Finale in London

Last 2 days in London. I promise this entry is going to be short - in fact, there aren't even enough photos for a long post, so rest assure.

Day 12 (16/5): P goes to Manchester for another football match

The ardent fan P took off as soon as we arrived in London for the Man Utd v Arsenal match. I checked into the hotel, had a shower and breakfast, and headed out again to meet my friend, Maesy.

When girls meet up, the very obvious thing to do is to go shopping! We had a nice stroll through Hyde Park, did great damage to our purses in Kensington High Street and dreamt of the day we would own one of the georgian houses in the Kensington area. It was a slightly chilly day, with occasional short drizzles.

P joined us in the evening looking very pleased with himself (as Man Utd had emerged victorious!) and we headed to Harrods to gawk, ogle and for some, to splurge. After dinner, P and I rushed all the way from West to East for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. I had managed to obtain invites prior to the trip (thanks to Lynn), so it was something that I was looking forward to. Unfortunately, due to the circle line closure, we arrived a tad too late. I felt very disappointed but I guess there's always another time? So we hung around, took pictures of the illuminated Tower Bridge, and headed back to our hotel.


Day 13: Last minute shopping before heading home

Here we are, at Old Spitalfields market in the East End. We had gotten here a tad too early and very few stalls were open. In fact, there was still a queue of people with large suitcases waiting to be allocated their stall!
While waiting for more stalls to open, we had a yummy breakfast of crepes and hot chocolate/coffee! Our breakfast cost 13 GBP, which is about S$30. Ridiculous amount to pay for crepes and coffee man, on hindsight.
As I had mentioned in my previous post, the East End has a very different vibe as compared to the West End. It was hip, trendy and had an edgy feel to it. You won't see any of the high street brands like Uniqlo, Topshop, M&S here, but instead, you will find quirky art and craft shops, standalone boutiques, thrift shops, art galleries, home decor and antique stores. Very upbeat and vibrant atmosphere!
Look...P has gotten himself a pair of preppy white moccasins from the UK brand, Office!
We explored the Sunday Upmarket briefly. It is located in a large warehouse playing house music and sold mainly vintage clothes, accessories and Indian food, perhaps due to its proximity to Brick Lane. Brick Lane, or Banglatown (named as such due to its large Bangladeshi community) is famous in London for its curry houses. In fact, all we had to do was follow the scent of curry like hounds to find our way there!
The last few hours in London was spent scouring the West End for last minute gifts, before rushing back to our hotel to await our transport to Heathrow airport. It's amazing how quickly 2 weeks have flown by, and such a pity we had to leave just as we were getting used to the cold and having so much fun. But with our funds depleted, leg muscles overstretched, coupled with 2 bursting and overweight luggages, I guess it was about time to call it an end. Bye bye London, and hope to see you again soon!

3D2N at the Isle of Skye

Day 9 (13/5): From Edinburgh to Skye

Last leg of the trip was a 3D2N tour to the Isle of Skye. We chose Rabbies Trailburners, a company that organises tours to the Highlands of Scotland, as it promised a small group (not more than 16 pax) and it seemed to have a good reputation based on the reviews I read. Our tour guide for the trip, Pete, was a smiley and friendly chap. In fact, throughout the trip, he impressed us with his multi-tasking skills, humour and openness. He could drive, talk, point our location on the map, answer queries, all at the same time. I did worry for our safety at times!

On our way to Skye, we were captivated by eye-popping, head-turning, breath-gasping scenery such as this.
Ben Navis, the highest mountain in the Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of Scotland, close to the town of Fort William.
Near Eileen Donan castle, which we were to visit on our last day.
After crossing the Skye bridge - Red Cuilin mountains on the left, Black Cuilin mountains on the right.
Boats sailing in the harbour of Portree, the little quaint town we stayed in for 2 nights.
The quiet town of Portree. This picture was taken at 9 plus pm. It was an interesting experience for us as daytime is unusually long here in spring/summer- sunset occurred at about 10pm and it got dark only at 11pm.
The colourful buildings near the harbour comprised B&Bs and seafood restaurants. It is said that the buildings were deliberately multi-coloured to ward off evil sea spirits!
Walking back to our B&B at 10plus pm. There was absolutely nothing to do except to visit the supermarket for cheap wine, trashy magazines and snacks.

Day 10 (14/5): Full day in Skye

In the morning, Pete took us to Neist Lighthouse at the most westerly point of the Isle. Some of our tour mates had opted for a visit to Dunvegan castle, but the idea of being out in the gorgeous sunshine appealed to us more.

