London: Day 8

Last day in London.

1) Walked through Oxford St to do some last minute shopping. The highlight was Primark. Its cheap!! Its crazy. Its cheap like Sg Wang cheap...err likeee flea market cheap.

2) Brunch at Patisserie Valerie. So yummmm :) :) Should try all things salmon there. And the scones....oooohhh

Aaaand thats it! I cant say that I fell in love with London immediately. Its hustle and bustle and cold shoulders and cold weathers were a big turn off. But I did eventually fall in love as I met some friendly ppl along the way, found plenty of things to do, immersed in the history of the past and adjusted to the present cosmo....and as it got sunnier day by day! Cant wait for my next travel but its back to reality for me.

^8 Cee

England: Day 7

London

1) We took the bus to Buckingham Palace and walked through the Buckingham Palace garden. I like parks. It was a lucky coincidence that we went there at the time of change of the palace guards. Its an elaborate event that happens every other day around noon. Touristy, I like ;)
2) Walked all the way from Buckingham Palace to Knightsbridge to pay Harrods a visit. Its hugeeee, like twice the size of Selfridges. Its motto is Omnia, Omnibus Ubique-All things for all people, Everywhere. Yeah right. Its $$$. I didnt really mind coz they had a frgn opera singer on the balcony overlooking the escalators. Kinda crazy, kinda awesome.

Had tea at cafe Laduree

3) I left my family to head towards Grace Kelly's exhibition. The exhibition was in Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) which is in Kensington, a couple of blocks away. V&A is free but exhibitions are not. Bought night-time tickets to the exhibition as all the day tickets were sold-out.

4) Spent the next couple of hours wandering the V&A. V&A is unlike any museums I've visited. V&A is the excessiveness, elaborateness and the beauty of the world's countries amplified. A world of wanders and aesthetics. By far, my favorite museum!

5) Met up with Lalink. We got lost looking for Snogs...well she said she was showing me around Kensington -_-"

6) Headed back to the V&A, this time, for Grace Kelly's exhibition as it was a must-do-together-visit. Lol, I told her so in my first email when I told her I was visiting London.My first love for GK was when I chanced upon a Hitchock film some 4 years ago. I remember watching Dial M for Murder and was intrigued by the actress. Then I chanced upon Rear Window and it was the same actress, strikingly classy. They dont make those kind of films anymore.

7) We dined in Fifteen. We confidently walked in without any reservations and got it! Lol it turns out that it wasnt the Fifteen of Jamie Oliver's. But it was good time spent :)
^8 Cee

England: Day 6

1) What else do people do in Manchester....visit Manchester United stadium!! A dream come true for my dad and bros. Wished I was a die-hard fan myself.

The Manchester United TrinityHeading towards the old Trafford stadium...wheee!!In the player's changing roomWatching the match from the player's seat! O.M.G.

2) We dropped by my cousin's university, Manchester University to take pictures!3) And took away lunch and ate in the car coz we had 3 hours to drive and a play to catch.

4) Watched the Lion King musical at Lyceum Theatre. It was good :) :) Except the Simba actor had a rather feminine voice. If not, everything else was fantastic!5) Celebrated my parent's anniversary dinner at Covent Garden. 27 years of marriage is no joke and I've learnt that its not always picture perfect... but whats important is the determination to stick together as a family. Ps I loveee Covent Garden! Its a place I would definitely visit again or maybe stay at when I come visit London again.
^8 Cee

England: Day 4

London

1. Don't really recall what we did today except for the British Museum. Its hugeee. Visited the mummies, the Mesopotamia, the ancient Greece, China prints, Indian sculptures etc. Its impressive....and its freeeee..I like! :) :)

Check out the larger than life sculptures!

2. After the museum we headed to Piccadilly Circus. It was buzzing with video displays and neon signs. That, I like. But the crowded places, not so. Well anyway, no pictures from there as it was raining. Thought I could just come by the next day to take some pictures..it is rather nice.

^8 Cee

England: Day 3

London

Its meet my aunties day! Havent seen them in ages. One of em since like 17 yrs ago.

1) Anyway, we went to Maroush on Argyle. Best Moroccon food! The meat was super tender. But no picture of the food coz I keep forgetting to take pictures.
Lalink, who is already like my mum's other daughter, was at lunch too! :) havent got to spend as much time as this with her for a very very long long time.

2) In between meeting the two aunts. We managed to visit the 4-storeys Topshop, H&M and the likes....But it was so crowded (Monday was a public holiday - ie Bank day). It was suffocating. But we managed to find ourselves a set of awesome dress to camwhore in the dressing room.

Ta-daaah

But seriously, even with the depreciation of the pounds, I still think Topshop is overpriced for its clothes.

3) Anyway just wanted to end this post with these pictures here.


Resemblance, no?

^8 Cee

England: Day 2

London

We took the weekly pass for London's tube and buses. All in about GBP25. Its a fair price to pay considering Hop-on Hop off buses 1-day tour goes for about the same price.

We covered most of the touristy stuff today...

1) We saw big 151 yr ol Ben

2) Westminster Abbey
no pictures coz it was Sunday mass

2) Houses of Parliaments
Its actually a lot more massive than the picture
4) London Eye
5) Thames River Cruise
with a bunch of orange heads6) London BridgeSo not what I imagined it to be...
I guess London Bridge IS Falling Down
You gotta check out the full version of the song...here!

7) Tower Bridge
A lot fancier than London Bridge
8) Tower of London
The tower of London was a royal residence as well as a military stronghold in the Middle Ages. Plenty of things to do (we spent half the day there)...There were reenactment of wars, people walking around in costumes, armories exhibition, the crown jewels, etc etc. Definitely a recommended tour for the family.

9) Lobster Noodles
I really dont remember which restaurant!! But it was Chinese food
10) Met up with Tashie...Good to finally see her in London too :)


^8 Cee

England: Day 1

London

1) It has been ages since I've stepped foot in England and hence just as an early warning to those seasoned Londoners, my posts would be rather touristy.

2) We arrived early morning in Heathrow Airport and took the cab to Leonard Apartments. The cab driver was a nice chap from Afghanistan who purposely drove us through some famous areas like through the Hyde Park etc even though his services were a fixed rate. Leonard Apartments is on Seymour Street, which is walkable to the busy Oxford shopping street. As expected, the interiors are classic and cozy.3) We spent the day walking along Oxford Street. The weather was crap..Ie raining and not...so we were walking in and out. And well of course we came across the famed Selfridges..its got interesting window display..seriously bold art! Walked into Selfridges and my god, I dont think I've seen designer bags displayed so cheaply. Selfridges looks like any other departmental store except that its all $$$$$. Oh and its 101 years old this year! Apparently it was perhaps Mr Selfridge (founder) who coined the term the 'Customer is Always Right'. 4) Met up with my cousin....
and had yummy waffles at Pure Waffles
5) Did grocery shopping at Marks&Spencer for dinner!

6) Met Mira lalink! She dropped by for dinner in the apartment and we girls caught up after sooo long, painting nails (hehe matching red nails!!) and planning the touristy stuff to do for the rest of the week!

7) Amy arrived later that night having just arrived from Paris. Actually the whole reason us family were in London was because of her. Amy works for HSBC and after a year of their management trainee programme, they'll get sent to Bricketwood, UK for a month of training. So actually the rest of us just took this opportunity to 'visit' her after her programme :p

^8 Cee