***those written in ITALIC LETTERS are non-english words.
And because I know this travel blog will be long and multi-chaptered, I have to confess, I’m sooo dragging my feet as far as trying to write this one is concerned. I have no excuse except that, its in my nature to be lazy… YES i can be lazy, VERY, and NO I’m not proud of it ^^ BUT, I am really pressured to get this UK travel blog started, or, to at least get it running ‘coz the “travel blog work” is pilling up since I have recently travelled again. So, another entry added on top of the 3 or so that I have not yet written *ORZ* Welll, might as well stop with the chitchat and get on with the task… to tell you honestly, I am not even sure how many parts this particular trip will have, so… here goes…
07October2011
DAY 1 : THE FLIGHT (Manila-Singapore-London)
Left our house at 5:30am to catch our 8:10 flight to London via Singapore. When we arrived at the airport, the queue was so long for people checking in at SingaporeAir counter and then I remembered that we have checked in online and maybe just like in Melbourne there is a different queue for us and sure enough, there is a special counter and there are only a few people in the queue. You should have seen the looks the others were giving us as we left our line and went straight to the internet check-in counter. Sorry guys :p
guess who was at the airport taking the same flight to Singapore with us? Actress Angel Locsin that’s who! This is what my sister has to say about Angel… not impressed at all with her beauty, I wouldn’t give her a second look. Wow, that was mean naman sis^^ pero bumawi naman ang sis ko… I must say though that I was impressed with her non ”diva” attitude. I noticed that she helped her assistant in putting their carry on luggage in the overhead compartment. While I may agree with my sister that Angel is not a raving beauty, I’d say that the male population on the other hand will definitely give her at least a second look specially in that get up… a cut-off denim “short-shorts”, sporting that very long wavy hair and a body that is filled in all the right places^^ Her beauty may not be the “cloying variety” type but the sex appeal is definitely present. *why do I even have to write an entire paragraph about this girl when I’m not even her fan, si Nnylanna kasi isinama pa sa notes nya eh...hehe* so to those who do not know her, i stole a picture from the web... here’s Angel, do you think she’s worthy of a second look? You decide…
we arrived in SG at around 11:40am and departed for London at 12:45pm aboard an Airbus A380, the biggest commercial airline in the world. This was the reason why we opted to fly SingAir, not only for their excellent service but also to be able to fly in this “Big Bird”. This is definitely the way to go for those long haul travelling. this is the part that I dread the most… the long flight with zero chances of catching even an hour of sleep. I just cant’ sleep unless I’m laying on a bed in absolute darkness *Orz* this is my longest flight to date, 16+/-hrs …waaaaa! so how did I survive it? by watching 2 Japanese movies and an Italian movie in between eating!
Arrived in Heathrow at around 7:30pm local time. Tired and with a very sore “behind” due to almost 20hrs flight, we had a minor hiccup with our hotel transfer booking and had to call UK City Transfer office. Anyway, the BMW limo service made up for the time we had to wait^^ as always, I was fully expecting a man carrying a cardboard with our names written on it waiting for us at the airport but, nada… it was us who had to wait for the darn driver >.<
Hotel George(the 2 pics directly above this) our pre-tour accommodation was everything I hoped for. Located in Earl’s Court, this is the area where I stayed during my first visit and I used to pass by this beautiful white terrace houses converted to boutique hotels and I thought, when I come back, I’ll definitely stay here. So here we are in the executive room, complete with complimentary fruit platter, drinks and a single rose bud when we arrived. Booked a whole day tour of London and Westminster tomorrow.
