I don’t know why I haven’t posted this sooner, I blame scheduling on the wrong date, which is why I have had to rewrite slightly. It did read last weekend, but actually it is now a couple of weekends ago I was kindly invited to the crazy Red Bull Flugtag courtesy of my Paulie. This is the third time this event has been in the UK and I have been lucky enough to go to all three in the VIP area, but this was the first time out of London so we decided to make a weekend of it and see what Leeds had to offer.
Getting To Leeds:
As soon as a road trip comes up I quickly consult the OK Diner website and see if there is one on our route, and thank the milkshake gods there are three on the A1. If you haven’t experienced OK Diner you have to make a road trip ASAP, this is just a cool American diner with retro fittings, huge booths and a great menu of thick milkshakes, pancakes and burgers!!
This is my normal tipple, the classic banana shake, which is delicious. On the way home I went for the Black Forest packed with 2 scoops of fruits of the forest ice cream, 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream, and blended with black cherries. It was so tasty I totally forgot to take a snap!!
The Hotel:
First up I was a little disappointed that Best Western don’t have a hotel in Leeds, I know right shocker!!! As you will know if you are regular reader we are crazy BW fans since we hotel hopped up the west coast of America a few years back, so I had to go for something a little different. I have to admit I am a bit of a research geek when it comes to choosing a hotel but it didn’t take me long to settle on the Cosmopolitan Hotel, mainly because of the impressive magazine collection they have in reception, but also due to its great location close to all the shops.
If like me you are a magazine addict, and I am talking about a collection that is so big that you have to cull it from time-to-time, have to store some in the loft, and even by vintage copies off eBay or at car boot sales then this is the hotel for you. The extensive ‘Vogue Library’ has an amazing collection of over 200 magazines, with some dating back to the 1970s, and it isn’t just copies of Vogue UK, there are also Vogue US, Harper’s and Queen, Vanity Fair, ELLE, and Harper’s Bazaar.
I do kind of wish I had more time to check out the issues, I was fascinated with how the all important September issues looked in the 1980s I particular loved the difference between September 1982 vs 1985, love the hat!!
Not a September issue but an amazing cover, I spied the amazing Liza Minnelli looking hot on the cover of December’s Vogue back in 1989. I have to admit I do love the limited text of vintage mags.
I am not sure if this is Cindy Crawford’s first Vogue cover, but seriously she hasn’t change a bit since April 1987 has she?
So the hotel gets an amazing five stars from me, I have to admit it wasn’t the best hotel in Leeds or the cheapest and technically it is three star in hotel circles, but for a weekend away shopping and exploring Leeds it was perfect. The room was a good size, I even got rubber ducks in the bathroom, and I loved the decor as soon as I saw this chandelier I just knew it was going to be a good weekend.
If you are after a hotel that doesn’t break the bank, has quirky features, spacious rooms, friendly staff and a bar with a great cocktail menu then this is the hotel for you. I would definitely recommend to anyone visiting Leeds. *I would just also like to point out – we paid for our room*
Little Tokyo:
On our first night in Leeds I wanted to treat Paulie to a great meal and someone kindly on Twitter recommended this amazing Japanese restaurant, Little Tokyo, which is a gorgeous little place on Central Road just behind the main shopping stretch. Paulie is a huge sushi fan so it was the perfect place to eat and everything from the exquisite decor, these were the twinkle lights above our table, to the wooden off-cuts formed in table tops, to the magical stream running through the restaurant with fish in, to the quirky footwear our waiter was wearing, everything about this place was just so cute.
I had the chicken Teriyaki bento box and it was gorgeous, and Paulie went for a sushi platter, both dishes came out served so beautifully in these dishes and unlike other sushi places we have eaten I couldn’t finish my plate there was so much.
For dessert I enjoyed mango sorbet and it was served on a frozen bowl which had fruit and petals moulded into it, I don’t think I have been to a restaurant before where so much thought had been put into the details. The whole meal was amazing, from the decor to the food, the wonderful service and most importantly they didn’t want to rush us out of the door, which is always refreshing. If you are in Leeds you have to check this place out.
My Style:
As I was being brave with the dinner choice I thought I would give this whole socks and sandal look a whirl. Sorry for the crap picture, lighting and all that jazz in the hotel room and an uncooperative boyfriend meant I did it myself. Wearing my Tabio socks, F&F at Tesco denim skirt, Primark coral jumper *all about the holes*, finished off with my amazing Maggie Angus squirrel necklace and my trusty New Look coral wedges that are so comfortable to wear.
Red Bull Flugtag 2011, Roundhay Park:
Waking up on the Sunday after such a great night of Japanese food and bowling *where I won* was hard especially hearing the rain coming down, I was so lucky that Paulie made me buy a new waterproof jacket as I would have got absolutely soaked watching the Flugtag. If you haven’t heard or seen the Flugtag before let me give you a quick introduction: well it is simply crazy people, who have designed crazy flying machines, which they then flop off the end of the runway!!
As always Red Bull think of everything, in the VIP section I had the luxury of sitting on some very comfortable cinema-style seats, which came with their own binoculars, I even got a cool umbrella to keep me dry, great music, a Mr Whippy ice-cream and an incredible half-time airshow.
The day may have been wet and miserable, and I have to admit Leeds didn’t attract as many celeb-spots as previous Red Bull events, we only had George Lamb, Susanne Shaw, her Dancing on Ice partner, JK and Joel, some annoying actress from Emmerdale, and the best celeb had to be Mr Eddie the Eagle, a complete legend and super friendly!!
There were lots of amazing teams but my favourite and the winner of the event was ‘To Infinity and the Pond’. These guys made perfect replicas of the Toy Story characters and they were amazing, so glad that they took the top spot. There was also an ‘Orville’, who was very true to the lyrics of his song ‘I wish I could fly way up to the sky but I can’t’!!
There was also a photobooth, I know it is becoming like the cupcake of events but I still love it, took a bit of convincing but I got Paulie in it, minus the funny get up he wasn’t having any of it. These pics though sum up what a great weekend we had.
Leeds it was definitely too short and I admit I had lots of shopping plans but we just seem to run out of time. Don’t worry Leeds I will be back!!
