Bayswater/ Greenwich/ O2

After the lazy wkend last wk, we recharged ourselves and had a very eventful wkend this wk! We checked out a few interesting places:

1) Leicester Sq

ok, we went there for a haircut as we tot they mite be able to cut a hairstyle most similar to hm..esp wen we just wanted a 'trim'..unfortunately, it turned out to be a disaster and it almost spolit my entire wkend! I swore i will never go back to those salons there!! We went for dim sum lunch after that as my hub wanted to cheer me up (appreciated his tots but i was too upset with the bad hair cut)..well, can only console myself that it doesnt take long for my hair to grow back..sob sob..

We happened to witness a fire scene while we were at the Chinatown. Many pple were crowding ard and we also joined in the kay poh for awhile..heh..






Thereafter, we strolled to Leicester Sq and as we walked past this building, the bells rung and there were many little figurines moving along with the music..everyone stopped for a moment to appreciate it.

2) Bayswater

We decided to chk out Bayswater as the popular raost duck restaurant, 'Four Seasons', Singaporean restaurant 'Kiasu' and apparently, the biggest shopping mall in London are situated there. There are quite a lot of Asians living in this area.

The area is quite nice as there were alot of food outlets! yum yum..

However, we were kinda disappointed with the 'biggest' shopping mall in London as it isnt very big and there arent many pple shopping inside - lighting very poor as well! We went back shortly after that as it started to drizzle..

3) Greenwich Park/ Royal Observatory

Before i bring you to Greenwich, i thought i should show you how the Japan Centre looks like (managed to capture a shot on the double decker bus)!

Frankly, i didnt know that the Greenwich town we are heading to is the home of Prime Meridien untill my hub told me! I cant believe i acutally have the opportunity to visit so many places that i only get to hear about in Spore and i truly count myself lucky to be able to do so.

Abit of background on the place - Since 1884, the world has set its clocks according to the time of day on the Meridian of Greenwich, longitude - an imaginary line joining the North and South Poles through the dead centre of a specialised telescope installed at the Observatory in 1851. Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London. It is now often used to refer to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) when this is viewed as a time zone, although strictly UTC is an atomic time scale which only approximates GMT in the old sense.

We actually have to walk a short distance from Greenwich tube station and climb a mini hill (like bukit timah) to reach the top of the obseratory. It was kinda tiring for us as we havent been exercising for some time..heh..but the view fm the top is gorgeous!

Here it is!! The line where the west meet the east.

Yes, i am right in the middle of the 'earth'! Haa..

This is the green laser light inside the observatory that marks the middle of earth too!

Look at the huge collection of instruments used..

4) 02


Before we returned home, we popped by the famous 'O2' - a state-of-the-art concert arena. It also includes a music club, cinema, exhibition space, piazzas etc..

We used to have a very good impression of O2 as many of the popular concerts are held there. However, we were kinda disappointed after our visit. The location is really very ulu, the design wasnt fantastic (looks like some construction site to me) and there wasnt much to do inside as well (i mean when there is no concert gg on).

However, i must say that the management were quite good as they tried many ways to bring in crowd to the venue (esp during wkend). They created this indoor man-made beach for families to bring their kids to have fun and some high-tech 'para-para dance' set-up.

Other than my bad hair cut, i had a great wkend adventure this wk AND i am certainly looking forward to the world's biggest carnival - Nottinghill Carnival next wkend!! 8 )

Lazy Green Park/ Richmond

It's a very lazy wkend and we cant really decide where to go..

The Japan Centre at Picaddilly Circus has become one of our regular hangouts after we discovered the cheap and good sushi there..after stocking up some japanese instant noodles, we got ourselves a plate of yummy sushi for lunch. We had a hard time deciding where to eat it as we didnt want to stand along the walkway or the road. So, we took a short stroll down to Green Park, found a good spot and had a simple yet gd lunch there! ;9

Then on Sun, we were also unsure where we wud like to go so we took a bus from the bustop rite in front of our hse and went all da way to Richmond - doesnt seems far on the tube map but gosh, the bus journey took us almost an hr ++!

Despite the distance fm the city centre, Richmond town houses many of the high street brands and yes, it's one of those places where the rich stays.

We took a stroll down the streets and discover this French pastry shop! I cant help but drool outside the display window..they look so pretty and yummy!!

There wasnt much to do there so, we took a bus back after walking ard the town for abt 1-2 hrs..*tired*

Kensington Palace/ Tower Bridge-City Hall

Where shall we go this week? ; )





Wait! B4 i start on my wkend adventures, I must share this 'interesting' sight with you 1st! My hub 'caught' one couple sun-tanning on the dirty & smelly roof-top opp our kitchen window. You wun believe hw desparate these pple here are to get a tan, during summer. Then ard the same time, there happened to be another guy opp our room's window, who climbed out of his room window on the 2nd level and sat topless on the edge (just on top of the ground level shops)!

1) Kensington Palace/ Sepertine Gallery - 4 Aug

Following the recent commemoration of Princess Diana's 10 yr death anniversay, we decided to check out Kensington Palace (where she used to stay) this wkend.

Here's the grand entrance to the Palace.

The Field of Flowers: a temporary art installation in Kensington Palace gardens to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana, the Princess of Wales.

The installation of ten golden dandelion heads designed by artist Sofie Layton, echoes the thousands of flowers that mourners left in front of the palace gates ten years ago. The golden dandelions are 3.5 metres tall. Each of the heads has been individually gold-leafed by members of the public visiting the gardens. One completed dandelion has been erected in the gardens each week since 1 July and the final, tenth sculpture went up on 31 August, the date of the 10th anniversary.

After taking a walk around, we decided to explore the park and find the Serpentine Gallery.

Look at all the British scattered all over the park - sun bathing, reading, chatting, munching & playing!

We then passed by this lake full of swans and duckies, which reminded us of Dublin and the Portobello lake. My hub got cheeky and did a wild 'swan' chase! Heh..

After a long walk into the park, we finally found the Serpentine Gallery - one of London’s best-loved galleries for modern and contemporary art!

2) Tower Bridge/City Hall - The Scoop - 5 Aug


There was a free play gg on @ The Scoop near Tower Brigde/City Hall area in the evening and we decided to check it out after dinner.

We were late but still managed to catch the later half of the play.

After the play, we strolled along the South side of River Thames and was surprised to find some new arts installation next to the City Hall! They were guitars with covers designed by famous celebrities and all of them had very interesting designs.

Also, i must mention the 'slanted' City Hall building behind me - one of my fav. Designed by Norman Foster, City Hall is the headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor of London. Interestingly, The building has an unusual bulbous shape, intended to reduce its surface area and thus improve energy efficiency. Do check it out if you visit London!

My hub with another 'designer' guitar.

On the river, we also saw the HMS Belfast - a unique 20th century cruiser. HMS Belfast was the first ship to be saved for the nation since Nelson's HMS Victory (due to her historical importance) and is now a museum moored on the Thames between Tower and London Bridge.

Beautiful night view of River Thames

We kept walking and walking, till we saw this huge covered mall - cant really rem the name but it's very near the London Bridge/tube station. We took a walk around and then headed back home.