London

13 November 2009
London..It was my second trip to Europe and this time around i was really excited because my parents, my brothers and hubby's parents were together to experience europe with us.

It was such a risk to bring me along because i was almost coming to my 8 months pregnancy. Well, when you buy a ticket from Air Asia 7-8 months before the event..you might not know whether you're pregnant or not. The same case happened to me..so, whatever it was, we still need to proceed with the trip.

The London plan came when i told hubby that there was a cheap flight ticket to London (well..it cost us only RM1,600 per person..pergi balik termasuk makan, minum and luggage charge). After that..the rest was history.

As for this time, it would be more on a free-and-easy approach trip. We decided with this approach due to hubby's expert skills with london area (..dulu, dia dok lama gak kat london..ikut ayah dia keje kat cni & pastu dok belajo lak kat area london as well).

We were so happy to check in that day..(ye la..tak sangka..both families..ramai-ramai..vacay europe)..

..until this tiny little problem occurred. During the check-in process, i got a problem with my pregnancy letter (..my doctor kat pusrawi tak ikut ayat according to apa yg air asia nak ada dlm letter but meaning sama jer..lawya betul air asia ni). So, we have to rush ourselves to the nearest airport clinic for the doctor to release another new letter stated that i'm in a fit position to travel.

After that..all was well and 12 hours later..we reached Stansted and we went straight ahead to Pn. Zabidah's house at Blackwater House, Church Street.

14 November 2009
The next morning..we started our London exploration.

First, we bought the travel card...took a tube from Edgware Road Station and continued with the bus ride to Victoria & Albert Museum.

Along the journey, my brother captured some of the breathtaking morning view of london.

Few minutes later..we walked our way to the museum. Before this, i was excited to be here because i always fond to read all the stories of this royal couple. However, when i came to explore the museum..my thought was '..mmm..ni ke?' Haha..blame me on my stern review regarding this beautiful museum but i'm just being honest..it wasn't that exciting.

Next, we walked to the Royal Albert Hall. It will just take you 10-15 minutes to walk from the museum to the Royal Albert Hall. So, there would be no point for us to take any public transports.

Once we reached there, it was raining heavily..so we have to wait for a while.

After that, we have to walk back to the museum (..mm..masa ni..mak buyong ni dah start nak mood swing..tapi tetap bersabar..banyak bebeno kena jalan nyer wehh..) and we took a tube to Harrods.

Harrods..Harrods..Harrods..i loved to shop here (..alahai..yang mampu beli harrods own stuff jer). There were so many people inside..especially at the Harrods Own section. I bought lots of souvenirs for my relatives and friends..just for them to have a Harrods memento.

After that, we tried to catch the tube again (..gambo kali ni..bagi my bro effizal lak inter frame..suasana underground b4 nak naik tube).

Now..our focus was to find something for us to eat (Kesian sangat..masa ni my parents and his parents macam penat sgt).

We walked..and walked..and walked..(hadoiii..penat wehhh..jalan masa winter ni) and finally..hubby found a Moroccan restaurant.

Alhamdulillah..we're full and we're ready to go to the next point..the Big Ben. Now, my parents could walk happily even though they were really tired.

As for hubby's parents, they wanted to walk back to the house because it wasn't that far for them and they wanted to capture back all the memories when they lived here in london few years back.

So, we took a bus again..and what a nice view of Oxford Street.

Few minutes later..we were at the Big Ben. 4pm plus and it was dark already and it was really cold..that's the situation you'll get if you travel to europe during autumn or winter. Sigh.

Next..we walked for 5 minutes to reach the Westminster Abbey (..ala..tempat William & Kate kawin tu..). During the night..in my opinion..with the lights..the Abbey gave us such a different sight of story.

Then..a moment with London Eye from afar.

..and Houses of Parliament..the front view.

 

15 November 2009

The next day..it was time for Madame Tussauds. I didn't face any long queue problems because i made an online booking before to avoid the hassle to queue. I was really excited to be here. Well, it's a famous tourist spot..so..of course you would be eager to see what's the fuss is all about.

The souvenir shop was also nice and we bought some stuff. We also bought this prism crystal with our picture inside it (..it was like a 3-D angle crystal cube) ..it was really expensive (..takpe la..untuk kenang-kenangan).

It was really exciting to be inside this place. Initially, we planned to be here only just for an hour. In the end, it took us almost 2 hours to explore the whole place (..well..dh bayar 22.50 pound sorang..mesti la kena make it worth kan).

After that, we went to the tube again and later, we took a bus..

..and proceeded to our next stop..the Trafalgar Square.

To me..the surrounding area was nice. There was no more pigeons for you to feed. We took a picture at the fountain with National Gallery as the background. Thus, we didn't proceed to the gallery because it would cost us more extra time which we didn't have (..nak kejar gi palace and tower lak).

..so, we started to walk to the Buckingham Palace from the entrance picture below (..this time around..my brother Effizi lak inter frame).

Along the way..we found the statue of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (..masa ni takde lagi citer The King's Speech..so just tengok-tanpa-ada-makna jer la).

We continued to walk (..1 km wehhh...jauh..nak nangeh mak buyong masa ni).

..and at last we reached the Victoria Memorial.

..and the Buckingham Palace (..i was really tired at this time..sampai takde perasan gumbira wat-so-eva dok tengok palace ni).

Next..we walked to St. James Park and later, we went to the tube station to continue our london exploration.

Then, we were there...at the Tower of London (..uihhh..masa ni mula teringat citer The Tudors, Elizabeth, Young Victoria and etc.).

I was so excited to be here. I did buy the ticket via online..so..there was no frills for me to queue. It cost around 17 pound per person.

