Finally I have a weekend to pen down my trip of the year – UK, from 12-26th august 2014
(disclaimer: I am NOT a Mrs, yet)
First things first. Yes, we tried the haggis and blood pudding in Scotland. I’m aversive to mushy grainy foods and so haggis is not something I’d enjoy. The boyfriend quite enjoyed it though. Blood pudding is rather tasteless actually, like a fried bland brownie.
We flew by Lufthansa to London Heathrow Airport (stopover in Frankfurt, Germany). Thankfully they weren’t on strike yet haha.
We had quite a bit to cover, pretty impressed with myself for a trip well planned *grins at self*. Just gonna let the photos do the talking.
13 to 17th – London, Blackfriars Novotel (sgd1356.60)
Borough’s market. Plenty of cheeses, wine, fresh fruits and vegetables. Shame I was too shy to snap any touristy photos in front of the stall owners. First mission was completed here, found some proper British fish&chips loaded with vinegar.
Tower bridge. Walking along the River Thames was the memorable part of this, with a cool breeze, good view and only a sprinkling of people, rather romantic I’d say.
Covent garden. A shopping district with a cool hipster vibe. Tons of cafes all over the place. Just a nice locale to stroll around and breathe in the fresh London air. Couldn’t resist tapao-ing a decadent red velvet cupcake from Hummingbird bakery.
The must-eats in London which everyone has been raving about – Burger&Lobster as well as Duck&Waffle. Believe it or not, we had Burger&Lobster for dinner followed by Duck&Waffle the next morning for breakfast. The best 2 meals ever! A food baby was born soon after.
So happy to finally be in London with this girl.
Besides truly awesome food, there were plenty of gorgeous photo opportunities at Duck&waffle, situated at the peak of Heron Towers. These are my favourite photos.
West minster Abbey. My dream wedding locale. Let me dream.
Watched the change of guards at Buckingham Palace. “Watched” is a big word, more like heard and saw glimpses through the humongous crowd. Bad idea bringing my huge-ass shopping bag to the most touristy place in the city.
Speaking of my huge-ass shopping bag, here are my london buys. Hee! And of course, a big harvest from Primark too.
And that’s it for London. Bye bye.
Now onward to Scotland! Took a British Airways domestic flight from London to Glasgow.
17 to 19th – Loch Lomond, Lodge @ Loch Lomond – sgd499.80
Drove up in our “xiao bai” Audi A1 sport back, via Avis car rental – sgd248
T’was surreal, like a country side road trip, like I don’t ever wanna leave this place.
Traditional scottish breakfast everyday, by the loch. Our adventures with “xiao bai” included Auchentoshan Distillery where the boy got all his whisky needs satisfied and Balloch castle country park. Googlemaps is a god-sent.
19 to 22nd – Glasglow, Citizen M hotel – sgd548.00
The Mile of Style provided never-ending shopping in this bustling city.
The cutest old ladies run this quaint little tea house. I even got recommendations for a scottish wedding planner.
22 to 25th – Edinburgh, Ritz hotel – sgd795.63
Edinburgh is quiet, calming and very different from the other cities we’ve visited so far. Stopped by St Mary’s cathedral. I have a weakness for old cathedrals, can you hear the princess in me squealing with joy?
Finally, the whole reason we flew 6000 miles to the UK. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, tickets sgd210
Rain ruined the last hour of the show as we escaped for cover to avoid hypothermia. Quite an experience shivering along the streets of Edinburgh, dragging our frozen feet back to the hotel. Best part was the soaking in the warm bath later.
And then, it was time for our holiday to end. Flight back via Lufthansa from Edinburgh back to Singapore.
Some finances:
Open-jaw Lufthansa flight SIN-LON, EDI-SIN, sgd3215.20 for 2pax
One-way British Airways LON-GLA sgd85.51 for 2pax
Spent about sgd10k in total. Worth it? Well, I’m eating instant noodles and smiling at my photos.
#JonChéri 