Part 1 will be about London, Part 2 about Scotland, Part 3 about Orkney and Aberdeen.
Day 1 - 29Aug (Wed)
We took SQ and it was not that expensive! My flight was about $1.3k return and I booked about 4 months in advance. However as my itinerary was different from my parents', we booked separately and despite my requests to be seated together (which may have admittedly come abit late), we were still seated separately, and in middle seats!! It was a challenge to go to the washroom lol. And it seems like omelette or scrambled eggs for breakfast seems to be the only thing airlines know haha. I watched Along With The Gods and it was alot cheesier than I expected and the CGI was terrible lmao. Dont know why it was such a hit in korea.
Finally landed at around 6am after the fairly stressful flight, and Heathrow was really empty. It was quite easy to buy oyster cards and we asked for help to get to St James' Park, and off we were on the underground to Hammersmith to change to St James' Park. I booked St James' Court for 4 nights, and it was really expensive - about $450/night for 3 people, and the room was tiny. But oh well, it's London. The amenities were all great though.
It was too early to check in so we left our luggage and went around looking for an EE shop because my brother gave us an EE simcard he used last time. Everyone told us different things. So after 1h of walking up and down Victoria St (in the rain!), finally found the shop at Victoria station (NOT the underground station lol) and got our sim cards and realised there's no price difference between a new one and topping up an old one lol.
Got breakfast at Pret A Manger, and had my first realisation that takeaway is cheaper than dining in, which is the opposite of Singapore. So we had our sandwiches and salads at a park lol.
Headed to Buckingham Palace to buy tickets for the state rooms, and managed to catch a glimpse of the guard changing ceremony which was at 11. Since our tickets were for entry at 1215, we walked around the place to see St James Park, Westminster Abbey (which I never knew was a church!) then back to see the palace. There are audio guides provided and about 18 state rooms? No pictures until the end. I did get an ice cream while walking through the gardens out of the palace.
By then it was 2+ so we went back to check in.
And then went out again to River Thames to see all the famous buildings, sans Big Ben which was under construction. There's a bridge with tons of conmen lol. Be careful! And then Trafalgar square, where we managed to spend 30min around the National Gallery before it closed. There's Van Gogh's sunflower.
Next was Picadilly Circus, which was less exciting than I envisioned it to be haha. We did go to Fortnum & Mason's to buy chocolates! Then tried to find a place to eat but everywhere was full. Finally settled on an italian resto that looked decent, ordered a truffle pasta, seafood bigoli and lamb and tiramisu. I'm going around the world tasting everyone's tiramisu, but the best I've had is still in Singapore (Madrinaa Italiano at Chip Bee Gardens!), where the cake layer is completely soaked with coffee/alcohol.
Day 2 - 30Aug (Thurs)
Today was all around Kensington. I did originally plan to spend the day around this area, and as luck would have it, my blood tests at Imperial was also scheduled on this day.
Breakfast at Royal Quarter Cafe just opposite our hotel.
First stop was Natural History Museum, which is amazing. The dinosaur exhibition was a tad too crowded though.
Then Victoria & Albert Museum, which seems to be a collection of everything.
And then headed to Imperial for my blood test, then back to V&A to continue viewing the exhibits which are seemingly endless. We also had a quick lunch at the cafe. The food was really good and the view is amazing.
And then lastly, Science Museum. Very interesting but wayy too big and got chased out of the museum around 545 as they were closing.
So we headed to the Royal Albert Hall which is under construction (argh!).
Then Kensington Gardens with this huge memorial.
Then Hyde Park and all the birds and their feathers!
And finally got to Knightsbridge. By then, we were too tired so we just ate at a place near Harrods. Food was decent but service was sketchy. Spent quite some time at Harrod's before they closed, and I was extremely excited by the Winnie the Pooh collection.
Day 3 - 31Aug (Fri)
Another busy day. We spent the morning around the tower bridge area. So, took the underground to London Bridge station and had a very good but filling breakfast at the Breakfast Club. We were quite lucky to be just a bit ahead of the crowd as many subsequent parties had to wait for tables.
Passed by The Shard.
Walked to London Bridge only to find out its not the pretty one so walked to Tower Bridge lol. Crossed the bridge, and uh, admired Tower of London from the outside but didn't wanna pay to go in and see crown jewels lol.
Then headed in the direction of St Paul's, which is very pretty. This area seemed like the business district? Walked past my brother's office too which is just off Southwark Bridge.
Then back to the other side of the bridge to go to Borough Market and try the duck confit as recommended by my bro. It was indeed really nice! Bought a couple of drinks, and got free food from the food demonstration lol. And they made tiramisu!! Too bad I thought it was abit strange haha. Oh and quite a lot of people asked me to help them take photos haha. I must look very approachable.
By then it was 2+, then took the tube to St John's Wood to find the Abbey Road crossing cos The Beatles is my parents era! And laughed at everyone taking pictures. I saw one person walking up and down like 10 times trying to get the perfect pic lol!
From there, walked a long long way up Primrose Hill to see the view. It was indeed very pretty! And then went to find colourful houses near it. And then through Regent's Park to Camden. Unfortunately we were a bit late so some shops were closed, but I did buy some magnets and we had dinner there. Tried the fish and chips as well as the cookie dough dessert.
Lastly, took the tube to Tottenham Court for Primark. RIDICULOUSLY cheap.
Day 4 - 1 Sep (Sat)
This was our last full day in London in the first leg of the trip.
Went to Notting Hill and Portobello Road in the morning. Unfortunately it was a Sunday and the District and Circle lines were closed so we had to walk from High St Kensington to Notting Hill sigh.
Managed to pass by the Kensington Palace.
Stopped by the Farmer's Market which is interestingly operated out of a dingy looking carpark. Got some bread and carrot cake for breakfast.
Finally reached Notting Hill and immediately went in search of the colourful houses lol. And spotted some amazing looking vintage cars! And then followed the crowd to Portobello market, buying a couple of useless stuff on the way hehe. And then had to walk back the other way cos the station on the other end was too far and not on the correct line.
My parents headed to Bond Street to do some shopping and ate at Burgers & Lobsters, while I headed to Oxford circus to meet a friend! She had to stop by her friend's house, so I too got to experience how tiny London apartments are lol. My brain kinda switched off a bit here with someone familiar with the place leading the way. I roughly know we walked around Oxford St, Carnaby St and Covent Garden. And had ice cream, then dinner at a pub which seems like a quintessential London experience.
Day 5 - 2 Sep (Sat)
This was the day we were headed to Edinburgh via train, so we took the underground to King's Cross for mandatory HARRY POTTER photo and souvenirs. I got the official photo, the acceptance letter thingy with my name (hehe! I'm a witch!), a Hogwarts Express ticket for a pound, and a luggage tag! Can set up a mini Harry Potter collection with my other memorabilia for Universal Studios Japan.
Went to Plum + Spilt milk for a great breakfast before our long 4.5 journey to Edinburgh.
The platforms only come up about 10minutes before the train is scheduled to leave so that's kinda stressful! It was about 56sgd for the train ride, which seems to be about the same price as a flight, and I didn't want the hassle of going to the airport several hours early and going through customs, PLUS you get sights on a train!
Scotland adventures in the next part~