Breakfast at Sky Garden | 20 Fenchurch Street, London

It was a very rainy day last Sunday, though Izi and I still decided to embark on a breakfast date with a difference at the amazing Sky Garden, a cafe and bar/restaurant that sits high above the London streets atop 20 Fenchurch Street. As far as I know, the building is a fairly recent addition to the London skyline, as is the Sky Garden itself which only opened its doors for the first time in January.

Truthfully, at first I was more than a little concerned about how much this expedition to "London's most exclusive social space" might cost, especially as we were ushered through security on arrival! However, as it turns out, access to the Sky Garden is free! Though you do have to make sure and book tickets at least three days in advance and your visit is limited to an hour and a half. Also, believe it or not, but that is actually a very reasonably-priced croissant pictured above!

Once we had finished our breakfast we set off to explore the levels set above the cafe area. We also had a quick peek out onto the terrace but the rain was absolutely lashing it down so we didn't stay out there for long. Honestly, I expected slightly more from the "gardens", as they were the restaurant's namesake, though really they weren't particularly impressive. I'd say perhaps the greatest reason to visit the Sky Garden would be more for the stunning 360° panoramic views of London it provides.

Due to its central location there were some excellent views of the Thames, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, as well as St Paul's, the Gherkin, and the Shard. The building itself was also very striking, a huge dome-like structure made up almost entirely of glass. I'm definitely glad I had the experience of visiting the Sky Garden during my short time in London!

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Cereal Killer Cafe | 139 Brick Lane, Shoreditch

At this moment I'm currently sitting in my best friend, Isabel's flat in Shoreditch, London, having travelled down from Lancaster for a few days now that my exams are finally over. I haven't seen Izi since Christmas, so a visit to London, by now, really felt long overdue.

You may have already heard of Cereal Killer Cafe, a recently-opened café in Shoreditch that has made a name for itself for being the first ever café in the UK to specialise in cereal. And not just any cereal either, but some of the most weird and wonderful cereal you could ever imagine. Its opening actually caused a lot of buzz back home in Northern Ireland too, due to the fact that the café was founded by two twins from my home city of Belfast, and, since it was only around the corner, Izi and I decided to satisfy our curiosity and pay this colourful little Brick Lane oddity a visit.

As you can probably see from the photos, when we arrived the café was incredibly busy. This may have been to do with the fact it was a Saturday morning, though truthfully I can imagine it being like this all the time (kudos to the Keery twins). Each wall was piled high with the boxes of rare and imported cereals from all around the world as well as various "cereal memorabilia", even including some artwork made from... you guessed it, cereal!

I was actually both surprised and impressed by the cafe's sizeable menu which included not only a range of cereal "cocktails"- or speciality cereal mixes- but also 13 different types of milk, poptarts, toast, and a number of toppings. I ended up opting for one of their fifteen aptly named cocktails: 'Marshmallow Submarine', which was a mighty mixture of Golden Nuggets and Marshmallow Mateys with a Twinkie submerged in the middle (presumably the 'submarine') and which I got for £4.60. I have to say, I was initially apprehensive about this combination, but actually, it was pretty great. Isabel ended up choosing a 'Shooty Shooty Bang Bang', made up of Krave Roulette, Twix Mix and even some popping candy! I did try this and can confirm it's as wonderful as it sounds!

We did wonder, as we first came in, how the queue was moving yet no one seemed to be leaving, especially since the seating area inside appeared to be fairly limited. However, we soon discovered there was actually also a downstairs area which was probably the trippiest part of the lot. The walls were lined with various cereal-inspired knickknacks as well as a few retro-style TV sets playing cartoons from the '80s. From reading up on the cafe I believe the idea behind this was to create somewhere nostalgic and reminiscent of a time when cereal was 'fun', you know when you still got the toys inside the boxes?

While I definitely won't be making a habit of paying £4.60 for a bowl of cereal anytime soon, I did feel as though the experience was worth the somewhat substantial price-tag, if only for a bit of cheeky self-indulgence. If you're ever in the London area and find yourself wanting for a quirkier breakfast experience I'd personally look no further than Cereal Killer Cafe.

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