We passed by a Nando’s Restaurant located very near our hotel so we agreed to have dinner there. Unfortunately, the place was crowded so we just had the next best thing… McDonald’s to go *weh ^^* and I thought I can finally have Nando’s chicken again ‘coz the last time I had that was 2007 in Melbourne, ahhh, not that lucky on our first night >.<
Received 2 calls even before we checked-in:
1. Kristy, a cousin from California. Have made arrangements to meet up with her outside Westminster Cathedral on sunday.
2. Mimi, another cousin living in Kent. We’ll meet up with her at the last stop of our tour tomorrow.
As usual, the “maid” had to prepare the clothes for tomorrow and made sure all our e-gadgets were fully charged before hitting the bed. Hehehe… glad you’re not complaining sis, that’s just how it is. Acceptance of your fate is a good thing… waaaa ^^
08October2011
DAY 2
Early start today with a whole day tour of London and Westminster. Picked up by our tour guide at 7:15am. The hotel’s buffet breakfast start late during weekends resulting with the 2 sisters not enjoying their “brekkie” as we only had 15mins to do it. *PibergFacts: with me, eating breakfast is highly improbable and eating a heavy breakfast is near to impossible! * eating breakfasts usually makes me want to throw-up so on this tour I kinda prepared myself by asking a doctors’ help. So why does this have to happen on the day I was suppose to test myself if I passed the “breakfast tolerance test”, when I barely had time to put anything in my mouth !!!
1st Stop: Photo session of the House of Lords(PALACE OF WESTMINSTER) across the River Thames. Located along the banks of the River Thames, this historical building that is currently being used as a meeting place by the House of Lords and the House of Commons *that’s the British version of our Upper and Lower Houses of Congress*. It used to be the primary London residence of the ruling English monarch *no wonder it looks sooo grand*…
…just in case you dont' know... well, you probably do know but i'll write it anyway... the famous Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster is the iconic Big Ben.
2nd Stop: WESTMINSTER ABBEY. Disappointed that my sister was not able to go inside. Apparently according to our guide, they no longer include that as part of the tour as tourist tend to spend a lot of time there and mocked up the schedule. It is not as beautiful inside as St. Paul’s Cathedral but so full of history. Well yeah, I’m a little disappointed but who knows, I may go back there somehow… someday^^ Actually, i’m more interested to see the final resting place of historical personalities inside the abbey than in the architecture of the place, ‘coz my sister assures me that I have seen better, so in the meantime, I consoled myself again by what else but, posing for pictures ^^
On our way back to rejoin our group tour, Nnylanna passed by another London icon, the Red Telephone Box. She immediately went inside and told me “take my picture”. Well, she had the surprise of her life when she went inside and just look at her reaction… PRICELESS! Bwaaahahaha… it STINKS! In this age of mobile technology, my guess is, nobody uses this antiquated phones except for tourists. The locals use the Red Box for anything but communication, more like as a urinal… yuck! Nnylanna made me pose beside another of these red box and I had the good sense not to go inside ^^
3rd Stop: THE HOUSEHOLD CAVALRY MUSEUM. Enjoyed it here. Its my first visit and even had the opportunity to dress up like one. Passed by “10 Downing Street” on our way and noticed lots of policemen on the road. We were told that there would be a demonstration today. Minor hiccup, somebody from our tour group failed to come back on the designated time so we had to leave him behind to avoid delays. Bought a couple of pasalubongs at their souvenir shops… hehe. Don’t know exactly what their function is at this day and age except perhaps for those “pomp and circumstance marches”. Okay, I guess they have their use, besides, that uniform is pretty dope. The best from among those that I have seen worn by the Queen’s men during the changing of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace^^
4th Stop: BUCKINGHAM PALACE. Watched changing of the guards. Not bad. The Brits sure know about pomp ceremony.
*PibergFacts: I hate crowds.* Maaannn, it was sooo crowded when we were there you’d think the British Royal Family is scheduled to come out of the balcony to wave at their loyal subjects. From the outside, the official residence of the British monarch is not that impressive. I didn’t get to see it but Im sure its’ an entirely different story from the inside ^^
While waiting for the changing of the guards ceremony outside Buckingham, we posed for pictures with Debbie, our tour guide for the day.^^
5th Stop: Lunch at an English pub. Piberg opted for fish and chips and I had pasta. Nothing to rave about as English food to me is so bland. Agree!!! They say, lemme stress and repeat the word, THEY, that the English are “cold, with a stiff upper lip”… I guess you can add “boring palate” to that. Waaaaaa, PEACE Your Royal Highness! ^^ their food is like, a sprinkle of salt and pepper here and there and that”s it! it is the opposite of the Asian “adventurous palate” that includes or in some cases a mixture of all the possible flavor available on planet Earth!
