Tag Archives: vacation

A + A Eurotrip 2015 ~ United Kingdom (London)

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After a week being in Spain, we were quite relieved to be back in an English speaking country! Took the 9am bus from Manchester to London. Yes we took a bus! Megabus to be exact! After failing to purchase £15 Virgin train tickets to London because it was all sold out due to the match weekend. it was frustrating when you are already at the checkout when there’s a screen that says it has been sold out already within two hours of the early bird release! And because paying for  £80.60 train ride still doesn’t justify, we ended up booking Megabus which cost us  £18 for 2 people! Yes and it only takes about an hour longer!

  
Me being me, I look through TripAdvisor and websites for Megabus to see how reliable they are, with poor reviews dated 3-5 years ago. I took a breather and was pleasantly surprised that the bus was clean and there was toilet underneath the bus too. Most importantly, it reaches London on time! That was excellent and highly recommend it to anyone, if you don’t want to pay for exorbitant train prices!

We booked our accommodation with Tunes Hotel prior to arriving. The hotels and Airbnbs in London are quite pricey. For us location was a factor. So there it was we entered Tunes Hotel Westminster which is about 8 minutes walk to the London Eye and Big Ben too! So it was pretty convenient. Lucky for us, we did have a $50 Expedia voucher to off set the accommodation cost so that was handy!

Of course, the room is indeed small. I had to even pray near to the entrance door and there’s not even area to put your luggage except for the windows’ ledge. But the bed was comfortable and location was great. We couldn’t complaint much! We did had a nightmare finding a laundromat. I think for a hotel that doesn’ts offer a laundry service or a laundry room. At least have an information ready for your guests for them to know where is the nearest one. I was send down to the dry cleaners at lower marsh only to find out that they are not open on public holidays. The reception could have told me that when i was asking her for directions to the dry cleaners that morning. So disappointed with the wrong info communicated.

Nonetheless London was pretty awesome! Although I keep doubling the currency in my mind to match AUD! After we settled in the hotel, we walked to Big Ben all the way through to Chinatown to find food! It was good and even bought cup noodles for our trip! Which only lasts for 2 days! Haha 

  

We finally got to meet lil Joseph! Omg Hana and i were childhood neighbours! It was so funny as she was pretty much younger than me and her sister! It has been god knows how many years! And finally we are welcome to her wonderful home and with a pleasant surprise that her family was in town too! It was such a wonderful evening! Catching up and updating each other about our lives!
  With the help of Tripomatic, we went to most London attractions which Includes Kensington Palace, Tower Bridge, Picadilly Circus, Change of guards ceremony, Abbey Road and a couple of others! Thought we didnt go to the whole Harry Potter tour since we are not big fans, we decided to go to Kings Cross station to take a photo at the 3/4 platforms which is great! Imagine working as the person that hold the scarf for you when youre taking a photo! Lol

   

 

A + A Eurotrip 2015 ~ United Kingdom (Manchester)

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Of course when you have a husband like mine who is a soccer fanatic and a Manchester United fan, definitely Manchester would be on your travel list!


We stepped out of the plane with me sneezing away! It was toooo darn cold! It was 7degrees in Manchester! It’s Spring they say! We rushed through the customs and finally got a cab! We had exactly an hour to check into our hotel and out for our Manchester United stadium tour!

So we finally made it! Just a tip, if you’re booking for the stadium tour, made sure if you chose any tour time slots after 3pm, please set aside 1.5hrs for the Museum prior to your tour time.

Dominic was the coolest guide ever! He’s very knowledgeable and hilarious! Don’t forget to get your Tour Certificates from the store, its free! Always has a long queue! Definitely do that and if you want to customise your jerseys, do that first! These two lines can be pretty long!

We booked the most affordable lodging nearest to the Stadium! Victoria Warehouse Hotel. If you searched them on TripAdvisor, you’ll get mixed reviews. Most of the rooms are without windows, unless you booked a double deluxe room.

Usually between the both of us, the husband is usually harder to please. But he was pretty impressed with the concept of the hotel. The space was adequate and the bathroom was nice,modern and clean! We are pleased with the room for the price we paid! 🙂

If you’re staying around Old Trafford, you are sure not to miss eating at Harry Ramsden! His fish and chips are beautiful! Definitely a must have! The waitresses are very friendly and accomodating. I did felt slightly embarrassed when she said 7 degrees was considered warm for them! Haha

We were in Manchester for a few days. And since the weather is freezing cold, we decided to spend the day just in the area and visit the Trafford Centre. It reminds us a lot like Chadstone Shopping Centre!

Although we didn’t win the match, the experience at Old Trafford was very memorable! And to be standing at the Stretford End was just amazing! We won’t be here if not for Hana and Kev! Thank you guys!