The Travelling Bug: 2011

13. Exploring one last time 8-12/01/09

The last few days were a bit more relaxed. We slept in and started our day later than usual. We went into London one last time, before our departure. We were going to go on the London eye, but just our luck, it was under construction from that day. At least they refunded our tickets. We saved it for the next time, because we knew there will be a next time to this great city.

One last swing at the palace to admire it.(Oh what a lucky lady Kate is!!)

The next day we spent a few hours rummaging through all the flea-market like stalls where all the weirdest of the weird come togehter: Camden town. Word of advice: Do not buy any of the food at any of the stalls, unless you want to spend a few hours feeling queasy.

Note my awesome gloves I got! (Impressed smirk)

To end off our amazing trip we painted the town red. A night out with some good and old friends ending in buying a maccie's burger: "I luuuuuuuuuuuuurve the burgerrrrrr!!"

and getting out of the taxi a block from home because he was charging us an arm and a leg.

No change to spare when we still have the Emirates ahead of us...

Packing was a task bestowed on me and with extensive 'calculations and measurements' I got the zipper closed!

Follow our next adventure at http://cheney-u-a-e.blogspot.com/

12. Zoologists 07/01/09

This day was a very cold day - but we had to stick to the itinerary to be able to have benefited fully from our londonpass card at the end of our trip. Luckily the rain stayed away and we only had the cold to bear.

We just had to take a photo of the water that actually froze. Just to prove how cold it was.

http://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/

Although we live in a country known for our spectacular Animal Kingdom - we have never been to a zoo. Or even saw a real- life Lion!

The zoo is always a perfect outing for all age groups. Not only is a visit to the zoo fun, but it is also educational.
Each habitat has an information board containing facts to the particular animal.

"DID YOU KNOW:
The Asian Lion's diet mostly consist of deer, wild pigs, cattle and antelopes. They live in open woodlands, shrubby areas and grasslands."

At the end of the day we went to a museum - Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms.

"This is the room from which I will lead the war", said Winston Churchill, after he's appointment as Prime Minister in 1940. The above picture is the actual war room, preserved the way the occupants had experienced it in the 40's. This was an underground shelter where the War Cabinet had meetings while bombing raids were occuring on the surface.

Like the castles and the other landmarks we had visited during our stay, this was another visit to experience great history, and there are moments, while wandering around in this museum, to reminisce about the times we will never experience.

11. Tower of London 06/01/09

London has many Historic Royal Palaces and The Tower of London is one of them. This tower is the home of the renown Crown Jewels. Yes, the real crown jewels! That is why there are guards. Not only are the guards there to guard the jewels, but the Tower is still an official royal residence, therefore it remains the army's obligation to guard it.

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/

Photo taken in front of the jewel house

After we explored the grounds of the tower we walked across the tower bridge to the only thatched building in the whole of London - Shakespeare's Globe. This theatre was reconstructed in about the exact same area where the original open-air playhouse was. The original globe had burned down - for more information and interesting facts, follow the link about the reconstruction of today's globe.

"To be, or not to be"

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/history-of-the-globe/rebuilding-the-globe

I just had to post this picture - I think it captures the romance of London

After a long day, there was a bit of time to go to House of Frasers, now one of my favourite department stores.

Back at High Barnett Station, the temperature in the car was -8 degrees.

Time to head home and enjoy central heating.

10. A Snowy Day 05/01/09

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! Early morning, we were up staring out the window at the snow falling. It was a very thin layer of snow - but it was snowing.

We got dressed in our winter woolies and headed out to town. A lot of siteseeing to do and landmarks to visit.

The first landmark, was not just an old historic building but an active church still used today: St. Paul's Cathedral.

Due to the sacred-ness and being a church, photos were not allowed - but I can tell you that it is the most magnificent feeling standing inside the cathedral - feeling the history in your bones, feeling the presence of a higher spirit.

The second, was the famous Tower Bridge. (Right)

Walking over the bridge to the otherside of the river Thames, we went to the HMS Belfast - an old cruiser of 1939. http://hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.00e - follow the link for a full history.
Personally, I am not a big fan of war museums, but if you are a person that likes war history, the Hms is a perfect outing for you.

