Birmingham

This will probably be my last entry on our trip to the UK. Blame it on the hormones, we took much less photos this trip as I didn’t feel like carrying the camera around the neck. The heavy winter wear was enough to put a strain to my neck already!

I feel like a kid again!

From Chester we drove 2 hours south to the city of Birmingham and our first stop was Cadbury World. Back in 2007, we made a trip to New York and went ooh aah drooling over chocolates in M&M World and Hershey’s that we decided to make a trip to Cadbury World too. And I am glad we did, heheh.

By the way here’s a snapshot of M&M World NY,

M&M World in Times Square, NY

Back to my story, the entrance fee to Cadbury World was rather dear at £13 for an adult. It would have been been a better deal if it was below £10, however we did get a handful of free chocolates throughout the visit. The tour of the factory too was very much orientated towards children and we kept saying to ourselves that our nephews and nieces back home would have really enjoyed this. So for £26 we did learn a little about the history of chocolate and how Cadbury evolved from a small family business to the mega empire it is today.

The world's biggest cadbury shop

We had a great time checking out the chocolates at the store and the one chocolate that really caught our eyes was this huge 5kg dairy bar priced at £29 pounds.

If only we could bring this home for the family!

So that’s a little info if you ever plan to go Cadbury World. Our next stop was the city and so we headed straight to the Bullring for dinner and a little shopping.

Night shot of the Bullring

Colourful windows

The Bullring reminded me so much of Pavilion and KLCC so nothing too impressive there. But to have such a massive mall is pretty rare in the UK as people talk so much about Oxford Street.

Selfridges

Birmingham is a nice city and I absolutely loved it. We are now safely back in Ireland and making the best of the weekend by staying home and recuperating. Hubby helped sort out the piles and piles of holiday laundry and after a week of eating out, I made ‘Nasi Ayam’ for dinner tonight. Tomorrow night’s menu? Nasi briyani! I think my apetite’s back

The Cheshire Experience

The route from Sheffield to Chester was indeed a memorable one as we drove through the beautiful English countryside via Peak District. I wish we had stopped to take photos though as there were lovely views of lakes, valleys and rolling hills. Pretty much like Lake District actually.

Anyway after a fabulous stay at Leopold Hotel in Sheffield, we were in search of another hotel in the Cheshire District. Hubby looked thoroughly on the web for a good deal and found one by the name of Inglewood Manor which was only a 15 minute drive from Cheshire Oaks.

Inglewood Manor

Arriving at the Manor felt like a scene out of Pride and Prejudice – we were greeted by a breathtaking Edwardian House with beautiful manicured lawns.

so english

You instantly feel at home once you enter through the door. I love the interior – lots of oak panelling and a really huge fireplace!

The bedroom was a decent size and once again, the bathroom was equipped with lovely toiletries.

I love Molton Brown

I retired early that night but hubby stayed up watching ‘The Day After Tomorrow’. We woke up early the next day looking forward to breakfast which was included in the package. We had a hearty English breakfast of eggs, hash browns, vegetarian sausages, beans and toast. Yums!

We then explored the grounds of the manor, didn’t I tell you it’s like a scene out of Pride and Prejudice? Heheh

beautiful manicured lawns

autumn leaves

side view of the manor and bright blue skies

It was an absolute gem of a residence, probably one of my favourite hotels so far. It’s the perfect place to stay if you’re touring Chester, Liverpool, the north etc.

bye bye!

Hopefully we will be back here again one day!

One Fine Day in Sheffield

We flew to Birmingham in the wee hours of Sunday morning, rented a car and drove 2 hours north to the city of Sheffield.

Sheffield high street

Spent the day discovering the city and later met-up with dear old cousin for coffee and dinner.

We spent the night in a lovely boutique hotel right in the heart of the city and had an excellent stay.

I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Listening to Boyz 11 Men - The room even came with a docking station for Iphone

Just what you need for the perfect bath!

A king size bed for a good night's sleep

And today we were in Cheshire Oaks for some retail therapy and got a few good bargains.

My body now is in dire need of some good old rest as we have another loooong day tomorrow.

Till then, good night!

The Walk

I feel compelled to put up a few more photos of London. I know, how boring! But bear with me please.

Having traveled to so many places before, I do regret not making a travelogue of my journey there. My biggest regret was not making a journal of my trip to Eastern Europe with my parents back in 2000. Such a rare opportunity and I can never thank my parents for that once in a lifetime experience.

I am not the best in terms of memory and I feel this is the only way I can look back and remember every single moment of it.

I took London in a different perspective this time round. No course to stress about, no hurried theatre trips, no hectic sightseeing etc.

I was certainly delighted that this trip was just to relax and unwind except the fact that my partner-in-crime was pretty much tightup in his own schedule. Poor him and I knew he was dying to join in the sunshine!

With a camera in tow, I had 6 whole days to just capture the best of London and I think I did pretty well.

Here’s a snippet of my photojourney on Day 5 :

I met-up with a good friend (I know I can always count on her for that last minute ’spur of the moment’ plan) of mine and we headed to Malaysia Hall for lunch.

It has always been a ritual for us to make a trip here everytime we come to London as we love the variety it serves on the menu – from Laksa to Keropok Lekor, from Nasi Lemak to Rojak Buah. Just name it and you’ll get it.

