Bears' Wedding in London (4)

Day 6 & 7.

These 2 days were entirely reserved for my bestie so I could help her do up her wedding props and other preparation. We checked into the hotel a day before the big day, but there were still things not done. Poor Angela was so worried. But I assured her everything would be okay and we would work through the night to get them all ready. Her cousin, Joy and brother were a big help!

The night before the wedding, we also had a pre-wedding dinner at a Spanish restaurant. All of us forked out a small amount of money and the rest was taken care of by the bride & groom's families. We had suckling pig, sangria and really fantastic tapas! It was a fun evening, also I got to meet Alex (Laura's son), this cutie got stuck to me most of that evening. He was so adorable everyone was dying to get a piece of him.

That night, we really worked through the night (with a few hours of sleep!!!) with the company of Paul's cakes!

The next morning, Angela, Joy and me had breakfast at a nearby restaurant and ran through the checklist for the wedding. We had to set up at the venue, basically to lay out her photo albums, photo frames, her wedding favours, the decors on every dining table, do up the table she was going to sign her wedding certificate (I was the witness!!) and get all the beautiful ribbons to be tied to the chairs. They also engaged a photo booth which the guests would be able to take home with them a memorable shot or two for that evening. The dinner was buffet style but the wedding party and family table would get served instead! The cupcakes Angela catered were super addictive, also that candy bar she set up was a magnet for kids (and big kids!).

Both Joy and I had to give a speech, but we didn't get to rehearse at all. LOL. But I was glad it somehow flowed smoothly and I didn't cry this time! I think Angela almost did! The wedding was lovely, very romantic and almost perfect. The only bad thing was I didn't get to take as many photos of them as I would love to as I was the maid of honour and was running around all the time! We danced and drank a lot that night and smuggled a lot of candies back too!

I gifted them a self-compiled photobook depicting the story of FAB4 and of the recent memories we had together, and was so proud when they displayed it together with their wedding album.

Not forgetting we took lots of silly photos at the booth, I can't wait to see their whole compilation when I visit them next.

May you both live happily ever after, Mr & Mrs Green!

Bears' Wedding in London (3)

Day 5. Friday.

I hanged out with Joy & Aaron whom just got back from Paris as well as Angela's family members. We went to Borough Market, my favourite food market. The good thing about going with so many people was that we got to try much more things! So much more than the last time I went with Glyn.

Not to mention, there were also many eye candies around. Some selling cheese. LOL.

After lunch, I took Angela's family to walk across London Bridge which we then parted. They wanted to go shopping in Oxford or Knightsbridge while I headed towards Tower of London hoping to catch up with Joy & Aaron to see the poppies exhibition. But we were too early, they were still installing them, and I didn't see both of them too. They underestimated the time they needed to get there so I left after waiting for 30mins.

I wanted to take a selfie of me and the poppies but it was so tough with the crowd so I gave up! LOL. Maybe a selfie stick would have helped!

I managed to get to Petticoat lane and Spitalfields market just before they closed! I bought a handmade necklace by an Italian lady, really pricey but I just thought I should splurge on myself a bit. Also I found a really pretty wrap dress. After a happy time shopping and indulging myself with a banana milkshake, I got to get back to Covent Garden to meet the gang for dinner. I was lost. LOL. I couldn't find a bus to Covent Garden. So I took one to somewhere nearby and walked over.

We settled at this English restaurant called Porters. The food was awesome, ten times better than Jamie Oliver's Italian for sure. The portion for the pies was also huge. I had the Guinness Steak Mushroom. It was DELICIOUS! It was a great night with Angela's family. After that, we decided to do a brief hen's night for Angela - just me, Joy, Michelle and the bride-to-be.

We went to a stretch of bars, picked one and had some drinks as Angela wasn't feeling spontaneous that night to do crazy things. The poor bride-to-be was so stressed out she broke down that night... We were shocked but we managed to calm her down and brought her back to smiles! Fortunately. Of course, we didn't forget our colourful wigs and made lots of silly photos with it.

Bears' Wedding in London (2)

The following day, I lazed. Not really. LOL. I needed to finish booking the accommodation for my Europe trip which was a week away! As everything was planned very last minute (unlike the me in my 20s!!!), things were a bit chaotic. But somehow the plan seemed to fall into place nicely.

