Where do you expect to find a Cable Car? (Not in London of course) (Review)

Emirates Air Line Experience

 It isn’t often you get the chance to wing your way over the city, unless you are circling for 45 minutes waiting for a free runway at Heathrow.

I had this on my list of things to do and places to go when I was researching my trip earlier this year. It's amazing how conveniently this particular experience worked out, just by chance the day before this trip I spotted a poster at a stop on the Tube for a Star Wars exhibition in the O2, and ta da! Two things to do on the same day and in the same location. 
(The Star Wars Exhibition blog post is for another time) Patience! 

And if you're wondering why it's called Emirates AirLine - see here - Emirates sponsors Thames cable car. In October 2011 it was announced that the Dubai-based airline Emirates would provide £36 million in a 10-year sponsorship deal which included branding of the cable car service with the airline's name.

Timeout says "If you find yourself way out east near the Excel Centre on the north side of the river or the O2 Arena on the south, take advantage of the opportunity to ride the UK’s first urban cable car. With the ability to carry up to 2,500 people per hour in each direction (the equivalent of 30 buses) over the 1.1km street of river, the Emirates Air Line offers passengers fantastic views of the City, Canary Wharf, the Thames Barrier and the Olympic Park.
'Night Flights' are available during summer, which offer a longer journey time, audio/visual entertainment and some rather impressive views of London after-dark.

Oyster and contactless cards can be used on a pay-as-you-go basis – and are cheaper than the single fare cash tickets – although are not included in the Oyster daily capping."

 The cable car is based on monocable detachable gondola (MDG) technology, a system which uses a single cable for both propulsion and support, used also on the metrocable in Medellín, Colombia. The MDG system is reportedly cheaper and quicker to install than a more complex three-cable system which would allow larger-capacity cars.

Address: 27 Western Gateway, London, E16 4FA 

Opening hours: Mon-Fri 7am-8pm; Sat 8am-8pm; Sun 9am-8pm. Winter closing 9pm daily.
Transport: Tube: North Greenwich/Royal Victoria DLR
Price: Single cash fare: £4.50, £2.30 children. Oyster/contactless card: £3.50, £1.70 children. Under-fives free with a paying adult.

I can’t see this catching on as a key commuting route, even though it can carry up to 2,500 passengers every hour. It will, however, most probably make a great tourist attraction and a new way for Londoners to see the city. 

As part of the Star Wars Exhibition in the O2, we got other discounted deals 20% off Pizza Express which was a great lunch and the Emirates Airline Discovery Experience. This experience is simply a return journey all in one go. And from start to finish the entire thing lasts about 30 minutes, this includes time for a) queuing to buy the ticket and b) queuing to get onto the cable car. The actual journey is 10 minutes return, I think, I was too excited with just the feeling of being on a Cable car to even recognize how long it actually was. There is not actually that much to talk about to be honest, but it is a fabulous way to see London. Much better experience than the London Eye. Have a peek at the pictures below as seeing is believing sometimes.  

Here's a link to more information from their website on attractions in the vicinity of the Airline.  - http://www.emiratesairline.co.uk/local-attractions/

A wonderful video experience from Transport for London's YouTube Channel.

Yes, these are trainlines! I got so excited when I saw these :) :) :) :) :) 

Nitrous Icecream (I screamingly good) (Review)

While trawling the internet earlier this year for interesting things to do in London on my vacation in August, I came across something called Nitrous Ice-cream, and I clicked further cause I was intrigued. As soon as I discovered this novelty, I put it down on my list of things that I have to see. 

Time out says "Now a fixture of Camden Market, the innovative Chin Chin Labs – where ice-cream is frozen to order amid billowing clouds of liquid nitrogen-generated steam – may not seem as wacky as it once did, but there are always new tourists to surprise, and plenty of regulars happy to queue for the fabulous ice-cream. The menu is commendably short: chocolate, vanilla and two specials – one ice-cream, one dairy-free sorbet.

