Wow-cha: Print-out travel experiences for curious Londoners

Wow, there are so many vouchers for incredible world experiences on offer in London, we thought we’d share some on this blog.   Well, you never know when you might need to grab a last minute gift for someone - and most of these can simply be printed out after you've paid.  A brilliant way to cheat the Christmas shopping craziness - and give the special gift of a unique experience of food, dance, music or something else that brings a new cultural experience to life.

I don't know about you, but I tend to enjoy experiences far more than 'things'.  Especially unique experiences that take me off to try something new.  Maybe it sounds like I'm hankering after one of these...

A foodie gift voucher - try a supperclub at edible experiences

A ticket for some Irish music

A latin dance voucher - learn Salsa, Mambo, Bachata, Cha Cha Cha & Pachanga

A Japanese goodie voucher 

World cuisine to your doorstep voucher 

Here’s a few ideas to start with (I”ll add more as I find them):

Travel the world...in a book!

At Shared City we are big fans of all kinds of books.  Books make a rare kind of gift: they miraculously last beyond the excitement of Christmas and can be read or dipped into over and over again.

Three wonderful books that celebrate the different cultures of the world were spotted in a nearby bookshop and would make brilliant Christmas gifts.  They encourage readers to indulge in fantasy trips around the world - or to simply learn more about other cultures through beautiful illustrations and photographs.  And with the recipe book, well, what could be better than eating your way around the world?

‘Walk This World’ and ‘Maps’ are marketed at children but the illustration and overall design is of such a high quality that many adults would love them too. We love that “Walk This World” is written by an illustrator from Finland, “Maps” is written by two Polish artists and the cook book is written by a well-travelled Londoner.  

The subtitle of “Maps’ is right up our street too.  It reads: travel the globe without leaving your living room.  At Shared City we would like you to go a bit further than your living room.  

Why not leave your living room and explore the world on your doorstep in London?  You might have to just to find the secret ingredients you need to travel Around the World in 120 Recipes.

Below there are links to Amazon pages to help you identify each book easily. If you have time, pop down to your local bookshop and buy from them instead.  

Walk This World by Lotta Niemenen.  

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski.  

Around the World in 120 Recipes by Allegra McEvedy 

Welcome to the Shared City Blog

Hello! Welcome to our first Shared City Blog post.

Deborah Chatterjee and Caroline Bourne, the creators of Shared City, are behind this blog. 

A little about us: we were born and raised in London and between us have a healthy crazy London mix of Indian, Italian, Hindu, Catholic, Jewish, Polish, Russian and Spanish heritage. 

Deborah now lives in south London. Caroline lives in north London. In their twenties both Caroline & Deborah travelled and worked all over the world. Now we wouldn't live anywhere but London. 

Between us we have over thirty years of experience working with the different communities of London through contracts in Education, TV, Media, Local Government and Journalism. 

Mid 2013, we set up Shared City as a social enterprise aimed at increasing understanding and tolerance between everykind of people. 

Shared City is a social enterprise and we run creative cross-cultural projects, events and experiences. So far we have organised events in mosques, temples and synagogues - and they have been brilliant!

We are blogging to showcase amazing international experiences in London and to encourage more people to explore the world without leaving London. There is so much to see and we have so much to share. 

A serious side of the blog is our mission to break down barriers between communities living next to each other in London (and often elsewhere) by challenging some misconceptions and creating openings into different, sometimes inaccessible, worlds right on our doorstep.

Anything that showcases another culture whether it's a new exhibition, concert, shop or supperclub will appear in this blog, as well as our ideas for creating a 'travel' experience without leaving London (and sometimes without even leaving your living room). We hope the blog will help you explore the exciting worlds within our city and transport you there for an hour, a day or longer.

For more information about our events and experiences see www.shared-city.org. If you'd like to get in touch please tweet to @sharedcityUK or leave a comment here.