Ve's Birthday in Warwick Castle

When my family went to England the other day, it happened to be on my daughter's 3rd birthday. I made her a birthday pie that day, and all of my family finished it before we went to Warwick Castle lol. My daughter was so excited to go to Warwick Castle, as she's a huge fan of Frozen. She said she wanted to visit Elsa's house :). Warwick Castle is located in Warwickshire, not very far from Coventry. I think it is one of the best attractions in West Midlands. I already bought the ticket online, as it is way cheaper than buying on the spot. Since it is still on West Midlands area, I also bought group ticket for bus day pass from Stagecoach West Midlands since it has more reasonable price for one group of 4-6 people. Once we arrived, we watched the Eagle Show. It was quite attractive, as many people were really into the show. My daughter asked me to buy a tiara from merchandise store, as she's having her birthday that day. We also went inside the castle, where there are many rooms to be visited. My daughter was really thrilled as she practised some of the lines from Frozen hahaha. We did also enjoy the green grass yard of the castle, and had a lunch at the underground resto buffet inside the castle. What is more exciting is my daughter and I had a maze adventure to collect all the stamps provided inside the maze. This is definitely the best castle in England for family. Before we went home, she also enjoyed a good time in the playground with some other kids. 

Birthday Lunch wefie

Playground temptation

London Part 3

Hellooo, I was so happy these previous days as I was having my family in the UK! yihhiyy!! Though London is no more my favourite city, I have to guide them all to enjoy the heart of England.

My daughter at Diana Playground, Kensington Gardens

Day 1:

Our first stop is Diana Memorial Playground. It is a playground for kids, dedicated to the late Lady Diana. My daughter was having fun, as my family accompanied her too. Then I moved to Sherlock Holmes Museum, accompanying my sherlockian sister. We went upstairs as the museum is in the upstairs. The queue was sooo long unlike any other days, but it was just amazing. Feeling the goosebumps from the very first floor. My sister and I had an amazing experience. We also bought some souvenirs lol. Afterwards, we went to Madame Tussauds London. Just like any other franchise, this offers celebrity mannequins, and it took more than an hour to finish all the attractions. We were so tired and moved to Picadilly Circus. We had an amazing Lebanese course and then went home.

Sherlock Holmes Museum with Sherlockian Sister

Day 2:

On the second day we went to Tower Bridge, London Tower, cruising to London Eye and joined the Giant Wheel (though the queue was long enough too). We also visited SEA Life aquarium, just to make my daughter happy hahaha. Luckily the queue was not as long as the London Eye and Madame Tussauds. We move forwards to Westminster area and Buckingham Palace to take some photos.

London Aquarium

Tower Bridge

From the wheel

Iceland

It started out as my roommate bucket-list, we finally attempted to apply for schengen visa to Iceland. He wanted to see some snows and if we get lucky, we might see Aurora or Northern Lights as well. Unfortunately, we only got single entry visa, so we have to apply again for our next euro-trip. FYI, trip to Iceland is very expensive, I think the cost is twice as in Britain so you might consider several things before planning to go there. We decided to rent a car instead of going on a tour, since the price is really shocking our pockets. It is nicer to had this road trip as we can plan our own destinations without have to wait for other people to get in to the bus. 

Road trippin

courtesy: hoctri

We only visited Iceland for four days, since our spring break in Warwick uni is very limited (and there is a paper due as well). The mandatory place to visit is Golden Circle locations which are Þingvellir national park, Strokkur Geysir, Gullfoss waterfall, and Kerið volcanic crater. Iceland is definitely a place for a natural-scenic lover since it is a volcanic-ally and geologically active land. That's why it is called the land of fire and ice. I am more interested with this kind of journey instead of getting a selfie at Eiffel or Pisa 😁 

Thingvellir National Park

Kerid

Gullfoss

The next day we were strolling around Reykjavik and visiting Open Air museum, Hallgrimskirkja, Seljalandsfoss, and Skogafoss. The latter two are in the south east part of Iceland. Although it's entering spring already, still Iceland is covered by heavy snow and snowfalls. Though we didn't get the aurora (it requires very clear sky with no cloud and patience every single midnight), it is still worth the visit because apparently Iceland is just one of a kind and specifically unique. For further info on Iceland tourism, just click www.visiticeland.com