6th Stop: ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL. This is where Charles and Diana got married. 2nd time here and I must say I appreciated it this time around. How could I not pay attention to the beautiful mosaic and the dome this cathedral has to offer. Salute to the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren and the Italian artists who did the mosaics.
Taking photos inside is strictly prohibited so YES, I am the snake that urged Adam to take a bite from the apple…este… I am the misfit that urged Nnylanna to take a photo inside *face palm/hides face^^* Yes, I’m referring to the 2 pictures directly above this paragraph. And since we only took this two pictures, I found this videos of the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral from YT for you to see the beauty of the place^^***Credit to the uploader: StPaulsLondon***
… I remember Princess Diana(3rd pic below) climbing this very steps that Nnylanna and I were sitting on. it was the day of her wedding, there was a strong gusts of wind blowing on the long train/veil of her traje de boda^^
7th Stop: TOWER OF LONDON. Time allotted here was 1.5hrs(we should be at the meeting place at 4pm). As I’ve been here before, I told Piberg that we should head straight to the Crown Jewels. I don’t want her to miss this as it is the main attraction here. As we were about to take a second look at the jewels, Piberg checked her watch and said “OMG we only have 5 more minutes” before meeting time. Whooooa, PANIC mode to the MAX. you should have seen us almost running to get out of the place. I was a little bit disappointed that Piberg missed the armoury building. But what can we do… we don’t want to be left behind. Anyway, when we reached the meeting place, no one was there. Our first thought was “have they left us behind?” we checked the time and were still ok. Went around to check for familiar faces… none! We just sat there and checked the time again… YIKES, we were an hour early! We ended up missing the rest of the attractions there. So I consoled myself by hitting my favorite place… where else… the souvenir shop!
The “time blunder”, WHOSE FAULT IS IT??? Should I discuss this lengthily and argue the facts of this case??? ^^ naH, that would be too long so let me just say this in my defense and I’ll leave the judgement to you ^^ I didn’t know our guide gave us an HOUR AND A HALF to see the place, AND, I didn’t know the EXACT TIME WE WERE SUPPOSE TO MEET. Had I known these, I would have immediately known we still have time ‘coz clearly, it couldn’t have taken 1 ½ hrs to see the Crown Jewels! I rest my case ^^
Well, what’s done is done and as far as I’m concerned, it’s enough for me just to see those rocks on those crowns and scepters *I swear some of them are HUMONGOUS*. There were sooo many precious jewels in that room and I was thinking… kids, Nana Lilibet is sooo rich! Of course I didn’t have the nerve to take a picture inside this huge vault *I did’nt want to be detained and questioned by the Scotland Yard* so please make do with the pics and videos I’ve stolen from the web, only the 1st picture below is mine ^^
***credit to the uploader: RoyalistUK***
8th Stop: River cruise along the RIVER THAMES.
9th Stop: THE LONDON EYE. I’m excited as I’ve missed this attraction the first time I was here because the choice was this or high tea at Kensington Palace. Well, I wouldn’t miss the latter for a mere ride on a glorified Ferris Wheel.
I have NEVER been on a Ferris Wheel myself, glorified or otherwise in my entire life. Not because I’m afraid to ride one but because the idea of sitting there while it slowly turns looks sooo boring to me. Now if the floor of that capsule is clear glass, that would have been the opposite of boring, that would be an awesome and exciting and scary experience... but its not. What we didn’t expect was, there was a 3D show before we boarded and it was actually pretty good^^ *was it 4D?* I guess it’s a combination ‘coz I remember wearing 3D glasses and feeling the rain and the wind and even snowflakes falling on me^^ this is the actual video taken by another tourist… imagine watching this on 3D/4D…
*credit to the uploader: MrRaphieSchroder*
I remember my sister and I posing “pa-cute style” with the “V” sign in front of the London Eye official camera while riding our capsule with ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION of buying the said picture once we disembarked. If nanay was with us on this ride, she would SURELY buy that picture, no doubt about it! hehe… I’m sorry, official photos are sooo cheesy to me ^^ *I wonder what happened to that picture? * OK, I have a confession to make, when the capsule we were riding reached the apex of that wheel, it can be quite scary BUT the view from there was pretty amazing^^
The Palace of Westminster look even more amazing when viewed from the top of the London Eye ^^
Incidentally, as soon as we disembarked from the cruise, I’ve already spotted Mimi. She was accompanied by her flatmate Jacq and her cousin Kim, another tourist visiting from San Francisco. After a stroll at the city, the 3 have decided to come with us at our hotel. Mimi and Jacq treated us for dinner at nearby Nando’s. YAHOO!!! FINALLY!!! This Portuguese/Mozambique themed restaurant with their chicken and that peri-peri sauce is as good as I remembered it to be^^ We ended the night making arrangements to meet the following day at Victoria Station to go to Sunday mass at nearby Westminster Cathedral.