To end the day off, we went to do a bit of shopping..... at Harrods, one of the most famous luxury department stores known. Everything under one roof.
And of course there was an after Christmas SALE going on.

9. MT and London Dungeons 04/01/09

We had a meeting with the Queen herself! Or does this imitation look a bit wax(ck)y?? A visit to the world famous wax museum: Madame Tussaud's. I would recommend buying your ticket for this museum online - you save a few pounds AND you do not have to stand in the ticket line, which by the way was a few meters long going outside into the street.

It was one of the busiest tourist attractions we have been to. Don't be fooled thinking, that in winter, tourists stay home.... weather does not play a role in travelling - we adapt to it and still go out fires, or should I rather say winds, blazing! George and I took a photo with every wax model in that museum.

...from ogres to cricket legends - just about all the rich and famous people are there to take photos with YOU.

Put a few hours aside for the visit to Madame Tussaud's, if you are one of those people, we are, who would want to take a photo with everything, and taking into consideration the other tourists, leave about 3 hours for this expedition among the 'stars'. At the end of the museum you go through the souvenier shop before exiting - don't go crazy, it is a bit pricey, but when will you ever go there again, right? We had done a crystal with our faces imprinted inside (by lasre tech). Looks amazing and a great souvenier or even gift for loved ones. At MT you can even make a 'wax-hand' using your own hand as the mould - how cool?

If you are not faint-hearted then you must go to the dungeons. It is thrilling and the theatrics are believable. The dungeons are packed with the gory history of centuries ago of old Londontown. You can interact with the actors and in the end of your group tour you stand trial to be "hanged" for all your atrocious crimes...

tip: buy a combo ticket for both these attractions and SAVE

8. Warwick Castle 03/01/09

Every girl pretends to be a princess growing up and visiting Warwick castle made me reminisce about my young days playing dress-up. The atmosphere of the castle brings fourth the history. Walking on the grounds of the castle takes me back to a time I can only imagine and read about in history books.

Sometimes I wish I can look through a looking glass and experience those "times" for myself.

There is nothing like an outing with friends, and that is exactly what that day was. We had fun exploring the rooms, even the dungeons, of an ancient castle and letting our imaginations go to reconstruct our own fairytales.

The views from the towers were spectacular! If you plan to visit a castle, make a day out of the trip and just take everything in. The castle was a bit of a drive, but driving through the country to reach the end destination was all worth it in the end of our day. Breathtaking.

7. A Royal Affair 02/01/09

I will admit - that day was ice cold! by the looks of the photo... need i say more.

BUT I insisted on going on the hop-on-hop-off bus tour. Double-decker bus, open top, equals icy wind. As exploring and eager tourists, of course I wanted to sit on the top. To see better!

We drove through old London - seeing all the old, beautiful buildings. Listening to the tourguide over the intercom telling us the history of London as we drove along. Very interesting, and a bonus that you can get off at any bus-stop if you want to and just catch another bus after you have taken your photos and saw what you wanted. Picking up where you left off with the tourguide, not missing a thing.

Buckingham Palace

We hopped off at Regent Park, by Buckinham Palace. Soon the palace was surrounded by people, tourists of course - all waiting....

for the 'Changing of Guards' ceremony. It is a real big affair. Only happens on even dated-days in the winter. There are horses, lots of men with furry hats and a marching band! It's actually amazing to see the dicipline and effort each soldier puts into the ceremony.Most of all, their pride - you can see they feel honoured to be a part of the Queen's army. You as spectator feel honoured to witness this ceremony. Everything is strategically planned, and each soldier knows exactly what to do and when the timing is right to do it. It was just awesome.

6. NY's Day Parade

We woke up really early to get a head start and be on time for the parade. It was the 23^rd New Year’s Day Parade in London.

More than 10 000 people from all over the world took part in this parade.

www.londonparade.co.uk

George thought he was very clever today and only wore a blazer over his jersey. This was not a good idea at all – It was freezing outside!! But there was no turning back once we were in London. We went to Piccadilly Circus and found a good spot right in front to be able to see the parade better. It is something to experience. All the people coming together to see this parade and all for a good cause too. During the parade anyone and everyone can donate money to charity.

London has a lot of historical landmarks that are famous and you absolutely just have to take a picture of it to say: "I was there".

