@r0ndzm

today was not too crazy compared to my previous schedule. all i needed to do was see buckingham palace. but me thinking i already know london i was proven wrong. i shouldve swallowed my pride and opened a map. instead i wasted 20-30 mins of figuring out where the heck i am. luckily the guard still let me in the queens gallery. and that was the start of the royal day out tour.

in between royal day i manage to witness changing of the guards.

didnt manage to get a bite but did it on the way back. had the most amazibg cornish pasty i ever tasted.

the rest are just exhausting journey from PAD-RDG and back to think its rush hour. twas horrific experience. plus "the attitude" makes me want to swear directly on their fugly faces. my theory is that they tend to be so egoistical and think that they're the royalty supreme of the world.

then i met with Julie and was so in loved with their flat. fantastic glimpse view of tower bridge. we went to queen s theatre in westend to watch les miserables. top notch! great staging, perfect musical arrangement and noteworthy performances from Javert and Jean Valjean. promise i am capable of crying esp with this kind of performance. my alibi is that i was exhausted really. but still i put it as my top 2 musical of all time.

i call this the core and i reserved it on my last tour itinerary. core because it is the centre of UK and its commonwealth countries governance through HR EiiR.

it was indeed magnificent but i still prefer Windsor Castle over the Buckingham Palace. started with the Queens Gallary full of paintings and brief history centred on Royal Fashion so to speak.

next stop are the royal mews. my favourite was the Grand Britain mews which was used multiple times as i saw it before on the tellie.

i went out after that to witness changing of the guards which was awesome. heaps and heaps if people crowded the palace gates so i cant really see. but on the other part of the street there was a random exiting of the guards which i was able to witness upclose.

i then went to the state rooms and rished through the paintings. anyway as i said earlier windsor is much grand. what is worth viewing here though is the queens coronation. the robe and coronation etc where also displayed.

the most worry-some part of the trip. travelled an hour from bath by train. i got to salisbury 1835H. no time to lose. i quickly looked for cabbie who can take me to stonehenge. bit of a cabbie hunt cos i was expecting cabs to be queueing somewhere.

extremely poor today cos i forgot my wallet at home. i reckon i just have my day's worth of budget. i managed to squeeze little resources i have to get into a cab. costs 23 pounds but of course it was all worth it.

the stones were just magnificent. i got a a guide book but i will read them after the tour. i was at awe when i went close to the stones. of course we cant touch them but i feel a different aura when i put both my palms in the stones. there's something unexplainavle within these stones.

luckily my cousins hubby fetched me and i was so thankful for this generosity. words cant explain my appreciation.

day two in uk another fast forward tour and if yesterday was london now its bathspa. its a nice town west of reading where cousins live. another late start for me good thing the voucher i had doesnt have specific time. although i like bathspa and quoting my instagram as the best town so far. i hated jane austen tour. it was mostly boring stuff. dont get me wrong i like her as an author but the tour was boring. i like the tea with mr darcy only because i was famished. had it not for mr darcy i wouldnt have eaten at all. quarter of the day was spent on thermae bath where it is an absolute must to indulge in..

roman spa was historic yes but rather not go to the museum. parts of it were good and interesting but most of em are really not my cup of tea really.

then there was the rush to go to rail station to catch the last train prior to stonehenge access commencing.

lets see this time if i can still snap and go to see the town. i just have to see the cathedral and old sarum and probably get a cab from old sarum..

blame it on the jet lag i was then late for my Thames Cruise. i thought about it and i was ready to pay more just to be on this cruise. twas topnotch and fully recommend that this is the first thing u do in london. that is if u werent early enough to get a reasonable queue to london eye.

it was my first time to get on the first great western and i was standing for half an hour. then i got on the tube. was a bit confusing at first but again it was more off the pressure i had cos its 20 past 10 and i have to be jn the cruise half an hour before quarter to 11. which is plain impossible. had to make a call and decided to get a cab. far out it was an old fart who is just racist! well if u treat me like that then i had to cut em off and decided to just call the tour company and luckily they rescheduled for another hour. had time to walk around and be amazed! i had a glimpse of big ben and i know im actually in london.

after thames i had a chance to kill time and walk around. i started taking photos of this gorgeous architecture on a building that looks like westminister abbey and later realising after my snack that it actually is WA. i had the best hotdog ever tasted and it is the hotdog chain at the back of WA.

