The Travelling Bug: June 2011

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!! :)