After a satisfying lunch of ‘Nasi Campur’, the both of us were ready to burn a calorie or two.

We initially had planned to spend the day going to the ‘Tutan Khamun Exhibition’ but it being held in Greenwich, we decided to scrap the idea.

We took a stroll in Kensington Gardens instead which was just a minute’s walk from Malaysia Hall.

The sun brought most people out of their homes.

But despite the bright blue sky, it was rather chilly and breezy at times!

We braved the cold wind and made our way to Kensington Palace next.

We went a little crazy with photo taking here

We got lost along the way but we were glad we found ourselves at The Longwater, a 40 acre man-made lake.

The highlight of the walk was the definitely the Memorial Fountain, which was built in memory of Princess Diana.

And finally, I don’t know how we did it but we found ourselves at Royal Albert Hall.

I didn’t have an ounce of regret not going to see Tutan Khamun as this was memorable in it’s own way.

I am just glad we did what we did.

Thanks for being such a sport, babe!

PS: The journey didn’t end just there, we also went for a quick spree in Oxford Street and ended the night with a lovely dinner of grilled lamb. Yummy! Thanks to you too for having me over!

Candy- licious!

‘Who can take a sunrise,
Sprinkle it with dew,
Cover it in chocolate and a miracle or two,
The candyman, the candyman can,
The candyman can ’cause he mixes it with love
And makes the world taste good’

I went a little bit crazy looking at all the mouth-watering candy in Harrods,

that I couldn’t resist taking photos of ‘em.

Hubby was annoyed I didnt get any for him. Haha! Sorry!

Call me old, but I really love this song by Sammy Davis Jr.

Au Revoir!

We are both at Heathrow now, waiting to board our plane.

Our flight has just been delayed by 1.5 hours. Sheesh!

It has been a brilliant 6 days with many surprises.

I took lots of photos but I’ll save those for another entry.

It’s back to reality now and time to hit the books. Sigh.

Bye bye London and see you again soon! 

Bon Appetit !

I met up with ‘Miss Yummy Mummy’ and ‘Miss Wannabe Blogger’ over tea yesterday evening.

We went to this French patisserie situated at the corner of The Cumberland.

And wow! All the cakes, flans, tartlets looked very sumptuous that we all had a problem deciding what to have.

Miss Yummy Mummy had ‘Egg Benedict on Toasted Brioche with Smoked Salmon’.

Miss Wannabe Blogger had something similar but with scramble eggs,

while I had the Black Forest gateau.

I was never a fan of smoked salmon but after yesterday, I probably changed my mind.

So much so, I returned for the second time today.

I love the ambience of the cafe too, very parisien and chic!

Catchin’ Up

This photo of our hotel was taken last night after dinner.

We had a great time catching up with some old school friends.

Poor baby Z had to deal with the crazy aunts who can never get enough of her.

Do get well soon baby and hello mommy Z!

Good Ol’ London

It’s great to be in good ol’ London once again.

Our hotel is right smack in the heart of London which makes it very convenient.

There’s a great view of Marble Arch too the minute you step out of the hotel.

We probably won’t be able to spend as much time together as he will be busy attending a course, but with Oxford Street just a minute away, I really shouldn’t be complaining.

I am really looking forward to the next couple of days.

Simply Captivating

photo: view of lake windermere and the lakeland fells

I learnt about Beatrix Potter and her love for Lake District after watching ‘Miss Potter’. And now after watching a BBC2 documentary on the telly last night, I have just discovered another great English author by the name of Alfred Wainwright. His name does ring a bell just like Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, William Butler Yeats and the like. (No, I shall not include JK Rowling in the list) What I didn’t know was, he too had a passion for the Lake District.

Wainwright’s ‘Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells’ was his most famous masterpiece. What he did was inspiring as at the age of 23, he saved enough money for a week’s walking holiday in the lake district. His love affair with the lake district started when he climbed one of the hills in Windermere and witnessed the beauty of the lakeland fells. From his walks, he illustrated and handwrote many colourful guides of the fells. This has been the bible of all true fellwalkers for the past 40 years.

We both have never been walkers but watching the documentary did make it look like a whole lot of fun and something worth doing. We should probably concentrate on easier routes and Slievenamon Mountain may be a good start for beginners like us. The locals in Tipperary talk so much about Slievenamon Mountain that we’re just waiting for the right time.

When we were there, we both took the easy way of exploring Lake District by taking a cruise around lake windermere. More serious tourists however come here on a walking experience to explore the 214 fells which is also known as the ‘Wainwrights’. Did I tell you that as of Nov 2007, only 495 people completed the wainwrights? It would be a dream to do the 190 mile ‘Coast to Coast Walk’ which is the most popular amongst walkers. This is probably the best way of doing it. You’d probably need a week and 3 days is definitely not enough.

We also enjoyed sitting by the lake having fish and chips and checking out local crafts at the many souvenir shops. We did get quite a handful to bring home as gifts. Amazingly the birds were friendly too

So you see, it only took one hour of BBC to inspire me to write this. He thinks Im too easily influenced by the media. Heheh.

Finally, I can only say is that the Lake District is SIMPLY CAPTIVATING!

ps : The National Trust has certainly done a good job on preserving one of mother nature’s greatest gift