House of parliament is exhausting tour. nonetheless it was highly informative esp for someone from a commonwealth country. so many things interesting but and 75 mins standing althroughout. anyway blooper for me is when i went to french group and later realising i cant understand it. guide said bonjour and i said bonjour back and smiled. didnt realise that they were groupih us based on the greeting. my heart is still in France thats why. got a guide book which really i should have opted to be delivered so i can do my homework beforehand. felt that i dont know much history and politics in UK.

next one is a bit of a journey but all worth it i tell you. windsor castle has the finest royal jewels and treasure collection. from state rooms to rotalty bedrooms we saw everything up close. which is free to touch by the way and you can even sit on royalty chairs unlike house of parliament where u cant. anyway i like this tour cos Madam Toussad was really good. very uptight but eliquent. after the tour we got ourselves some souvenir guide book and toast of champagne. overally i totally like this tour. now i cant wait for my royal buckingham palace tour.

is it possible to get a clawback from jet lag? didnt get much sleep reckon its 3.5 hours sleep then i just couldnt sleep at all. its been more than 24 hours since i arrived in europe..

this day would be so tiring but i need the energy. i hope i can endure today. maybe get some energy drinks and coffee...

after BA flight delay and the physical challenge in Paris lifting my luggages - i face the strictest immigration officer i have ever met. i dont understand his problem. i planned my travel so well and piut everything together in my executive summary of europe plan. why is he making a big fuss on my five day stay in uk. i just dont get it.

i reckon this guy is abusive of his authority. he has indian background and bit old school too. ahould i have put 17 days stay in london? i dong get his logic. yes i am coming back on my last leg but i honestly believe that technically speaking that one night on 14th is not counted cos its another entry for me. plus i can stay longer than 17 freakin days. last i heard i have 90 days limit on my aussie passport. if he's going to be friggin racist then heck i should too. i reckon something is just plain wrong with this immigrationt officer. perhaps he had too much spicy food for supper thats why it clouded his judgement.. oh well, what a wat to spoil my first time in london. thats a minus 10 points for uk.

so far immigration in europe doesnt impress me.

here's another blooper and probably the most serious scary one that i almost had a heart attack.. i was taking my time enjoying my starbucks espresso frap and the scrumptious louisiana toast while eyeing the departure board. i swear i never seen the status of my flight ever change to boarding. suddenly it changed to "expected 9:31" which honestly doesnt make clear sense. is it expected to what? board, fly, depart or arrive. i was confident it was more of the third one so i took my time in having the most decent meal i had for today.

then when i arrive at gate 47. i was shocked that the couple were in deep trouble saying that they missed their flight. and realising that it is the same flight as i have. started thinking of worse case scenario. thinking of how to take eurostar.. then late the lady cane back saying that flight was delayed. i was right all along. what i learned is never trust hearsays and just go with your instinct. corroborate before even defining the problem.

BA is better than emirates in terms of leg room. the aircraft is not too big but managed to breathe naturally.

met this lovely couple who lives in england. hope they are right in saying that it would be a good weather in london for my week's worth of stay in UK..

thats me. lol

i had to endure going to various sights and enjoy the rest of the afternoon shopping.

i had a very extraordinary brekkie compliments from the hotel. in case u wanted to know it is le pavilion des lettres and i recommend 9.9/10. the 0.1 is because there was no tooth paste available.

brekkie was freshly made croissant, youghurt, and the rest i cant remember cos its too hard to read.

after that i only have 1.5 hours to explore champs elysees before checking out from the hotel. i bought one jacket from zara and familiarise myself with my route back to hotel. i saw le bristol which is now my dream hotel vacay spot.

after checkout i went straight to louvre. too bad it was closed (tuesday is their sunday). then i went to notre dame cathedral. then to pantheon. i love the architecture of both. detail of design is just breathtaking.

then off to shopping. i bought some limited edition belt and new collection scarf which is perfect for spring when i come back to sydney. alex was so friendly and even showed me the exclusive to champs elysees room full of pins (on the ceiling -1800). then i webt straight to laudree were i had the biggest (fatsest)french fries and my fave melange and of course their macaroons (where they are famous for). i totally recommend having it inside though. eating it outside will have risk of thievery (?) and inside is really really good. parfait ambiance.

i went back to the hotel and repacked my things. receptionist is from brasil and she was lovely. helped me get a cab but it was my fault i had to go to chatelete instead of nord de gord. rush hour carrying a 21kg luggage in stairs. its like NY all over again.

amazing time. good times. i heart paris. i will see u again next week.

like the movie it was the most beautiful place ive been so far. it would have been really romantic if youre with someone. i was almost late to go to my tour de eiffel. good thing the cab waited for me to drop my bags at the hotel and brought me straight to the heart of Paris - Eiffel tower. its magnificent. at 12mn i enjoyed the display of diamonds across the tower and finally i met two filos lets call them kathy1 and kathy2 from milan. they took my eiffel photos. then i had the most amazing crepe with tomato and cheese (maybe cos i eas so famished). i then took cabbie to hotel and had a complimentary wine to welcome me to europe officially.