*from left-right: Kim, Piberg, Nnylanna, Mimi & Jaqc09October2011
DAY 3
We did’nt book any tour today because were meeting-up with the cousins. After a sumptuous English breakfast we headed off to the station to catch the tube on our way to attend mass at Westminster Cathedral. Plan for today was to meet Mimi, Jaqc and Kim at Victoria Station in front of Will Smith store then attend the 12noon mass. Kristy will meet us after the mass outside the cathedral. Sis, Will Smith has a store in Victoria Station? I think you meant to write WH Smith Bookstore *unless I’m also wrong?* anyway, we arrived early so we might as well do something productive while waiting for our date like… taking pictures of ourselves and the place of course! Victoria Station is the main London railway terminal and London Underground complex.
The term “Underground” a.k.a “The Tube” in London is iconic that when you see the sign below, it only means one thing, the underground train.
Lots of “Filos”(Aussie slang for Filipinos) attended the mass. The Westminster Cathedral failed to amaze us compared to the other “Westminster” and St. Paul’s. well what do you expect, this is not a catholic nation.
I think it is my duty to educate those who are interested and who are unaware, like myself, that Westminster Abbey is different from Westminster Cathedral. The Abbey belongs to the Church of England(Anglican) and the Cathedral is Catholic. When I entered the cathedral, my thoughts were… are the catholics in England so poor that their cathedral looks shabby compared to those Anglican churches. But then again, aesthetics are just that, aestetics. What matters is the commitment of its members. that church was filled and most of them Filipinos im proud to say ^^
Kristy was waiting for us outside the church after the mass. We looked around the area for a place where we can have lunch and ended up at BELLA ITALIA. We had a good laugh about my Visa Application stories ‘coz Kristy and Kim were born and raised in the United States so they have no idea what we from the third world go through ^^ Nice food… good company.
The group then decided to hit the iconic “Harrods” and have bought a few “H” bags for pasalubong. Same as before, I did’nt enjoy the experience of shopping in this store. This store have it all but, it was the size of the crowd that turned me off. That and the heat. OMG, what happened to their air conditioning system. What can I say, I could’nt agree more… Me + a Shop Full of Shoppers = BAD NEWS, I’d rather go home, tbh. Basically, the afternoon was spent shopping and window shopping along Oxford Street.
By 5:00pm, everyone was just so tired so we headed back to our hotel for Piberg’s early birthday celebration. Mimi insisted on buying me a small cake ‘coz she wants us to take a picture and pretend it’s already my birthday since I will be in Scotland on D-day and she will not be there. So, I blew the candle and posed for posterity ^^ Thank You Mimi, that was FUN!
After having a bit of a rest, the group then decided to have dinner at a Filipino restaurant nearby. We ordered sinigang na baboy, pakbet, pusit, kare-kare and binagoongan, YUMMY… went our separate ways after dinner except for Kristy who spent the night at our hotel. Just like us, she will have an early tour the following day. Earl’s Court is really an excellent location. Easy access to the Underground, convenience stores, restaurants and what do you know… walking distance from 2 Filipino restaurants and 2 Filipino Supermarket, one of which is named “Divisoria”.
Busy night… booked for our taxi tomorrow, did the packing, prepared the clothes we will be wearing and update my daily diary… set the alarm for 5:30am. Tomorrow is the start of our BRITISH PANORAMA TOUR … until the next blog entry… CAMBRIDGE, YORK & LEEDS...