So I asked my hosts if there was anything I could do around the area (without going to town). They suggested a nearby farm. A great idea I thought! Glyn took me to the first British farm about 6 years back and this time I could go to one again. With the best guide I have (London A-Z), I found my way to Deen City Farm. There were a bunch of kids and I felt like one of them, I fed the sheeps and cows! There was also owls and gigantic bunnies.

After the free farm tour, I headed to Marks & Spencer for a late lunch and got some grocery. I almost wanted to buy half the supermarket! LOL.

Day 3.

I had planned a trip to Harrods Food Hall, this seemed to be a must. LOL. I couldn't resist good food and I wish I had a bigger stomach and a more efficient digestive system! Haha. I got almost £10 worth of food for my picnic at Hyde Park. It was a pity no one could join me but it was a great sunny day to sit out there and people watch. After my picnic, I went to HSBC to run some errands before making my way to Oxford Circus. Yes, you can walk from Hyde Park to Oxford Circus, thanks to the non-humid weather!

On the way, I chanced upon St Christopher's Place where I sat down for a smoothie and witnessed a middle aged woman begging for food and money from someone sitting besides me. The kind lady really bought her food! Bless the kind lady!

Finally I made my way to Oxford Circus where I caught up with Johnathon, a guy I met during my tour in California which was about 2 years back. John took me to a really cool pub for pies, said to be one of the best ones in town! It was called The Windmill. I had the seasonal pie - spicy chicken and chorizo pie, houmous & tzatziki; it was thin and crispy on the outside and very juicy and hot on the inside. I really loved it, it wasn't like the traditional beef and kidney pie with hard crusty exterior. It was still bright at 9pm that evening... amazing. I bid farewell to John after the lovely catch up and went home and continued to have big cherries for supper! LOL.

Day 4.

After my breakfast, I went on to find a money changer to get my European currencies. There were so many different ones it was a bit confusing, fortunately I could order them online and head down to collect it. Then I was supposed to meet Selwyn, a bloke I met in Japan a year back. LOL. All these travelling have gotten me quite a few friends.

I nearly couldn't recognise him already! LOL. But I remembered that smile. He was also very sweet and made me a lemon pound cake he promised me on Facebook some time ago! It was really yummy and my friends loved it too. So we went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch, as usual the quality always seemed to be much better than the one I had in Singapore for that price. It was called Sticks 'n' Sushi by Covent Garden.

When we stepped out, we saw this food market by Covent Garden and there was this amazing pulled pork burger that I could die for. We promised to be back for them for dinner, but it was sold out by then. DEVASTATED. :((( I must have it on my next trip to London!!! Look at them!!

So after late lunch, we went to British Museum. As usual, I could never get bored there but it was closing really early (by 5pm I think!!!) so we had to find elsewhere to go. Selwyn suggested bowling, I was a bit intimidated as he bowls for competition but I still went ahead! It was at an underground bowling alley and it all looked a bit dodgy from the outside. Haha.

We went back to Covent and were disappointed about the burgers. So we just got something else for dinner. I couldn't remember what because it was so insignificant compared to that burger!! But I did remember I got home with a big pretzel! :P

Bears' Wedding in London (1)

Back in London again! This time it was for a greater cause, my best friend's wedding, it was about 3 years since I last visited. But Angela was back couple of months ago when she brought her in-laws to Singapore for a tour and meet her parents session.

It always felt good to be back. It was as if I never left, just grown older! LOL. Anyway, my plan was to spend a week in London before embarking on the European tour which I should have done years ago, then back for 2 days and back home to Singapore.

I was supposed to be flying with Jan (Angela's good friend) on Malaysia Airlines to Heathrow, but the MH17 crash on 17 July freaked us out. Just days before our departure and on that identical route we were supposed to be taking, we decided to cancel the booking (we lost the booking fee as we bought it through CheapTickets). With an earlier missing plane MH370 incident on 8 March, there was a rumour there would be a third incident. I have to say the customer service on CheapTickets had been exceptional with this Malay girl keeping me updated all the time about the refund process and status! Everything got sorted out promptly, it also brought a huge relief not only to us but our family and friends.

That was about 2 weeks away from the wedding day, Jan and I both had no flights. I quickly scanned through all the airline sites for promotions, even emailed or tweeted to some of them, but not many were compassionate enough about MAS incident. But Lady Luck was smiling on our side, I chanced upon British Airways for a really good deal (direct, no transit and awesome timing, it was a night flight!). Just a few hundred bucks more, and almost a week before departure, that fare was unbelievable!

