Guest Blogger Curious Mum Explores Nordic London!

London is quite the cosmopolitan city, made up of so many different cultures all gloriously blurred together. But how often do we actually spend time experiencing and learning about one another’s traditions? It’s time to take full advantage of what the capital has to offer!

Celebrating London’s cultural hotspots and making them burn bright for every member of the family, Shared City organise special tours that practically take you around the world without leaving the city! One week you could be touring Little Italy, the next saying Ola Brazil and the next be subject to a Brilliant Buddha Experience…without all the passport and flight hassle. No matter which place you visit, every experience lets you discover and explore London’s local diverse communities in a way you never have before.

In fact, we spent our Sunday in London’s Little Nordic area. Starting the day off with a Lutheran service in Rotherhithe’s beautiful St Olav’s Church, we were then treated to a lovely Norwegian lunch spread, giving us a taste of the yummy local cuisine. Over coffee and waffles (served with homemade jam!) we were given an insight into Lutheran traditions and the history of Norwegians in London. Rather than a history lesson, these talks were informal, animated conversations. With a hop, skip and a jump, we moved on to the Finnish Spring Fair just down the road, perusing all on offer, learning about Finnish history and etiquette (and the history of the sauna!). We even met a real life moomin too.

An immersive educational experience wrapped up in a mini holiday, feel part of another community for a day. Rather than being packed onto a stuffy bus tour, these personal tours (complete with a very approachable and bubbly guide) let you get out and about with something to catch your interest at all times from quizzes to fill out to classes to take part in. For example, coming up in half term holiday, you could spend time in India at London’s world famous Bhavan Centre, trying your hand at some Indian dancing, music and food.

With access to such a rich array of communities all living under one skyline, Shared City definitely provides a unique tour of the city. So the next time the kids ask ‘where are we going on holiday?’ it might be worth telling them ‘London!’

[Originally posted by Curious Mum here]

Guest Blogger TikiChris Explores Little India with Nidhi

SharedCity is a new London venture specializing in cultural walking tours in areas with immigrant communities. I tagged along on a recent saunter through “Little India” – aka Ealing Road – near Wembley Stadium in the West London borough of Brent.

If there’s one thing I love about living in London it’s that even after a decade of calling this city home I still find that there’s plenty to see and do. Take Ealing Road for example. Who knew it was such a vibrant place for a taste of authentic Indian culture? Well, thousands of mostly Gujarati immigrants, obviously, as well as the team behind SharedCity and surely lots of other people too. Just not me … until now.

I got so much out my stroll along Ealing Road with SharedCity. I loved every bit – from visiting the ornate and impressive Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir “Wembley Temple” to browsing the aisles of Venisons saree shop and the Sanskruti shop in its basement with row upon row of cultural and religious items for the home. Foodie that I am, I very much enjoyed the end of our tour recapping what we experienced over a vegetarian thali (a platter with several small dishes) at local favourite, Asher’s Africana Restaurant. I even tried paan (a betel leaf-wrapped confectionery usually taken to refresh breath after a meal) for the first time from Panachand Pan House.

I don’t think I would have had quite as thorough a visit to the area if I’d gone on my own. I certainly wouldn’t have had the ‘backstage access’ at some of the venues or insider knowledge offered by my guides. The tour was as educational as it was fun.

Beyond the opportunity to discover a new (to me) part of town, the tour was a fun way to meet folks who proudly share and celebrate London’s immigrant heritage and are eager to learn about the vibrant cultural collage that makes it such a dynamic and unique city.

The Little India tour is but one in the SharedCity portfolio (and one still in development as I understand it). Other “destinations” include South India, Turkey, Italy, Norway and Finland, Brazil and Portugal, and more (such as tours of Arabic London and Jewish London) – all in one city!

SharedCity’s tours are priced from £20 (that’s about US$30 at the time of this post’s publication). Most tours include some sort of food and drink tastings if not a full meal. Find out more at sharedcity.co.uk.

[Originally Posted  by Chris Osburn here]