Here's a picture of a highland cow grazing.
A rare picture of P & I together. There was a friendly Spanish family in our tour group who always offered to take photos for us.
Neist Lighthouse.
We were taking a rest from the rather strenuous walk to the lighthouse. P was posing away.
Baaa baaa white sheep & lamb. Lambs are such frisky little things...you can't help but smile just watching their cute antics.
A fierce looking highland cow. According to Pete, highland cows are gentle animals. Well, it was really hard to believe that with the cow's sharp horns pointing our way.
P enjoying some irn bru, one of Scotland's best selling carbonated soft drink produced locally. Apparently, this drink is banned in some other countries due to a certain colouring it contains. Well, it tasted like ice cream soda, nothing special.
The harsh landscape of the Quiraing mountains.
Retro-ish picture due to the faded signboards, which said "Beware - Dangerous Cliff".

Day 11 (15/5): Long drive back to Edinburgh

Visit to Eileen Donan castle. The castle is relatively small, compared to Edinburgh castle but apparently, it is one of the most photographed castle in Scotland. The castle also appeared in films such as Highlander and the more recent Made of Honor.
The castle, surrounded by cliffs, greenery, lochs and bens, is indeed very beautiful and picturesque.

After the castle visit, we began to make our way back to Edinburgh. Pete took us to Fort Augustus, where Loch Ness is located, for lunch. We had a nice (but very chilly) stroll along the river leading to Loch Ness but there was no sight of Nessie the monster!

We arrived in Edinburgh at 7pm. The weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was rainy and cold. I forgot to mention that 15 May was also P's birthday. To celebrate the occasion, I had made advance reservations at Hotel Du Vin (chosen because part of P's name is in it) for dinner.

Here's the special dessert that I secretly ordered to surprise P (who by the way was rather impatient with me for trying to stall time in the restaurant). Happy Birthday darling boy! :)
After dinner, back to Waverly station to board the overnight sleeper train back to London. The corridor was extremely narrow, with the "rooms" on one side of the train.
Our claustrophobic room. The train creaked and made all sorts of awful noises in the night as it trundled along, but the bed provided a small degree of comfort that allowed us to catch some sleep before arriving in London in the morning.

Edinburgh for 2 days

The evening train from Manchester ushered us into Edinburgh late on a Sunday night. After being accustomed to taking the tube in London and tram in Manchester, we were faced with the daunting task of getting on the right bus to our B&B, 23 Mayfield, as it was late, cold and we were dead beat.

P found the place slightly creepy as we entered due to the creaky floorboards and dim lighting. Here's a picture of our room. Not too bad, right? I actually found it very cozy and comfortable.
Day 7 (11/5): Edinburgh castle + Princes garden

Early morning, the lovely smell of breakfast wafting into our room acted as a natural wake-up call for us. The breakfast whipped up by the owner cum chef, Ross, was excellent by the way :)

Our first stop of the day was to Edinburgh castle, perched atop an extinct volcano, Castle Rock. I don't really know what I'm standing in, though it looks suspiciously like a coffin? Edinburgh is starting to sound creepy, isn't it?
P firing the cannon to scare away the invading English troops.
View from Edinburgh castle.
The castle grounds...
After visiting the castle, we were wandering along the Royal Mile when we stumbled upon the Museum of Childhood. Intrigued, we decided to check out what kind of toys children from yester years played with. This exhibit freaked me out and I avoided that section altogether.
After lunch, we had a leisurely stroll in the Old Town and ended up in Princes Garden. My feet were swollen from all the walking and I was limping quite badly by this time. So what better way to rest those tortured feet than by taking a nap in pretty Princes Garden? Loads of people were doing the same, anyway!
Saw this interesting shop on our way home, but it was already closed. Won't it be nice if you had a problem or if you were in a dilemma, and there's a shop like that you can go to for the perfect solution?

Day 8 (12/5): Free Edinburgh walk
(not exactly free as they collect tips at the end of the walk!)

We decided to join the Edinburgh walking tour, which was not unlike the London one that we did. Our meeting point on the Royal Mile.
Edinburgh indeed had a very colourful past, and some of the stories shared by Duncan, our guide, were pretty eerie and gruesome. Unfortunately, I can't remember most of them now, so I'll quickly pen down what's left of my memory (with some help from wikipedia, of course).

According to Duncan, this monument used to be located in the middle of a marketplace in the past. People who committed crimes like stealing were punished here by having their left ear nailed to the wall of the monument for a certain period of time. The public will show their scorn and derision by spitting, throwing crap, etc at the offender. If the offender is a coward, he will tear his ear away from the nail to escape the humiliation. However, he will be marked a coward for life by the scar on his ear.
A volunteer from our group demonstrating what it was like to have his left ear nailed to the monument.
Another story which I found interesting was the Burke and Hare murders, one of Edinburgh's most sensational crime stories. When one of Hare's tenants passed on, leaving rent arrears of £4 (which was a lot of money during that time), Burke and Hare stole his corpse and sold it to the Edinburgh medical school (for use in research). In return, they were rewarded with £7. Realising that this was an easy way to make money, Burke and Hare started to prey upon old people and prostitutes by inviting them to their house, feeding them copious amounts of alcohol and suffocating them when they passed out drunk. These people were chosen as victims as they were less likely to be missed by others. Burke and Hare's plot was uncovered when one of the body sold to the medical school was recognised as the most popular prostitute of that time. They were subsequently arrested.

