London Day 21: 26th June 2010

Our flight that day was at 8pm..so this gave us plenty of time to walk around and absorb the last lap of our journey in London..

We went to areas that we didnt cover in our previous trip in London last year..we made our way to Borough Market, this is a famous spot for fresh groceries, food and simply a culture arena..




The tasty muffins made me hungry!


Fruit Juice on a hot day?

Weather in London was pretty sunny that day..Pleasant weather with occasional breeze..and so we decided to walk instead of taking the tube..to see the scenery along River Thames..


London Bridge is falling down!




The touristy boat


Is there an invisible string or something to hold that spectacles?

Along the way, there were many street performers, painters showcasing their art..we came by a photography gallery that exhibited pictures of wildlife in the Antartica, Africa..


Book Fair


We came across an area that we've never seen before in our last trip..graffitti in London!..though I still think Dublin's art is much beautiful and creative..seems like this art culture is everywhere in Europe, be it Dublin, Paris..less seen in Asia..not seen in Singapore of cuz..it's like a crime!
are we erasing the creativity in Asia?..i wonder...




Avatar Alive


London Eye that's always a long queue..


We came across a park near the Big Ben...there were many banners put up, in relation to war...and peace...




Winston Churchill

We had some shopping at Oxford Street before making our way to Paddington Station..It was the summer sales..everyone was purchasing bags and bags of items as if there were free..we were stunned in fact..haha..

we hurried back to our hotel to get our luggage..and i remembered that day...the tube was undergoing a major renovation work..that many stations were closed..making our way from Angel station to Paddington was a tremendous complicated issue..that I had headaache trying to route towards there by the tube...in the end, we realised by chance that a bus from the nearby busstop from our hotel could bring us straight to Paddington..relieved as we were...we took the bus..travelled to Paddington, and took the Heathrow Express to Heathrow Airport for our flight back to Singapore..

This was indeed the longest trip we had amongst all..never expected ourselves to go to Dublin..if not for the conference..and interestingly we went to Spain to see the sun and Gaudi's works.. travelled to Paris to see Eiffel...everything happened so quickly within the 3 weeks..I've learnt a lot..see a lot..and experience a lot..from mountains, ,nature, culture, gastronomy and history...

travel adventure comes in a package..able to see what has been planned to come true is definitely a satisfying sensation...that keeps me hooked to travel planning...

May the next trip to explore other parts of Europe to come soon in the near future!
I cant wait to travel again as I typed this last post :)

Manchester Day 20: 25th June 2010

Yeah!! I guess this was the best part of the trip for Dear..his long awaited trip to Old Trafford!

Both of us wore the Man U jerseys on that day...and yea..it was an interesting experience haha..
I was at London, trying to buy some drinks from a convenience store, when the cashier claimed that he doesnt serve Man U fans..and I was left stunned for a short while! We reached Manchester...and a lady from afar saw us..screamed at her top of her voice..exclaiming that "Man U rules!"

I was a little embrassed in fact..haha..while Dear was enjoying himself..and so I put on a jacket to conceal the jersey ;)




Us at Old Trafford!




Sir Matt 's statue



We reserved a museum tour at 2pm..and was greeted with many exhibits that depicted a rich history of Manchester United formation, the trophies won, the important matches, the leadership..the coaches etc..I'm not an ardent fan actually, going to this Museum has enriched me whole load of information on all these aspects..as for the ardent fan??...he's busy finding the fav phototaking spots since he has absorbed all the history long long before he came haha!




Our tour guide


Us at Old Trafford Stadium!




The Changing Room


The little boy in our tour group


100years of history


Amazing Speed






The tragic accident


His Idol!







Well, if you ask who do I admire in the Man United team, it has got to be Ryan Giggs!haha...
and after the museum tour, we had a meal at the Red Cafe..watched one of the World Cup matches there..rested..before making our way to the city area...

I must say he was really elated to be able to visit the stadium!...can see from his face haha!

Manchester is bigger than Cambridge..more vibrant..we had our dinner in one of the restaurants there..however, there werent too much choices except for the usual bread and chips... sitting at the benches and watching the world passed by was a leisure time that I adopted during this journey...the breeze was cool at that time I recalled..many pigeons awaiting for someone to feed them with leftover bread crumbs..

But if I have a choice, I will still prefer to stay in London...for the convenience, for the lifestyle, for the accessibility, and the entertainment that the city can offer..and so we covered our last day of Europe...walking aroung London Bridge..more to come in the next blogpost~

Cambridge Day 19: 24th June 2010

And finally...the last lap of our long journey ends at London..
we took Eurostar from Paris..abt 2h ride to London King's Cross Station..somehow London appeared very clean and tidy as compared to the previous time we came..especially the tube station...probably is due to the upcoming 2012 olympics in London!

Our hotel, Jurys' Inn was located nearby to Angel Station, one stop away from King's Cross..Jury's Inn is by far the most comfortable hotel we had in this journey..I'm glad we chose here!..Leaving out luggage in the room, we took a rest..before setting off for our train en route to Cambridge, the scholarly place where I always have the dream to visit it one day...


Train Station


We've reached Cambridge

Reading from the internet that a famous activity in Cambridge is studying?...eh no..haha..it's punting along the river!we took a bus to Magdalene Bridge, took the 45min punting tour from Scudamore..and there we go..punting through the river and admiring the different ancient buildings/schools in Cambridge..there are some modern buildings as well..




The guy who chauffered us during the tour is very handsome!aha


Bridge across river

Some highlights along the river are King's College Chapel, the Bridge of Sighs, the Mathematical Bridge and the Wren Library.





Picnic by the river


wonderful weather!





After the punting tour, we took a walk around the town..coincidentally, the time we went coincide with the graduation week..heard that a week ago, there were fireworks to celebrate the event..that day, we saw many graduates running around..and there were many people, parents, relatives etc..there were also many Chinese graduates..


Typical street in Cambridge


Graduation!


Merchandise from university town


Minimap



It was near to evening at the end of our walking tour..actuallie the town is rather small, can cover easily in a day..some of the highlights in Cambridge like the the King's Colllege Chapel etc, are actually open for visitors, but as that day fell within graduation week, all these were closed :(


Father and Son admiring the sunset


Beer for u?



We left for London at about 7pm..took an early train back..along the way..there's this stranger..who came up to talk to us..as there werent many pple in the train..exchanged words..chatted..and yea..brought a happy note to us to the end of our Cambridge trip..

Next stop:Manchester!(Dear's favourite)