I can't believe when everyone else is jerking up prices for last minute flights, the European airlines are the ones letting them go cheap. Thank God for BA, I will fly with you again!

Booked.
British Airways.
27 July - 22 August 2014.

The flight there was about 12 hours, I didn't manage to sit with Jan as it was almost full by the time we booked and most seats were taken up when we checked in online. I was sitting with a mother with two cute toddlers but my entertainment sound system was faulty, so I got shifted to another aisle seat further back with no one besides me! I ate, watched some drama, and fell asleep.

When we arrived in London, Jan and I got on the tube but went on our separate ways. He was going to his airBnB while I was bunking at Angela's. I knew the way (good memory) so someone was waiting for me back in the house that morning. It was going to be very laid back as I didn't have much plans except to help Angela with her wedding preparation and see some old friends.

The first day in London.

So I met Glyn again, we had tacos at Wahaca in Covent Garden. I wasn't sure if I would recognise him after another 3 years but apparently we did. After the late lunch, we had a bit of a stroll down the Thames River and Millennium bridge. We had a good time talking about the past and how things have evolved. But sadly, I don't think I will see him again, I have to stop there and then.

It was a bright sunny day but still a little chilly. Little did I know that the weather just decided to go cranky that afternoon, and I had to shop for a sweater to keep myself warm! Ha. British summer.

Then I went off to meet Daniel (Angela's hubby-to-be) whom kindly took a few hours off work earlier so he could show me Shoreditch, one cool place in London I have missed out. I didn't manage to buy anything though I was really tempted but Daniel found a few things he liked. We had a quick beer before we went to meet the rest of the gang at Jamie's Italian for dinner.

Our first Jamie Oliver's experience and maybe also our last. We weren't that impressed, and we decided to switch the other dinner venue from Jamie Oliver's to a traditional English pub. But we did get a complimentary bottle of Prosecco that night because of some mishandling of one of our orders.

I also didn't forget to get my favourite Paul's flourless chocolate cake (almost) every time I saw it. It made all breakfast perfect.

Be a foodie in London

I came across this and just thought I should bookmark it here before I lose it in due time. Time to explore new places next year!

• Greenwich Market
• Real Food Market
• Brixton Market
• Broadway Market
• Whitecross Street Market

To London, with love

Visiting London again after 5 years is like both a closure and a beginning.

I left London in 2006 when my working holiday visa was ending, it had been a fruitful stay and one that allowed me to experience a lot more in life. Life without intermet, washing machine and proper shower... and then living together with one of my best friends (Angela), with the ex-boyfriend and then a random romantic encounter to exit my stay. I didn't leave London quite happily and so this return is almost like a refreshing change. I have certainly accepted things that happened years ago and at the same time, I feel as if I have never lived there before and was back again as a tourist.

The most important part of my visit was to spend time with my friend whom I see once a year or two when she's back for holidays. We used to live in London together... It was a valuable experience as we slowly got used to each other's quirks and accepted each other as time went by. We are now closer than before and always have something to laugh about. I also managed to hook up with people I miss, unfortunately some were not around and I didn't have enough time to see more.

London Terminal 5 is impressive, and because I had a domestic flight from Aberdeen, everything couldn't be smoother. I just had to wait for my luggage and there I went, off to the tube station. I saw Angela during the wedding but we didn't have time to catch up, and so London was the only chance we would have some quality time together. As Angela worked on the weekdays, I found myself prowling the shopping areas of London, one after another, ended up with more and more shopping bags day after day. It was not the same like 5 years ago where I was on a budget and could not buy things as I had to leave the country with as little as possible when time was up. Silly me didn't realise that I could claim VAT back with my shopping and I ended up spending 500 pounds without getting any tax back! It was winter sale, and I have to say the deals were pretty awesome and was worth it even without the VAT refund.

I visited Borough Market, St Paul Cathedral, walked on London Bridge and saw Covent Garden again with Glyn, the man who ruined my tart. Glyn and I had a complicated history but we are friends and I really appreciate him taking me to the market and showing me around. He's like my London A-Z, he seems to know London better than I did after living there for 2 years. We had a laugh about the past, and we still look the same after 5 years after we managed to spot each other at the tube station.

