Town was extremely busy today and thankfully the sun came out in the afternoon. En route to Habitat I stopped at a brand new cafe/chocolate shop called La Chocolatier in the Royal Exchange Arcade - this is so new I can't find anything online about it! Although rather quiet today, I think this new place will soon become as popular as Patisserie Valerie on Deansgate. La Chocolatier has several displays of handmade chocolates and desserts and the boxed chocolates look very sophisticated. They serve hot drinks and wine which perhaps will be it's USP. The decor is very stylish and it's clear that a lot of money went into the shop fittings, furniture and the rather impressive lightshades. The lighting is subtle and the ambience relaxed. Lovely Boyfriend bought me a quarter of dairy fudge, which I'm munching on as I type - delicious! Check it out before everyone else does.
So, next stop Habitat. It's really sad to see cheap and tacky 'store closing' signs everywhere in such a stylish shop. There are bargains to be had but I will really miss this shop. It's starting to look picked through but the signs say new stock is being delivered everyday. I bought the most gorgeous mushroom shaped glass and ceramic lamp which will look perfect on my bedside table.
At the other end of town, Lovely Boyfriend and I went to the Gelato in July ice cream festival in Islington Wharf. That's outside that impressive angular building on the way to Eastlands to you and me. I was surprised by how packed it was. There were two traditional British (I think) ice cream vans and a stall selling gorgeous traditional ice cream but only vanilla. I think the organisers missed a trick - more variety next time please! There were also food stalls selling pasta, olives, cheese, etc, face painting, a sweet stall and a couple of craft stalls. I bought a cute little gold locket for a fiver - bargain!
Tomorrow is the Vintage Village at Stockport's Market Hall and this month's theme is Telstar so think early 60's style. Can't wait!
After all this talk of shopping and ice cream, time to think about something far more important - the drought crisis in East Africa. The DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) has made it easy to donate by texting HELP to 70000
Have a great weekend!
http://www.gelatoinjuly.co.uk/
http://www.vintagevillagestockportmarket.co.uk/
http://www.dec.org.uk/
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