Victoria street...We had lunch at a fantastic restaurant, The Grain Store.
We arrived at Greyfriars Kirkyard, a cemetery. There is a cage covering the plot of land where a body has been buried. Guess the purpose of the cage?
Tombstone of John Gray, a favourite night watchmen of the cemetery.
The story goes like this...John Gray was accompanied by a terrier (known as Greyfriars Bobby) while guarding the cemetery for 2 years until his death. It is said that after John Gray's death, the terrier spent the rest of his life sitting on his master's grave...for a total of 14 years, until its own death. As only humans could be buried in the cemetery itself, since it was consecrated ground, Greyfriars Bobby was buried just inside the gate of Greyfriars Kirkyard near his master's grave. This grave is perhaps a favourite of the Scots - check out the soft toys and flowers scattered around.
A small statue of Greyfriars Bobby near the graveyard.
The Edinburgh walk with Duncan ended at Princes Garden. We were appreciative of the stories he shared and tipped him handsomely. Once again, I could not resist a shot of Edinburgh castle, which looks nicest from here.
Waverly bridge, where we waited for the bus to take us home.

Manchester & York

Day 5 (9/5): Manchester, here we come!

On Saturday morning, P and I arrived at the London Euston station for our trip to Manchester. Here we are at the station, checking our departure platform from the big screen.

P looking eager to board the train. We managed to squeeze one week's worth of clothes into the backpack that P is carrying.

After 2 hours of a rather pleasant train ride, we arrived at the Manchester Picadilly station, dropped our bags at the hotel and hopped on the tram to Old Trafford for the stadium and museum tour. As Manchester is revamping its tram network and the nearest tram stop from our hotel was closed, we had to walk quite a distance to the next tram stop.

The best part of the tour for me was the moment we stepped into the stadium. I went like "WOW" and was gaping like a goldfish. After that, I naturally took up the role of P's personal photographer.

In the evening, we went shopping in Manchester. There's a huge Primark here and it wasn't as crowded as the London store, which was good, but as shopping wasn't our real agenda in Manchester, we didn't go crazy like we did before. Frankly, Manchester is a rather boring place. It's not particularly pretty and there wasn't much to do. They do have a pretty happenin' night life though, which we did not partake in. When night fell, we saw lots of scantily clad ladies in stilettos headed for a hot night out at the clubs. Here's a picture of the city centre of Manchester.


Day 6 (10/5): CY goes on a solo adventure to York

While P caught the Man U v Man City match, CY went on a little adventure of her own to the city of York. York is a compact and walkable city enclosed within the city walls. It has one of the largest pedestrian zones in Europe - on specified days and times, certain roads in the city centre will be closed to traffic, thus making it safer and more enjoyable for pedestrians.

The moment I stepped out of the railway station, I was greeted by colourful flowers in full bloom. Check out these tulips - I'd only seen tulips at the florist, never out like that before.

A short walk led me to the magnificent York Minster, a gothic cathedral. An organ service was in session while I was there.


I don't really know what this is...probably some kind of fortress but I managed to catch 2 birds in flight so that made the picture pretty.
Down at the canal watching the ducks. They're amusing to watch because they move around in their little family group - you won't find a stray duckling walking on its own! Papa duck and mama duck will always lead the pack, with the little ducklings tottering about behind or alongside their parents.
Here's another group admiring the scenery from the bank.

The Shambles - a meandering, narrow Medieval street. It's said that in some places, the street is so narrow that if you stand with arms outstretched, you can touch the houses on both sides...I really don't think my arms are that long...
Big Betty's was full with a queue, so I opted for Little Betty's cafe instead.
Enjoying the English traditional afternoon tea of scones with jam and clotted cream. It must be a weird sight to be having tea alone, as I got quite a few stares from that old lady on the top left hand corner of the picture. At one point, I even heard her exclaim to her husband, "Oh look, she's taking a picture of her food!" So rude...
Took a nice stroll along the city walls. These walls were built during the Roman times to protect the city of York.


That's the end of my adventure. York is truly a charming place that is steeped in history. I wish I had more time to explore it in greater detail! Ah well, good excuse to put York down in my list of "places to go back to".