Angela and I had a couple of late night shoppings and a cupcake baking session. It was lovely just being able to do things together. We cursed the cold weather as we rushed from shop to shop down Oxford street. We ate our cold sandwiches along the way just so we could save some time. We spent lots of time in TK Maxx fussing over which to let go so we could reduce the damage in our pockets. We shopped in Sainsbury like we used to grocery shop years ago. We had my favourite PAUL chocolate cake for dessert and rhubarb pie topped with vanilla ice cream for breakfast. On the last day, she brought me to Petticoat Lane, Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market. It was pretty brief as we had to get back by mid afternoon so I could leave for the airport. We ate, shopped and fell in love with the vintage stuff and all the good bargains we found. I love markets and this gotta be one of the best. We really enjoyed ourselves! It was sad when I had to leave. It was the first time I saw Angela teared... she never did when any of us was leaving.

As I said "Goodbye" to London, I said "Farewell" to my old memories and brought back the happy ones with me this time!

I feel lucky

I had the chance to spend a little afternoon in an open farm in England... how nice is that? I get to feed the animals, snapped some pictures, laughed at myself throwing the food onto the poor animals... having my hands licked when they nibbled the bits from my palm. Oh lovely...

It was snowing heavily after I arrived shortly in Doncaster... Walking among the falling snow didn't make me cold, instead it has given me such a warm fuzzy feeling inside which makes me missing it all the time. The first time it really snowed like pouring rain, and I am walking in the snow shower... Can't stop smiling;)

For once in the UK (besides all the travelling I did alone or with tour), I am beginning to enjoy it here.

Scottish travels I

"Aaahhemmm..." now I can finally pat the dust off my hands and exercise those fingers. Yes, I'm finally back on blogging, sorry to keep you guys waiting... Likewise, I'm pretty anxious and eager to share my stories again!! This time is going to be a long one I'm afraid, take your time - test your patience ;)

Chapter 1 Train Journey to York

I thought Bath was the loveliest city in England... until I came to York. Before I go on about how beautiful historical York is, I shall speak of an interesting event on the train again. It becomes an exciting place to meet people in the train now (lot more easier than being on a plane)!!

I boarded the GNER train to York, the journey was 2 hours, I found my seat and it was besides this old lady. She's definitely an oriental lady, I didn't know how it got us started... Probably I did flash just a tiny smile ;) She was heading to Edinburgh to visit some friends, another 3 hours more than me. We were talking about how she first came to England (she holds a British passport) and why I was here... blah blah blah. Slowly we moved on to a lot of her past, it was when I began to get curious and asked a lot of questions. My only grandma couldn't speak to me in English or proper Mandarin so I never had this chance to hear about her World War II stories. This is amazing when she actually related her experience to me, how she escaped from the Japanese, joined the British, got a scholarship in England, married her husband... and now her children and family are all over the world! She must be in her 80s... and I've now one more person in London to visit. Also got contacts of her kin who are in Singapore, whom are doctors or entrepreneur. Her brother was the first Chief Justice in Singapore, wow, must be someone influential then!

Chapter 2 Haunted York

York is a beautiful, can't think of a better word to replace beautiful! The city itself says a lot of its history and that's what makes it so special. I love the city walls surrounding the city centre, walking around them gives you a good view of York and at the same time you can probably imagine how it was used for defence during the wars.

The little streets, little shops... really got me there. I was in a bookshop for soooo....... long, I couldn't remember because they have such fascinating and unusual book collection. I bought one titled "101 things to do before you're old and boring". York minister was worth a visit and a climb to the top of its tower; you can't miss the St Mary Abbey remains in the Museum Gardens; and of course the usual museum sightseeing.

York is said to be the most haunted city, so did they say the same about Edinburgh!! They have a couple of ghost walks going on, I picked one rumoured to be the scariest. It turned out to be more entertaining in fact, the guide was hilarious ;) And the rare coincidence is I actually bumped into a group of people on this ghost walk whom are later going on the same Scotland 5 day tour!!

Going around York nearly made me crippled, but I can't get enough of those "gates" they have around the city. The last 2 hours before my train up to Edinburgh, I decided to chill out in the hostel lounge and watched a video - such a good idea!!

----- End of Scottish travels I -----

Oxford and Christ church

For those whom love Harry Potter, we have made a trip to the little town called Oxford. The place where they filmed Harry Potter in Christ Church University and also where the legend of The Adventures of Alice in the Wonderland ((which I really like when I was younger)) started out.