The latter always astounds with its fat-free creaminess and cool flavours, such as griddled peach, watermelon and dill, or beetroot choc chip. Haute cuisine references are frequent in flavours such as coffee and tobacco, or Guinness caramel with smoked salt. Experimental, yes, but the results are reliably superb. Pimp your tub with a veritable chemistry set of sprinkles and sauces (we liked the white chocolate-coated potato chips with our summery strawberry and hay ice-cream) – you too can be a molecular gastronomist."

Interestingly, and this is a good thing, I was so busy I wasn't able to make it to Chin Chin labs until hours before I had to leave England, Friday @3:45 p.m., and my flight was 1:00 p.m. the next day. 

Now, this is a hard combination to top, but the dish I chose (together with my sister) who was along for the expedition, (and conveniently since she's a local she had a data plan on her phone, so she was the navigator) was a Brown-Wich on their menu, a thrilling combination of Grilled White Chocolate Chunks, Brownie cookies, their signature dark chocolate logo chip and Basil Mint Chocolate Chip. Yes, you read that right, Basil. 

The grilled white chocolate was heavenly, the brownie cookie divine and the ice-cream, well, the ice-cream smelled slightly strange (if you're not used to Basil), but the ice-cream tasted divine. 

It's a brilliant place for tourists to visit and the locals rather love it as well, since the ice-cream is always freshly frozen (with the nitrous), it always tastes that much better than regular bought ice-cream.

Couple things to Note - 
a) It's a cash only place (don't know if that'll change in the future). No cards accepted
b) Prepare yourself for a wait, because it always has a line and the seats (which are not many) are always full.

Important details from their website

Chin Chin Labs -Camden 
Open everyday 12-7pm -   
49-50 Camden Lock Place, 
NW1 8AF, London

As you can see from the map below, it's walking distance (less than ten minutes) from Camden Tube station. 

Dessert Bar - 
Open every Fri/Sat 5-11pm - 
Hawker House, Canada Street, 
SE16 2XU, London

Chin Chin Club Soho -  
Open everyday Mon- Thurs 1-9pm  - Fri/Sat 1-10pm & Sunday 1-8pm -
 54 Greek Street, W1D 3DS, London

This week’s flavours:
Classics:
Tonka Bean
Valrhona CHOCOLATE
Burnt Butter CARAMEL 
Brownie Cookie Sandwich 
Sticky Toffee Pudding Sundae Soho &  Hawker House

Specials:
Chai Latte- Vegan - Camden  
Banana Melt Sundae - Camden & Hawker House
Pumpkin 5-Spice- Soho & Camden
Tiramisu Sundae - Soho  
Avocado  - Soho
Vietnamese Coffee - Soho 
Coconut Sticky Rice - Soho
Blackberry & Coriander Seed -Vegan- Soho  
The Avo Taco - Soho 
The Choux Bun Sandwich - Soho 
Cinnamon S’mores Sandwich – Hawker House

With just under 50k loyal fans, this unusual phenomenon is here to stay as part of London's entertainment landscape. 
Their Facebook page has 13.4k likes, Instagram - 31.4k and Twitter 4.6k, the most going to Instagram, which shows how much of a visual treat this ice-cream is, as well. 
Each of their dishes, are instantly Instagram worthy, and as you can clearly see why from the photos below and their different social media.

Finally a five star review from Rachel Brown on their Facebook page (who has clearly experienced much more than my one time and all three locations as well)
A brilliant ice cream option in London - tasty ice cream and fun toppings. The gluten free and vegan options (grilled peach/ raspberry and lychee) are particularly good. Whichever branch you visit you will struggle to decide what to order - it all sounds so delicious! Each branch has a very different feel. Personally I like the Soho branch and regularly pop in for a cheeky ice cream sundae - it's a quirky space, staff are friendly and it has a relaxed atmosphere. The dessert bar at Hawker House is great for more substantial desserts (i.e. Pre chosen ice cream, cake and toppings combinations ) and a more lively/street food feel. The original at Camden is bare cool as well.