Oh Stonehenge, you made me speechless! Last year, I had the best birthday celebration in a land far far away, YAY! This travel was a dream come true and I would go a hundred times or more if I could.
DAY ONE. This was the best airport arrival feeling! I didn't feel exhausted at all after the 7 hour trip unlike the usual, I was too excited to go out and mingle and take pictures and explore! The cold weather was much intense than I expected and we weren't that ready for it! Eventually we learned that people use 'warmers' everyday during winter to keep them warm. Thanks to M&S for having all kinds of warmers for us newbies!
First things first! International sim card and train map is a must to avoid hopping on the wrong train. Though we almost got lost one time despite having the map in our hands, which I consider as one of the adventure of travelling in a new place.
We checked in at Holiday Inn Express at North Acton which is a very convenient place since the train station is just behind the building.
And since it's weekend, Piccadily is the recommended place to spend the night. If you're like me whose excited to see random artist on the streets, then Piccadily really is the best place to find them.
I also made sure to go to Piccadily for tadaaahh! Chinatown!!! We went to search for Wong Kei which was not hard to find, it was one of the first restaurants you'll see. It has long been known for it's 'rude staff' who will treat customers like their idiots. Luckily, we weren't served that way, though I didn't see a single staff smile at anyone. I ordered duck wonton soup to beat the freezing weather.
Primark and front seat inside the London red bus, few of my ultimate goals for this trip I must say. Haaa! Primark is famous for low price clothing and we loooveee it there. We bought hoodies for 7 pounds only!
DAY TWO. Started the day early to see Big Ben! Excuse us as we just can't get enough of the famous train station logos. Yes we did take pictures in every station as much as we can. *tourist mode on*
We took the river cruise to Greenwich! It was not a boring boat ride, thanks to the entertaining speaker who fed us with London information with humor. I basically planned to go to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian. To our dismay, we only realized we were walking towards the wrong way when it was too late and we got too lazy to go back. I honestly regret not going back, ugh.
DAY THREE. One of my favorite day in London, spending the morning in Camden Town! The street arts, bargain shopping, cheap souvenirs... I wish we had more time to walk around!
It was rainy in the afternoon when we met with Gladys at British Museum for the sake of her love for the Rosetta Stone!
DAY FOUR. Went to see the Queen on our 4th day! Well her palace at least. Buckingham it is! It was a perfect sunny day to watch the changing of the guards which felt like I'm in a movie scene. We didn't attempt to get closer to the castle though as the crowd of tourist kept increasing.
I didn't know that London is known for numerous green parks and that to see a squirrel is a must! Haha! It was so much cuter than I imagined! We did a lot of walking from Buckingham palace to St. James Park to the amazing Westminster Abbey! Beside it was another church called 'Church of London' which has a controversial story I only knew about that day.
One activity on my bucket list was ticked off, to take that London's eye ride! 'If only' is one of my all time favorite romantic movies where this dream of riding the eye was born. Haaa!
We ended the night in an underground bar at Covent Garden called 'Belgio'. We met with Grace' friends who are Hong Kong nationals living and working in London as Designers.
It was my first time to eat that much boiled mussels without rice! I didn't know it was that delicious paired with Belgian beer. It was one chilled night indeed.
DAY FIVE. We took a tour package to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge & Bath which consumed the whole day and our whole energy. Dead tired as we got back to the hotel.
First stop, the Windsor Castle. My older brother is a fan of British monarchy history which I've never been interested on, however names and places I hear from him like the 'York family' and 'Windsor Castle' were already tattooed on my mind. I knew I have to see this famous castle in person! We were lucky to witness the changing of the guards which still amazed me for the second time.
Second stop, STONEHENGE! What used to be a desktop wallpaper was finally right in front of me! At this point I realized that the tour to Stonehenge was really worth it as these mysterious stones were actually closer to the tourist area than I expected.
Third stop, Lacock for lunch! We had the traditional fish and chips! Lacock gave me goosebumps as the area was like a studio for Harry Potter movies! *fan mode*
Last stop, Bath. This city is filled with structures where 'Gothic architecture' can be seen, every corner is surely picture worthy!
7 days in UK was not enough. Someone please take me back!!!