Oxford is an old town, rich in history. There are many famous universities, stories and history behind them. It might not be beautiful as Bath/Cambridge, but it holds its own kind of charm!! Just a day trip to its city centre, I can't say much... But I believe there's much more beautiful sights and greens around. I'll love its nature ;)

3Bs - Bristol, Bath, Bbbebe

What's Bbbebe if you're wondering? Just a term to call my boyfriend/partner/lover/sweetie. I don't want get all mushy here, but it's pretty obvious huh!
So... Bbbe was here supposedly just for 3 nights, an unfortunate event happened that I should reckon as a blessing in disguise, he actually missed his flight, so he was back for another night;) Poor him though - a little hole in his pocket! And poor me though - making trips here and there!

We had a last-minute decision to do a night away from London after all the terror attacks!! Horrible story, you should have heard it over the news, don't be alarmed - London is OK now. So bristol - why? I don't know, just 'click and book'!

Bristol turned out to be more a university town and old industrial place, it wasn't beautiful but a calm and slow place nonetheless. It was a big place, not much we'd like to see though... ended up having a 1 for 1 cocktail which nearly made me pissed! I'm a lousy drinker, goodness!
The following day we planned a 30 minutes bus journey to Bath - absolutely no regrets. It was lovely, romantic, a classic old town I called it. They said it's an old roman town. We found a cheap lunch deal at an indian restaurant - which was unbelievable for its price. GOOD food! Shopping is fantastic however being a fussy shopper like me ended up with nothing:( Flo found a pair of shoes though.

Roman bath (an attraction) was so.... expensive, imagine £9.50 just for admission, we decided to skip it and save the money for other worthy purchase (e.g. FOOD). Someone playing entrancing music outside a cathedral, it has such a mesmeric charm... I felt like in another world. Magical! I almost believe our luck will change after the trip... yah, except the fact that he has to fork out money to re-book that return flight!
I love Bath, and will recommend to anyone looking for a nice chill-out...

Sweet as fudge

I am very happy today, it is probably one of the happiest days I have over here - so far.

The day started very badly with clumsy me not realizing one of the "easy-access to central london" train is not working on Sunday, and I actually was supposed to get the 0900 train to Cambridge. By 0826 I was still in my neighbourhood waiting for a damned bus. Ok. Picture this, I'm in zone 3, end of the west, and I have to get into zone 1 (north-east) in like 30 minutes. That is impossible. I began to panic and texted my companion about how late and fucked up I was.

I arrived Kings' Cross at 0910. The train would actually be departing at 0915, it gave me some consolation but not much. I got there, and geezz... where is that freaking place I'm supposed to take the train?!!? It has like 3-4 different lines at the station and many exits. After asking around, I finally ran my way to the right spot, found my friend and we dashed across like over 300m to the whistling train (p/s: I haven't had any breakfast!!). Just 0914 and few seconds to the departure time, we sat there nearly breathless. What a relief!!

Guess what... My friend actually told me there's no specific timing for the ticket, we could have actually taken the next one. Fuck, I felt like punching him (ok, not the violent kind). But it was a good morning exercise I reckon.

CAMBRIDGE

Peaceful. Quiet. Not as pretty as I thought. It is a lovely place, very relaxed. No rushing commuters, no fucked up transport system, no dirty and badly disfigured walls or houses, no litters or black chewing gum stains on the ground, typical traditional english hometown; it did actually impress me a bit. Not much, but a little. It's perfect for a family stay. It didn't have too much around, except over 20 colleges/universities and quite a number of churches, a few museums. It has a few parks (mini-hyde-park). And I love the sight where the houses were beautifully covered with hanging red-greeny leaves... magnificent :)

I broke the record of the most expensive meal I had again. It was £6.25. Pizza hut - 3 courses at £8.60 plus re-fillable pepsi max. However this is well-spent. Compared to that amount I had on shitty chinatown food. I wanted to puke.. ahh so much to eat. I actually had a whole individual pan of pizza, 7 mini wings, and a chocolate fudge cake. Oh, didn't I say I've to stop feeding myself too much... man, that really slipped off my mind!! It was nice company as I invited another friend to join at dinner, so 3 of us seem to be getting along just great.

I had a great laugh, finally...

London, Windsor

Photos
Journal (Link to be updated)