeks, just in case some of you are still interested in my boring life…and if you are, thank you.
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: What do you want to see?

Jizo statues at a temple in Tokyo, Japan

If you’re a regular to my blog, you will know that I often post ‘photo diaries’.
These are just a small collection of photos from my travels, or events that I have attended etc.
I plan to continue with my Japan & Paris photo diaries as I have plenty more photos to post.
However I thought it might make a change if I did a couple of ‘personal’ photo diary entries.

Leave a comment with something you would like to see a photo of from my daily life.
e.g. My favourite item of clothing, the view from my window, a funny sign etc.
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: London

 Lilli Vanilli Bakery, M&M Store, Bubbleology, Cheap Monday, Monki, Absolute Vintage & Tatty Devine

Just a few snaps I took on my recent visit to London.
Before I had to move away for University I used to visit London quite often, as I live close enough, so I don’t really do the tourist-y things. I do however like to visit lots of shops and cafes! Apart from spending time with my lovely gals whilst I was there, I did visit the new Monki store and Cheap Monday as I haven’t been back since they opened. I also re-visited my favourite Tatty Devine store and plenty of vintage stores. 
For lovers of Match/Green Tea, Bubbleology in Soho has Matcha bubble tea. We stopped by and I had to grab one! 
The guy who was working was a bit odd, and didn’t really have the best customer service skills to be honest, but the bubble tea was lovely.
I apologise for the lack of photos.
I was taking them off my phone very early this morning (couldn’t sleep) and ended up deleting some by accident, in my half-awake state. Farewell pictures of delicious cakes and food, you shall be sorely missed.

bloomzy /

Photo Diary; Adventures in the World of Amélie

Café les Deux Moulins, Montmatre, Paris

On one particular day during my time in Paris, the fiancé indulged me and we went to Montmatre.
That’s a pretty normal tourist thing to do in Paris, I hear you say. Well yes it is, but as some of you may know by now I am a bit of a Francophile, and my favourite movie is Amélie. Sooo you may be catching on that we went to Montmatre to…visit the places used whilst filming Amélie.
I took a lot of photos around the locations in Montmatre during that day.
So I choose to post these ones first. Probably the most iconic location in Amélie: Café les Deux Moulins.
This is where they filmed the scenes of Amélie and her friends at work, where she choose to eat her favourite creme brulee, and where several of the major storylines take place. I always remember Amélie staring at Nino through the glass screen longingly as she wrote the day’s specials ♥
The cafe itself, is a lot smaller than it looks in the movie. Nor does the front of the cafe look the same as in the movie, and it isn’t in the location they filmed the outside from, so be careful as you could easily walk by and miss it! 
Tables and bar stools take up most of the space, which is filled with tourists (mainly Japanese) and the odd local. 
The bar & toilets have been kept the same as in the movie, whilst bits of memorabilia are dotted everywhere.
Our waiter was hilarious. He laughed and helped us with our pronunciation and chatted with me about Amélie and my love of Macarons. He even tried to get a kiss from the Japanese girls beside us, but the cultural barriers were just too strong.
If money isn’t an issue I would suggest grabbing a bite to eat, so you can soak up the atmosphere.
I had a salad, white wine and macarons for dessert, whilst the fiancé had a burger and beer.
At €40+ this is expensive, even for Paris, and it’s obvious the little cafe is cashing in, especially as the food is average.
However I had been waiting for this for a long time and the atmosphere was wonderful so I didn’t mind at all. 
Trivia: For other Amélie fans out there, remember the scene where Nino finds all the ‘Ou et quand?’ posters?
That was my metro station! La Motte-Picqet-Grenelle, located in central Paris, a 10min walk from the Eiffel Tower. 
It’s a small world.
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: The Breakfast Club, London

The Breakfast Club, Hoxton, London

Whilst I was in London, the fiancé’s sister (who very kindly put us up for the weekend, thank you) decided to take us for breakfast in The Breakfast Club. I hadn’t been before, so the whole experience was wonderful.
It reminded me a lot of the places I had gone to for breakfast in America. The menu was packed full of a variety of amazing dishes, whilst the ‘smallest disco in the world‘ in the toilets, acted as entertainment. Like the ‘Fraggle Rock’ wallpaper? I did.
The 3 of us all choose very different breakfasts: 
The fiancé – Breakfast Burrito, his sister – french toast with chunks of apple and eggy bread, and finally me – The All-American. I allowed myself to forget about my diet that weekend, and I’m so glad I did. 
The All-American was like the breakfast I remembered having when I was 16, on my first trip to America to visit my family. Tasty and filling; I didn’t eat until dinner!
We left around 12, and the queue outside was massive!
It’s a popular place, so if you do decide to visit then you should probably do it before the rush.
They always say Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you’re starting it at TBC you really can’t go wrong!
bloomzy /

Photo Diary; Paris, I Love You

Le Mur Des Je T’aime (I Love You : The Wall), Montmatre, Paris

I was all prepared to finally do my ‘Amelie Adventure’ photo diary post, but then I found these.
These photos were taken on the same day, and feature the popular ‘I Love You Wall’ in Montmatre.
Situated in a small park just outside the metro entrance, you could easily miss it if you weren’t looking for it.
The park itself is a lovely tiny place to relax in, especially if it’s a particularly hot day, as it was when we went.
Luckily there are plenty of trees to offer shade.

If I remember correctly it wasn’t particularly busy, there were only 3 other people there at the time.
I love little places like this that make you feel as though you have stumbled upon something magnificent.
If anyone was wondering, these were taken in July 2011, hence the longer hair.

Frédéric Baron created this mural along with Claire Kito and Daniel Boulogne.
With over 300 languages on the wall, each reads ‘I Love You’ or the equivalent in that language.

Can you spot your language?
bloomzy /

Photo Diary; Life in Japan

My neighbourhood in Japan

This time I wanted to show you a bit more of suburban Japan.
When I first moved to Tokyo I spent a couple of weeks exploring the neighbourhood. 
I loved the area I lived in, and the people, so I wanted to share it with you.
I think these photos really show how calm and serene a place it was, and probably still is.
It was always lovely to come home to somewhere like this, after a long day in the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. 

My favourite of these though has to be the sleeping kitten. It was a stray that suddenly turned up in a nearby park, frail and alone. The nearby residents fed and took care of it, making it a home from some polystyrene and a bathtub cover. After a few weeks, one of the old ladies took him in and gave him a collar.
To me it really helps summarise the sense of community and family I felt when staying there.