I can't believe it's almost been a month since my five day break in the charming city of London! I have been wanting to tell you about it since my first day there, which was on the 22nd of March!
When I bought my ticket to attend a psychology conference, to be held in London on Tuesday the 25th, I had a rather marvellous idea to take a break from assignments, and spice things up a little with a five day trip to the wonderful LDN.
It was the perfect opportunity for me to catch up with my good friend Ayala who is studying at Kings College in London. The last time we saw each other was our emotional goodbye at the Changi Singapore airport two years ago before we left our lives in Singapore and began our adventures in the UK! We had lots to catch up on, as you can only imagine!
Ayala, punctual as always, greeted me with a lovely warm hug at Euston train station. With suitcase in hand we ventured to her cute little city apartment to unload, and headed straight for hyde park. It was beautiful weather, which made our reunion catch up in the lush park all the more heart warming.
We strolled around in the sunshine, filling each other in about the last two years of our lives, stopping to take a plethora of photos in between.
It makes my spirit sing to know that winter has FINALLY passed, and that the next few months will bring glorious sunshine, prolonged daylight hours, pretty flowers, cute summer dresses, delightful picnics, sexy beach hair, bustling summer fairs, tranquil reads by the pool... Do I have to continue!? There is so much to look forward to, now that Spring is finally here, and summer is just around the corner!
Ayala and I spent a good chunk of our afternoon chilling with the swans. They're such photogenic creatures and I must have taken about a hundred photos!
We mustn't forget about the geese and ducks, they were pretty cute too!
Obviously I wasn't going to miss out on a swan selfie!
... but he wasn't having any of it...
Birds certainly weren't the only animals we came across in Hyde park!
You have no idea how badly I wanted to jump on a horse and go for a tranquil trot through the park! Next time?
We even fed the squirrels!
Hyde park really is beautiful, with pretty bird song and the delicate sound of trickling fountain water, it is such a wonderful place to go for a gentle stroll, bike ride (or horse ride for that matter!), indulge in a good book, or just to sit on a park bench and day dream to your hearts content!
After a lovely couple of hours of strolling, taking photos, chatting and enjoying the sun we waved goodbye to hyde park...
...and said hello to the beautiful architecture lining the London streets. I am a big sucker for fine architecture, and so I was in heaven. The architecture in London really is so stunning and it certainly pulled on a few heart strings of mine.
Not to mention the handsome cars..
After gawping at the exquisite buildings London had to offer it was time for us to turn our attention to the Natural History Museum! Which again... just wow, the building was divine!
and yes... inside was pretty awesome too ^^ Although a little too crowded for my liking!
Dodo birds!
After giving up on the natural history museum after about ten minutes (it was just too crowded!), we hit the streets again and something magical happened....
We found a lamborghini store... yes, that's right, a store just for lamborghini's. Like architecture, I like a good car when I see one, and lamborghini's... well they're just a whole new level of sexy!
Only one thing can distract me from pretty things, and that thing my friends... is cake. I kid you not folks. Whenever anybody asks me what one food I couldn't live without, I never fail to say cake, never, ever ever. Ayala obviously knows me well enough to understand how very much I'd appreciate a trip to her favourite bakery! Hummingbird Bakery offers a huge variety of cake..lemon raspberry ripple, red velvet, carrot, vanilla sponge, Chicago fudge, and let's not forget about that rainbow cake! Just look at it... doesn't it look utterly delicious!?...
I had the recommended 'black bottom' cupcake, a dark chocolate sponge cake with a cheesecake centre and cream cheese frosting! It was as good as it sounds!
I got my precious little cupcake to take away and enjoy... in Starbucks, hehe. Okay, I can totally justify this... firstly we don't have Starbucks in tiny little Bangorland, and I miss it dearly. More importantly, my friends (including Ayala) and I used to go to Starbucks multiple times a week before and after school back in Singapore... so it was pretty much compulsory for Ayala and I to have a good ol' chat over a Starbuck's coffee, for old times sake!
A super happy Alyssa with a super yummy caramel frap & chocolate cheesecake cupcake!
Now let's dig in!
...and get on with this much needed Starbuck's chat!
Now a contented little lady, I was ready to get back on my feet and be shown more of the London sights!
Of course, we just had to venture into Harrods, and check out all the fancy schmancy expensive stuff we wish we could even begin to afford ...
Check out the price on this baby! That's one expensive chocolate egg! Imagine getting a one meter Easter egg! Like where would you even begin!?
Ayala was super excited about taking me to one of her current favourite hot spots for dinner. Chinese Thai Vegetarian Buffet in Camden Town was a perfect place for our reunion dinner. Firstly, because it was absolutely amazing being able to eat at a restaurant that only served vegetarian food... there isn't much choice on the menu for me in Bangor or in Spain when I eat out! But more importantly: Asian food!
...It was really nice to have one of my Singapore girls to eat Asian food with, because that's just how it always was back in the good ol' days of high school!
It was super cheap too... £7 for all you can eat!
With our belly's full and happy we took a stroll around Camden Town before retiring for the night back to Ayala's cosy little apartment. After twelve hours of trekking London we were certainly ready to get some beauty sleep!
Talking of which, it's one am here in Spain (I'm at home for the Easter holidays!) and I think it's about time I got some beauty sleep! We'll continue our London adventure tomorrow! TTFN- ta ta for now!
-Alyssa xo
No comments:
Post a Comment