by the way clearing immigration was horrific. esp if you travel to paris at night. only one dedicated immi officer. my plane seatmates are both from france and i shall call them tim and laurence. they briefed me with what to expect in paris esp watching out for romanian girls on the streets.

splendid night and i slept with the opera orchestra.

was i expecting too much or is SQ still the leader in my flight preferences. remind me to change my amplify settings to link with Krisflyer.

firstly its a380 and the legroom was just horrible. the man in front of me inclined his seat and the monitor is right up my face. secondly i miss the time when you can just freely have a choice to go to upperdesk where seating is better and window seats has an extra compartment.

this is another long flight and now i am regretting that i picked window seat. my bladder is not cooperating!

this is the last flight before i sleep properly in a hotel bed. i am hoping that i am fully functional tonight when i carry my overwhelming luggage and walking through the alleged scary streets of paris. i still dont believe the stories i hear from my sources. reckon i should get a cab instead?

lets see how this flight goes then. all depends on the mood i guess.

postscript: celebrity on board. in fact they are both flight attendants - johnny cage and lady gaga.

my flight to dxb i met two interesting people. one is kiwi middle aged woman who's on a work assignment to huangzhou but would "shop shop shop" whilst in bangkok. she's so neurotic and crazy but i like talking to her cos she's so hyper. ive bever seen such high spirits before.

and there is this guy that looks like adam levine but is rather small. he's french. he's exactly the opposite of ms kiwi. he's quiet but somewhat resembles my messy attidude. but mines more controlable i reckon.

few bloopers in dubai. cant seem to find the entrance to dubai mall or burj khalifa. spent a gallon of sweat still ended up with nothing. not even coffee i deserve after two longhaul flights.

then there was the time i lost my favourite zara black jacket. i pretty much exhausted my aed thru multiple cab fare going every where and them cabbies becoming my personal tourist guide. and there was this unfortunate expectations lost. no burj al arab nor burj khalifa. but my heart jumped when i saw a section in dubai mall where it is too familiar. i was undecided if i want to indulge in a french brekkie then all of a sudden ryan came to the rescue. i went on another cabbie to burjaman 15 minutes from where i was and went straight to dome. can u imagine everyone working in resto/cafe are all filo. anyway ive got to thank ryan for showing me around. most fave part is when we went to atlantis. also he gave me a nice token wc is burj al arab. definitely my dubai appetite wasnt quenched to my expectation and um thirsting for more. hence i will be back sometime in january when the weather is right and when the discounts are on (hint from francine).

i started off browsing through ek magazine, which featured a glimpse of dubai. got me interested in visiting burj khalifa - one of the tallest tower in the world. dont quote me though..

then continued with the book i was reading. the thing is the book is not like most books i read. it has lengthy chapter. u get tired finishing one chapter or maybe i got used to murakami style. dont get me wrong the book is interesting. tickles you a bit like a journey back to high school when you first felt butterflies in your tummy.

anyway i remember my boss saying that what they mormally do in a long-haul flight is to watch as many movies you can. their record to date is like 7 movies for a nonstop flight to uk. i reckon i can easily beat that though i browsed the movie list and i cant even find a single nice new movies.

first one is oblivion. spent more than an hour and you get drawn into nothingness simply because the movie is pointless and utterly despicable. a movie that literally tortures u.

next one is oh boy which is a foreign film from germany. loved it and its black and white which is a treat. amazing performance by the lead actor. the story revolves around a guy without direction in life. he's perspective of life can ve depicted as eccentric but ironically full of zeal. at the end he learns a very important lesson that will chanfe his life forever.

the last one that made me doze off is The company you keep. first half hour was promising. its thriller for crying out loud. it has robert redford and susan sorandon (where is auto correct when u need it). but still the plot becomes uninteresting and too complicated that disconnected my consciousness and sent me straight to subconscious portal.

4 hours to go maybe i can catch a quick nap.

the reason that i plan thoroughly and turn into an obsessive compulsive traveller is that i am too forgetful. if i dont plan i will forget.

thinking i packed perfectly, i realised when i was preparing my travel cash for Dubai that i actually switched the money i would be spending in the checked in luggage. the damage is not massive cos i can always use GBP anyway but still..

anyway something random is that the immigration office said that im part of the top percentile of the smart aussies cos u know which country dubai is. how random, i could have a flag or capital city test and im sure i can name them all.

another random thing is that i was chosen again to do the random swab test. never fails. do i look like a druggie? lol hope not..

havent posted in a very long time but let me guve my blog some bump post!

it has been more than 3 months preparation for this big trip. yes i am excited but im more scared than excited really.

i feel like travelling to asia or america is much easier. europe is a bit intimidating. i just hope all will be fine. will let you know more when im at kingsford airport and blog more