Open Air Museum

Geothermal Power Plant

Seljalandsfoss

Heavy snow on Skogafoss

Hallgrimskirkja

Liverpool

I actually never intended to visit Liverpool. A good friend of mine, Farouk, told me that he wanted to visit UK, and his schedule suggested that we should meet in there. At first stop, we visited Anfield, the stadium of Liverpool. I thought it was gonna be huge like Stamford Bridge or at least Old Trafford, turned out it is not too spacey. Afterwards, we visited Casbah Coffee Club, where The Beatles started their music journey. Again, we didn't find a way to come in so we didn't necessarily visit the place hahah. We moved forward to City Center, and stopped by in The Cavern Club, where The Beatles and Rolling Stones usually performed, as well as the cradle of british pop gigs. We then had a lunch at an Asian restaurant nearby. I felt like a thousand years didn't eat this kind of delish Indonesian food haha. Next place to visit is absolutely The Beatles Story, and also Albert Dock. Liverpool is definitely a recommended place to visit if you're really into british bands, and enjoy various bars and gigs in it. However, meeting a good friend would never be this exciting

Casbah Coffee Club

Anfield Stadium

  

.

Knaresborough

After our travel to Manchester, 2 of my friends went back to Birmingham, and the rest of us continue to travel to Leeds. We had a night-over at friend's house before going to one of the landmarks near Leeds, Knaresborough. Knaresborough is a castle, that also has a viaduct near to it. The place is pretty cold (since it is located a bit north and in a hill). It is best for sightseeing, have a stroll or just have an ice cream! Unfortunately, My friend and I had to go back to Warwick since it was near our term 1 exam.

Manchester

Indie paintings in Affleck Palace, symbols of Britpop in England

On new year's eve 2017, I visited Manchester to meet my Public Works awardees from Birmingham and Leeds. I have visited Manchester before, but only for watching RHCP concert hahah. When we arrived there, we were heading to The University of Manchester after having a cuppa in Costa near Afflecks Palace. I was a bit excited because this is the almamater of Benedict Cumberbatch and Alan Turing, a genius man who played the role of a genius man as well. This uni is on 10 universities in the UK, same as my uni, Warwick) There is an Alan Turing building on the university, which I think it belongs to the Mathematics school. After Visiting the uni, we went to visit Old Trafford. Three of my friends wanted to watch a match of Man Utd, and the rest of us (other 3 guys) headed to National Football Museum. This museum is free of charge, but you can donate your money here for their development. It is worth visit to the museum, as you can get many valuable information regarding football in the England, and there are some sort of simulations and not to mention the shop as well. We had a night-over in Prestwitch to spend our new year's eve, and continue the journey to Leeds tomorrow morning.

New Year's eve in Manchester

Definitely Devon

If there is one place I can only visit other than London in the UK, the answer is Devon! Why Devon? At first, I intended to come here just because it is the inspiring place for Arthur Conan Doyle's work, The Hound of the Baskervilles, named Hound Tor. Hound Tor is one of the landmarks in Dartmoor National Park, Devon. However, The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the most successful stories of Sherlock Holmes canons. Another reason is because Devon is the hometown of my number 1 favourite band, MUSE. It is Teignmouth town, approximately 45 mins from the Moor. I planned this trip carefully, since there is no public transportation on South Devon. Luckily, my airbnb host, David, offered to take us to the place (yay). Moreover, the house is in Teignmouth, and very near to the spots in Teignmouth which I wanted to visit hehehe. Turned out the heater on the house was installed by Matthew Bellamy's uncle 😲

Hound Tor Medieval

David took us to Hound Tor by his car. He is such a generous and  a well-educated man. I never expected Hound Tor would be this comforting, peaceful, and serene. Unlike many populated area in England, Dartmoor is very quite and I think I would have my retirement in this kinda place. After wandering around, David and his partner took us to one of the best cafes in the Moor. The foods were amazing, not to mention the owner gave us a Christmas pudding, and we share it for 4 (lol). Actually we wanted to continue to Hay Tor (David said it is more beautiful than Hound Tor) but unfortunately it was raining. We finally went back to Teignnouth.

Teignmouth Community School

Tranquil Teignmouth

As a big fan of Muse, I wouldn't wanna let go this opportunity to visit their school, Teignmouth Community College. Afterwards, we went to the beach, and hada meal in Beachcomber. This restaurant is the host of Muse's Seaside Rendezvous gigs in 2009 when they went back to Teignmouth. Overall, Teignmouth is very tranquil, a place where I would visit again if there is any chance. If you want to visit this town, don't forget to rent a car or make sure your host is providing a car because local transport  is very rare within this town.

Teignmouth Pier

Beachcomber