London Part 3
Thursday, May 01, 2014
Welcome to my third and last series of my London Trip !
So for Day 3 and 4 for my day in the UK (I wouldnt say london because I didnt stay in London exactly)
Read on to find out more!
Day 3
I spend my 3rd day in the UK travelling up to Leeds to look for my old friend, Kim, who was studying in the University over there. It was a pretty scary experience for me, traveling all by myself in a foreign country to a totally different place.
I had a hard time convincing Matt to let me do it, and I'm so glad I did!
Felt like I got to explore London and Leeds a lot more because there were so many times I got lost. Really quite scary but true enough, was hella experience. A good one. I felt YOLO for awhile HAHA
(this part's gonna be lots of rambling)
So what happened was, I set off for the King's Cross train station early in the morning to catch my train at 8.15 am.
After I exited from the tube station, I realised there were so many arrows leading to everywhere! And of course, being the direction idiot myself, I started to explore and ask around.
Thankfully I knew what kinda situation i'd most likely end up in (Lost and aimless and taking a lot of time to find a place), I reached the station 1 hour before my boarding time.
It was the best decision ever because I swear I wouldn't have caught my train!
Took like 45 mins and alot of hassle before I could find my boarding gate and how to enter that gate. LOL
Off I went!
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| Pardon me I dont know how to rotate the GIF. Can someone teach me how? |
The train ride took 4 hours, and in between, the train stopped at many many stops. Hahaha and that spelt trouble because I DONT KNOW WHICH STOP I WAS SUPPOSED TO STOP AT?
So yes.... as usual i was panicking like a lost sheep at my seat ><
Thankfully, the locals were VERY helpful and need i mention that it's because of the London locals that I love that city so much! Apart from being so dammn pretty (im serious everyone there looks good), they speak well and they speak the same language, they are probably the least racist too.
And they are all so nice and helpful!
A kind lady actually saw me panicking and came over to me to ask me where I was headed to. I mean... who the hell comes over to you when they see you in like that? Haha not even singaporeans.
When she realised that she was also heading to the same place, she offered to bring me to my friend because she was early for her meeting in Leeds.
I was deeply touched :') how can any stranger be so nice and generous with their help!?
Anyway I finally met Kimmy and she brought me back to her dorm to cook lunch!
We made her favorite salmon fillet for lunch hehe.
Afterwards, she told me she booked two tickets for the Ice Skating Rink!
You guys must be thinking.. crazy. Ice skate in 1 degree weather?!
My exact same sentiments.
The rink was VERY small because it was a makeshift one. Apparently they only have it in winter!
Nevertheless we spent 2 hours going round and round. I think we went about 300 rounds? Not kidding. It was fun reminiscing and laughing at people fall down. Anything is fun when you're with your old friend talking bout old times!
The sun sets around 5pm in Leeds, esp early when winter comes. Soon, the skies were really dark!
Kim then brought me to this bar for dinner. I can't remember the name of it, but apparently it was really ATAS in Leeds.
And oh! hahaha it was situated in a hotel that was apparently the "tallest building in Leeds". But Kim laughed when she told me that, and told me not to have much expectations bout the place.
You'll see why ><
We entered the lift, and the highest floor was like LEVEL 22?! Hahaha we both laughed!
So with that, we ended the night by joining the University Pub Crawl that is held whenever there was any occasion. Surprisingly, I met many of my singaporean friends there! hahaha
I had so much fun and we ended the night with drinks.
It was time to say goodbye the next day, and before I left, we visited the new mall in Leeds for lunch!
Day 4:
As soon as I got back to London, I met up with my family and we rushed over to the Victoria coach station because we were gonna go an excursion!!!
Two nights before, we made an imprompto decision to book a one-day tour to visit 3 places:
Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath
It was my second time to Windsor and Bath, but Stonehenge was my first.
First stop, Windsor Castle
Beautiful scenery. And the sky was incredibly blue!
All these photos are raw and unedited!
The Windsor Castle was still as beautiful as ever! And thank God for good weather that day for amazing photos too. I'd say it's a must-visit if you haven't!
Next up, Stonehenge
The stonehenge was CRAZY COLD
Nobody told us to wear an extra layer because.. the stonehenge is a huge open area, and it was surrounded by the sea.
To be honest... the Stonehenge was SUPER boring. Apart from that few rocks, nothing really interesting. Didn't even understand the audio guide..
Please bring extra clothing if you're visiting the Stonehenge in winter
hahaha I'd say give this a miss because if you're thinking of signing up for a one-day tour like we did, 3 places in one day was simply way too rush.
We only had about 2 hours at each destination and we couldn't even finish the Windsor without having to run through the castle. Lol! Literally.
Last stop, Bath
I enjoyed Bath the most out of the 3 because I simply LOVED the town. Something just makes it soo different from any other place in the UK, but I dont exactly know what.
The intricacy of the architecture and the rich history of the Roman Empire in that place, maybe?
We visited the Roman Baths which was literally, the place where the Romanian went to bathe in the olden eras. It was built so extravagantly and I absolutely adore Roman/greek architecture because I always felt like they were more Majestic.
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| The Public Bath |
Sadly, we only had 2 hours at Bath again- I wished we were given more time :(
But it's okay! I'll most probably head back to Bath again on my exchange. Heard from people that Bath is a nice place to chill for at least a day, so maybe i'll stay put for at least 1 day the next time I visit!
Till then :)
We booked this trip at a cost of GBP 75 each from Evanevanstour
There are many other tour agencies out there as well, so please compare prices before booking!
We got back to London at around 8PM that night, and it was our last day in London because we were scheduled to head to Paris the next morning.
Well, then it was time for BURGERS AND LOBSTERS!
It's definitely a Must have when you're in London really. For GBP20 (Approx SGD43) you get to enjoy a lobster, free flow fries and salad.
You can choose to have your lobster steamed or grilled.
But because there were 6 of us, we went for a HUGE one. The bigger ones went by weight and my dad picked this MASSIVE one from the tank. I'm not even kidding. Just look at how big the claw is compared to my thumb.
FYI its really HUGEEEEE
We paid around GBP$90 (Approx SGD 200) for this bad boy here. Not cheap but well, definitely a good experience.
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| Everyone was really satisfied |
I'd recommend the Steamed one over the grilled one because the Lobster meat was sooo so so much more tender and JUICY in the steamed version.
But of course, try both if you have the chance to!
Oh yes, a tip for those who intend to visit Burgers and Lobsters, make your reservations early, like one month before if possible (ESP for large groups). Else you'll have to wait for AGES to get a table.
We headed down at 5.45 PM (which was super early for dinner) and it was already packed.
SO.... either head down earlier than that or make a reservation early!
Burger and Lobsters has a few branches all over London as well, and I visited the SOHO one. Apparently this branch is very crowded and popular because well, its located near the city centre.
With that, I end my last London post! Stay tuned for more Paris ones haha.
Meanwhile, have an awesome Labour Day!
With that, I end my last London post! Stay tuned for more Paris ones haha.
Meanwhile, have an awesome Labour Day!
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