Trafalgar Square

We spent about 4 hours of our morning watching the parade - by that time we undoubtly HAD to get a cup of coffee to warm us up.

One word says it all - S T A R B U C K S.

We are addicts, and when travelling abroad one of the things we actually look forward to, is having a white chocolate mocha or a frappuccino!

For the rest of the day we dwelled around in the streets of London looking for souveniers, searching for bargains exploring the beautiful city.

5. New Years Eve...

Today we went into Londontown! We put on our scarves and jackets and took the 'tube'. London's public transport is very efficient and very safe. We bought a transport 'pass' that was valid for 7days. This way we didn't have to buy a ticket everyday and we saved pounds - it was also valid for bus use.

We got off at the station and became one of the 1000's of tourists
that explored London that day.

The Main Station

Anyone wants to go to Hogwarts?

We hit the town and went shopping!

Oxford Street, next to 5th Avenue and Rodeo Drive, is the best place to do shopping.

Especially after Christmas:

The Post-Christmas Sales!!!

And when I say sales, I mean half price bargains. It is one of the busiest shopping-seasons of the year. What a pleasure. It might have been -3 degrees outside, but the streets were busy.

http://www.hamleys.com/

We went to one of the oldest and largest toystores

in the world.

Hamleys, named after William Hamley, was established in 1981 at it's current address: Regent Street.

4. A day in Stevenage 28/12/08

Our first day in London. We didn't go too far from home - Stevenage. We were lucky enough to have stayed with wonderful friends in Knebworth. They even lent us their car which was a BIG bonus.
While in Stevenage, a little shopping centre, we browsed and just experienced the cold!
Later that day we met up with some friends and had dinner at the famous:

I will recommend Burger King any day. (McDonald's x10 in taste!!)

tip: Look through the newspapers for coupons - you save and you score!

3. JetSet: 27 December '08

The day had finally come (after a countdown of over 200 days)! I was so excited!

Emirates airline was very good. The staff was helpful and friendly. I was just happy to be provided with a selection of movies and series to watch onboard. That was already good enough for me. We listened to a bit of music, as we lifted off the ground. Not long and George was fast asleep, as usual. After what felt like a good few hours I also fell asleep, not a deepsleep, but an energynap-type sleep. It felt like fifteen minutes or so. The hostess asked if we want coffee or tea. Breakfast time. Yes, at 6'o'clock in the morning. Still pitchblack outside. An hour before we land at our stopover destination, which by the way is always Dubai when you fly with Emirates.

We were wide awake, waiting in anticipation to land in a foreign country. Our stopover wasn't too long, and we were on the plane ready for the next 8 hours to Heathrow Airport. We landed at about 3pm on the 28 December.

2. Research, Plans = Organized!

We booked with Emirates airline. George sorted all the 'technical' stuff - dates, flights, accommodation, spending money.

I planned our sightseeing routes!! This involved a lot of research and extensive planning to make sure we got the best out of the time we are there. (I like to be organized and prepared)

tip: book any tickets you can online beforehand. WHY?
1) you almost always save money (online specials)
2) you do not have to stand in line at the ticket box (which is always long)
3) you get free/special offers

First we were going to London, during winter season, and then Dubai, still winter, but not the scarf/trenchcoat-wearing winter. Which meant, we had to pack clothes for winter and semi-summer weather. One can only fit so much into a 20kg-restriction bag especially when you are going on holiday for nearly three and a half weeks.
We did it though, give or take 5kg's more - each.
Christmas 2008 came, and we were ready for our trip thereafter. We said our goodbyes, which I didn't imagine being so emotional. It was very overwhelming, saying goodbye, knowing I was going to be over 1000km away from home. But I wasn't alone, which really helped to boost the confidence.
Our journey started...

1. I was bitten

The year 2008, going into 2009, was my first trip over the big blue. I was going to the United Kingdom.
My husband (then Boyfriend) and I have been going out for only a few months when he asked me to go on holiday with him - he has been once before and visited with friends. Now he wanted to share the experience with me. I personally have never really dreamed of going overseas for holiday, but George (my husband) could not contain the excitement of going again. He called it "the travelling bug"...

"Once you have been bitten, you will understand" was his words to me.
And Oh Boy, have I been bitten!! :)