London, Glorious London

Thought I should attempt to post up some photos of London. Sigh, sifting through them brings back such an acute longing that it's almost painful. I miss London tremendously. The sights, sounds, people, vibrancy... it's a city you fall in love with. There seems to be a vibe that runs through the city and everyone is intricately connected. Be in on the train, walking through the meadows or browsing through things at Harrods, you feel like the city has embraced you, rather than simply being a tourist. Ah well, good memories, good memories.

Family holidays are great cos it's basically a free vacation, you are with people whom you love and love you, and you understand what each other wants. But at the same time, it can totally drive you crazy cos when you're with your parents, you can't do certain things or they'd do things to drive you out of your mind. Like when I was discussing with Cheryl whether we should go clubbing, my mum chimed in and said she wanted to go to. When Cheryl and I gave her horrified looks and asked her why, considering she hates places that are dark and noisy, she said she wanted to take a look and go back to the hotel. Needless to say, we never went clubbing.

Anyway, it was supposedly summer in London, but the average temperature was 16 degrees. Cheryl and I, being very trusting fools, believed my mother when she said it'd be hot. So we brought summer things. The spaghetti strap tops, the short skirts, flimsy articles of clothing. Hence, we look the same in all the photos cos we never could bring ourselves to remove our jackets. A tragedy to be in fashionable London and look like a smuck the whole time.

Our beautiful hotel, the K+K Hotel George! Lovely, love place. No complains at all. London hotels are all exorbitantly priced and usually very tiny, but the 3 Chan sisters fit into the room quite comfortably, so that's saying a lot. Breakfast is good too! Champagne at 9am, absolutely devine!

We arrived early in the morning and as the rooms weren't prepared yet, we ventured out to Hyde Park, which is this huge park in the middle of London and it's gorgeous.

My dad's nice. He feeds animals.

Geri teaching a squirrel to beg for food. Cheryl was in the background chanting "eat her! eat her!" Don't you love sisters?

Despite the shining sun, it was bitterly cold, and more so at the River Serpentine. Yes, we are both cowering in the wind. Yes, I'm taller than Cheryl, who's 5 years older than me. Yes, I'm the youngest. And no, she wasn't adopted. Next question!

We went for breakfast at this darling sidewalk cafe and my crazy mum wanted to enjoy the brisk cold wind, hence al fresco dining. When C and I visibly turned pale, the kind waiter offered to switch on the outdoor heater. Bless his heart. As a side note, the waiters in London are absolutely, fabulously gorgeous! They are all foreigners, some students, some I suspect hoping to make it on broadway. But nonetheless, I was drooling at almost every restaurant, and not just from the food.

We had a traditional English breakfast (eggs benefict, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, toast, baked beans) and this was also the place where I promptly left my camera behind when we left for a musuem. -_-''' Only discovered it when we were at the musuem and I practically ran back to the restaurant, which by the way, was at a different tube stop. My parents were not pleased in the I-could-disown-you-for-being-careless kinda way. Luckily the waiter was honest and I almost kissed him in my gratitude. Almost.

We covered a lot of sights in our 6 days there. Posting all of them up here would be nuts, not to mention damn tiring. And it's getting kinda tiring describing all of them. So just enjoy the pics and the minimal words. :)

Harrods! Super expensive and only crazy tourists with tons of money shop here. 15,000 pounds for a chair????

A bust in the image of the owner who happens to be Princess Diana's last boyfriend's dad. He reckons himself to be a pharoah.

We celebrated the parents' wedding anniversary at Jamie Oliver's restaurant, 15. The food is so good I wanted to wept. Incidentally, the restaurant is in this real grotty place. Jamie set up this place as he wanted to give delinquents and people down on their luck a second chance. Hence, he trains these people to become chefs. So noble right?

Happy anniversary folks!

The gleeful freeloaders. Hiak Hiak.

Cheryl terms this as "disgusting close".

A more friendly reception from Geri.

Covent Garden Square. Frankly, I dunno what the hype is about. You can definitely give this place a miss.

We went to see the changing of the guards ceremony down at ol' Buckingham Palace. You have to go early to get the best "seats". But the hordes of people were nuts. It's a nightmare and not for the fainthearted. My mum's one comment, "Why is the palace so dirty?" Sigh, hundreds of years of history and it's summed up by this one statement.

More random shots. This is a zoomed in view of the palace gates. Couldn't get up close.

We then decided to leave the city life behind for a while and venture into the countryside to see this traditional mansion that was donated to the government by an earl. Think he was being generous? Not really. He received a tax break. Nonetheless, the place is gorgeous.

How quaint can this village get?

Every opportunity to cam whore.

Geri in the wilderness.

The mansion, Kenwood House, thoughtfully provides a cafe, or orangery, for tired tourist to consume deliciously prepared country food (think quiche and hearty soups) amidst bright flowers and swaying trees.

Aw, I think me Mum and Pa are so sweet.

Hey, my dad told me to pose, so I did. And I took off my jacket, in case you didn't notice. Yes, it was bloody cold. But I wanted some pics that didn't involve my Juicy jacket. Humpf.

We spent a long, long time taking photos. See how beautiful the place is!

My dad and I were running up and down the hill like idiots cos we were using auto-timer. The ang moh people must have laughed themselves sick at the sight of China people running like suakus up and down.

Some kind folks finally approached us gingerly and offered to help us take a pic. Unfortunately, they failed to capture the house. -_-'''

I love the lake. Note to self: future house must include lake and swans.

One more for the road!

Tower of London where the Crown Jewels are kept. I nearly hyperventilated when I saw all those jewels. I think Cheryl and I were in keeping with the tone seeing how this palace has witnessed murders and intrigued...

Yeah, yeah, I'm a poser.

This guy is called a beefeater. Nothing to do with beef. They're the caretakers of the palace and act as tour guides.

Posing next to a tame raven. Legend has it that if the ravens ever left the Tower of London, London would collapse. Creepy.

Onward to the Tower Bridge. No, this is not the London Bridge of nursery rhymes. But it's magnificent, complete with castle towers and flags. Makes a person feel so small.

Look, it's Orlando Bloom! Haha, or just a really realistic, life-like display of him at Hamley's, a huge toy shop in London. I wanted to rip his clothes off.

At the Royal Kew Gardens, which is like the botanical gardens in Singapore, just a thousand times nicer.

Smile!

My mum forbade me to post this online, but I can't resist. I think it's beyond adorable! And incontrovertible proof that my mum is a chee ko pek. See, I get my butt-appreciation genes from her. I just think it's damn sweet lah.

Portobello market! A definitely must-go! The knick-knacks, fabulous treasures that you suddenly unearth.

Yup, a real mummy at the British Museum. The British were known for their pillaging ways back in the colonial days. They removed thousands of priceless artifacts from the lands they visited or conquered and brought it back to England. Now, despite petitions from governments around the world to return these artifacts, the British are saying no.

The British Museum was our last stop in London. And then it was home to Singapore. Sob. I want to go back there. Stat.

I suppose what made London so great was the existential life we led. We would walk around museums, visit all the fabulous sights, eat magnificant food, and watched a play. Oh, and the wine. We had wine/beer for every meal. Kinda adds a buzz to your day, don't you think? To have nary a care in the world except the next museum to visit, the next cafe to discover. To quench thirst with perfectly chilled wine or a hearty pint of local beer. It didn't feel like life. It felt like paradise.

Wow! Long post. LOL. Hope you might have found the pics nice to look at. :P