First, we saw the Traitors' Gate (..Queen Anne Boleyn, Sir Thomas More, Queen Catherine Howard, all entered the Tower by Traitors' Gate).

Then..i saw the White Tower (..uihhh..excited..i saw this..in The Tudors).

It was just so nice to walk around this place (..walaupun sejuk tak terkata).

Later, we decided to go to the Jewel House at the Tower (..my bro fizal ber'background'kan the Jewel House). Wow..the Royal collections inside here really mesmerised me with its beauty. We were so bedazzled by the shining gems, including the glistening Imperial State Crown (..sorry..no pictures coz tak dibenarkan amik gambo dalam ni).

Next, by looking at the time..we decided to go inside the White Tower. Even though, we were really tired but still we wanted to explore it. Again..another no-photo rule implied (uiihhh...boring betul..so curi-curi tangkap je la).

One spooky fact..they said that the ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn, beheaded in 1536 for treason against King Henry VIII has been said to be walking around the White Tower carrying her head under her arm (hadoiiii). And also..the ghost of Queen Jane of 9 days..(mm..fyi..between these 2 famous queens..i liked jane's love story much more better than anne's schematic story).

People said that it wasn't advisable for pregnant ladies to go around this tower but Alhamdulillah..everything went well for me (..sib baik tak nampak apa-apa yang sepatut nye dinampak ye).

..while..my parents..they decided to just wait outside the tower. They were really tired. As for my in-laws, they've been here before..so they decided to just wait outside the Tower of London.

After we finished with the White Tower tour..we're thinking '..nak gi tower mana lak ye?'. Then, i saw..another famous tower..'the Bloody Tower'. But, it was closed for public (..mmm..lagi spooky kot).

Lastly..to make it worth for our 17 pound..we went to St. Thomas Tower and took some 'curi-curi' pictures.

I liked it here..exploring some of the famous monarchy stories that i read before especially from the Tudors era. Maybe..due to the fact that i love all the historical and medieval books and movies..so it did influence my desire to come to this place and i was really satisfied (even though..kaki macam nak tercabut dah). It was really worth it for me.

Looking from afar..there it was..the Tower Bridge (..n this is not the London Bridge..ye everybody..please don't be confused between these 2 bridges).

After that, we got the opportunity to experience the River Thames cruise (..uihhh..taktau ngape..tapi excited la gak..terbayang lak citer Oliver Twist and Jack the Ripper..uihh..simpang wehh).

For the cruise, i booked the ticket via online too (senang citer), which cost us 7 pound per person. We waited for 10 minutes before we experienced the cruise. Mm..'..ngape biasa jer'..haha, that was what i thought..but at least..i experienced it.

Ehemmm..why did i emphasize on the confusion between the Tower Bridge and the London Bridge. Everybody..this is the London Bridge.

After that, we took a tube back to Edgware Road. We went to an Arab restaurant nearby straight away and grabbed for the meaningful dinner (lapar wehhh).

One thing for sure..it wasn't really difficult to find a halal food here in london (syukur..Alhamdulillah..oohhh..n utk sesapa yg akan jenjalan di london..please bawak chili sos ye..coz orang kat sini tak reti makan chili sos..just tomato sos je yg ada).

19 November 2009
(..continued after the Paris trip)

It's shopping time...let's go to Oxford Street.

HMV..HMV..HMV..that was my only target. I wanted to catch up with my Jane Austen's DVD collections..along with other DVD as well. And of course..some souvenirs.

After i accomplished my mission, we went to buy something for hubby at Debenhams. Later, we went to Selfridges (tak beli apa2 pun..mahe bebeno) and next, we went to Primak..hubby bought some good last-minute deal. I just wished that i would have the energy to shop for more but my pregnant body was really tired after walking a long 2.4km of the famous street.

Our next target...the Malaysian Hall. My in-laws were so excited to go here and they wished that they would get the opportunity to meet some of their old friends.

We took our dinner lavishly over here (..uihhh..seronok jumpa masakan kite wehhh). Obviously, i looked very tired.

20 November 2009
The next day..our last day in London..(huhu..sedey). The mothers cooked breakfast for everybody to regain some energy.

Later, we took a bus and we went to the London Mosque.

My dad and my brothers got the opportunity to experience their Friday prayer..here, in london. As for myself, my mom and my mom in law..we thought that we wanted to wait in the library but it so happened that the ladies should also do the Friday prayer (..mmm..patut la muka minah tu terkejut je bila kita orang cakap yg kita org nak tunggu husband kita org kat dalam library jer).

In the end, we walked together to the nearest park..the Regent's Park. An hour later, the guys joined us at the park.

My brother..Effizal..had such a relaxing moment.

While my dad..enjoyed feeding the birds.

..and we walked slowly (..masa ni mak yong nak betul betul nangeh ni..coz kaki dh takleh tahan dh..encik suami hanya mampu bersabo jer ngan peel puan isteri yang mengeluh).

..and my brother..Effizi had his own fun time.

..and my mom was so happy to see the roses at the Rose Garden (even though..dah tak kembang sangat bunga-bunga tu). My mom-in-law told me that during spring and summer..this garden is amazing.

..but this place was still amazing during autumn.

After that, we decided to go back to Oxford Street but my parents wanted to go straight to Pn. Zabidah's house. So, in the end..they took a london taxi (..best nyer..mak & abah dpt experience naik london typical classic taxi). The rest of us..we headed ourselves to the famous street again and we bought some last minute stuff.

Later that night..we're saying goodbye to Pn. Zabidah and a last glimpse to Tesco store in front of Pn.Zabidah's house (uihhh..sangat sangat membantu tesco depan rumah ni..banyak barang-barang makanan yang boleh dimakan..dibeli tanpa was was).

It was really an exciting London experience. I treasure it very much.