London.. my favorite place. I love London.. I never get bored going to London. There is so much to do in London.. Musicals to go to, markets to visit and see new things, try new things, shopping that is heavenly, flowers and gardens and parks that are not just pretty but a splendid place to just laze the day away under the sun. Yes, London is the only place I love having the sun.. I think it's the weather that makes the sun so appealing... so friendly..Aaaahhh... Spring is beautiful, windy, cold breeze, sun shinning..aaaaahhh.. Below is a very short account of what I did.. a fraction of what I did or the places I visited.. of course, the real itinerary was far far more.. more places, more things I see, eat, watch, observe and experience, more exciting! So, here is a short snippet of my London... the city I enjoy..
This is Windsor.. A small little place outside London.. away from the hussle bussle of life.. It is also the place where Queen E stays.. of course, Queenie stays in the ancient castle... majestic and mighty! Hoo hoo... What I like about Windsor is the fact that it is not very far from London and the quiet scenic town along River Thames.. the shops are located around the castle and it is a joy walking around!! Yes, shopping is also fun here.. food and clothes! Hehehe.. Oh! there is a crooked house too... apparently, there is a history to this house and a nursery rhyme to this! Hehehe.. and yes, I had english tea in this quaint place.. The scones was yummy and so was the fruit cake.. My trip to Windsor and Eton was made possible by Chooi and Alex.. thanks! hehehe..
Oh! by the way, I didnt get the chance to go into the castle.. Queenie was home.. flag flying high...
Musicals! Oh yes, we spend most of our evenings in London town going for musicals... From Million Dollar Quartet to Jersey Boys'.. London is so alive at night with these musicals.. People hang around for drinks after a great show.. couples sharing a snack.. the lights are dazzling, the sound and smell is simply seducing. London at night after a musical is always magical!!
Gardens and flowers - London is a very green place. They have plenty of parks, Green Park, St James Park, Hyde Park, etc.. Even in residential area, there are parks! What makes these parks so lovely is the fact that their weather is simply very soothing and enticing.. breezy and cool, blue sky with fluffy puffy white clouds floating about, sun shinning without frying you till crisp! It's lovely to sit in the park and have a picnic or a sandwich or just sit in the park and watch the day goes by. A lot of people do that in London! Mothers with their babies.. baby in pram while mama with a book, students clump up together deep in discussion on the grass, kids running around carefreely, old people sitting on the bench... aaaahh.. only in London!
Of course, these parks are well maintained by their respective councils and people.. Flowers are abundance! So are little creatures like squirrel and ducks. hehhehehe...It is clean and tidy..oooo.. I can just spend my days lazing around in one of these parks...
Oh! this picture you see above is from Kew Gardens. It's a must go, must get one's ass to this garden.. It is huge and lovely.. take your time to walk the whole garden to see everything.. Where do I begin?? Hehehe.. When I was there, I cannot help humming the tune "Golden Afternoon" to my monster and myself.. Haahahaa..."You can learn a lot of things from the flowers, For especially in the month of June, There's a wealth of happiness and romance, All in the Golden Afternoon" Lalalaa... All sorts of unique and common flowers, herbs, plants are found here... To make your trip more fun, try what I did.. take a boat ride from Westminster Pier to Kew Gardens.. it is awesome!! Hahahaha.. yup, cold and fun cruising along River Thames..
Markets! Lovely markets... Oh.. I never get bored going to these markets.. from Portobello to Borough to Hackney.. Plenty to see, plenty try, plenty to entice you!! From food to knicknacks to antique.. At Borough, you will see the most succulent and juicy fruits and vegetables of your choice, all sorts of meat, from Ostrich to cured meat, organic produce from sea salted unpasturized butter, largest meringue to all sorts of mustard! I even found mushroom pate and lovely lovely cheese... Oh.. if I live in London, markets will be where you will find me on weekends...
Shopping! It's shopaholic paradise in London! I love it! I truly love it.. for one, most stores are not cramped and tiny like the ones we have in Malaysia.. broad space to move around, merchandises are nicely displayed and enough stock for all to pick and chose, counter staff are courteous and friendly and.. importantly, the fashion and styles are endless!! The latest, the best are all over London. From Alexander McQueen to Cath Kidston are everywhere. I was spoilt for choice. Oh yes, I came back with very very overloaded luggage.. 3 pieces and plenty overloaded..
Around and about London.. a little Greek community hidden somewhere along Great Russell Street caught our eyes on our way to British Muzeum, the smell of bread in all shapes and size and taste from Borough Market is simply heavenly, Muzeums and more muzeums from British Muzeum to Cartoon Muzeum to Victoria & Albert Muzeum was exciting and enriching.. the bus rides around from one place to another is enjoyable..
Edinburgh, Scotland.. A very windy and cold place but I love it! I love the old gothic look this place has.. a very medieval feel as you walk around, like as if you are instantly transform back to the era of great Kings and Queens. The stone buildings that dotted the entire town that stand witness to times, the intricate designs and stain glasses that decorated these buildings, the royal mile with its coblerstone pavement instantly reminded me of scenes from Merlin... Aaaah... and oh! yes, I had the best scones ever in the castle.. it was simply awesome.. nothing like it.. with its delicious clotted cream and lovely preserves.. Yuuummms!!
Ok... back to my journey.. I took a train from London, King Cross station to Haymarket, Edinburgh. Total hours spent on the train was 4 hours.. and those 4 hours was passed beautifully with very scenic and pretty countryside. Plenty of farms dotted along the way and one can see flocks of sheeps, horses, cows lazing about in the field under the sun and lovely lovely fields of yellow wild flowers.
Basically, all I did in Edinburgh was to go the castle. Queen Mary of Scot's castle. It was huge and windy.. Hehehe.. now I know where people get that "blow your top off" expression! Hahahaa! The whole castle was like a little maze and I can understand why... people those days have a lot of time on their hands. Other than castle, it was glorious shopping along Princes Street!! Hehehe.. However, since shops closes at 6pm, the other times was spent having great dinners and watch TV.. wahahaha... To me, that is a great holiday.
Oh yes, I will go back to London again.. and again and again.. and again.. and maybe for my next London trip, I will expand my adventure and cross the english channel! Hehehe.. visit other europe countries.. Germany perhaps??... Hahahahaa... Life is about Living IT! Life is GREAT!!
When I was in London, I stuffed my face with the juiciest strawberries, blueberries, cherries, satsumas, tangerine, nectarines, apricots, peaches and god knows what else! They are so delicious there.. well, what can I say?? These fruits are grown there and they get them fresh.. Anyway, when I got back, I wanted to do a tart with these fruits, so, I created this mascarpone cream for the filling, a very light and crispy crust and the fruits. The result...
This tart reminded me of Eton mess that I tried in London.. all the contrasting texture come together and create an awesome exprience in the mouth! Hahahaha.. and such awesomeness can only bring happy memories and thoughts! For me, that is London and for a lot of people in 4 seeason countries, it can only be summer!
Hawaii!! Yes, the above picture is 
