Posts Tagged ‘trains’

UK Vacation Day 8 Recap

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
28 December 2013
1

I can’t believe it’s been nearly four months since this trip and I’m still updating on it. Only two more to go after this one!

Day 8 was a chill day, with a late checkout and leisurely stroll from the hotel to the train station. We swung by the Co-operative, a grocery store, and the House of Fraser, a chain that reminds me of Macy’s. We wandered along the quiet of Rose Street and found ourselves some cookie tins commemorating Prince George at the train station. The train from Edinburgh to London took most of the day and once we were settled back, we got dinner at Nando’s. Since we got drink vouchers at the hotel, we stopped by the bar to get drinks (sodas) before calling it a night.

[Miss some? Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, and Day 7 recaps.]

breakfast spread at hilton edinburgh with hash brown, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried egg, and fruit

I think the only time I eat breakfast is at hotels.

girl guiding scotland headquarters and shop

A random sighting in our way to the train station. Girl Scouts, anyone?

strings of small red flags stretching across rose street walkway

I love the small streets like these.

east coast train car at train station

Onto the train and back down to London we go.

view of landscape in united kingdom from train window

It’s so picturesque!

girl grinning with bag near end of train station platform

Excited to be back in London!

london king's cross sign on train station platform

Which way to platform 9 3/4?

spacious interior of london king's cross train station

Looks rather futuristic in here.

entrance to king's cross underground tube station

Taking a pit stop to use the wifi before heading down to the tube.

doubletree by hilton victoria

Back at our hotel in Victoria!

girl sitting at table at nando's victoria

We found this chicken place called Nando’s.

seasoned nuts covered by plastic dome with metal spoon

Grab some nuts while you wait.

nando's garlic peri-peri sauce and medium peri-peri sauce in glass jars with metal tops

They have all kinds of tasty sauces.

nando's chicken in pita with sides of mashed potatoes and garlic bread

I opted to try their pita, mashed potatoes, and garlic bread. Delicious!

nando's grilled chicken dark meat with sides of rice and garlic bread

Panda got the grilled dark meat, rice, and garlic bread.

rear of modern red double decker bus in london with lots of windows

The newer double deckers look so sleek.

UK Vacation Day 3 Recap

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
26 September 2013
3

Check out my UK Day 1 recap and UK Day 2 recap, then read on for Day 3! We spent about half the day prepping for and traveling to Cardiff, then got a chance to explore the city in the afternoon and evening. It was a nice quiet, yet active time together in this beautiful place. 🙂

view of victoria station in london from nearby hotel

From our hotel, we could see Victoria Station, so it was very easy to get to the train!

interior of victoria station in london with skylights and british flags

The interior of Victoria Station is nice and airy, with plenty of natural sunlight.

bike parking area with dozens of bikes inside victoria station in london

There were a ton of bikes parked there.

delice de france baguette display at victoria station in london

Before boarding the train, I browsed the selection at Delice de France for my lunch.

chicken chorizo baguette sandwich from delice de france bakery

I ended up getting the chicken chorizo baguette to eat on the train and it was delicious!!

pink and blue striped circus tents beyond railroad tracks

Along the way, we saw the circus in a town.

first view of the streets of cardiff

Hello Cardiff! I’m finally in Wales!

dog standing with large piece of tree branch in mouth

What an ambitious dog, carrying around a giant tree branch.

grouping of flower pots in tree shape

The flowers make the street all pretty.

congratulations message written in chocolate on plate with vanilla buttercream cupcake

Yay, celebration!

heavy cloud coverage over buildings in cardiff

It’s sunny but it’s gloomy ’round these parts.

view of cardiff castle from nearby hotel

Got a view of the Cardiff Castle from the hotel lounge.

small garden with maze-like design in cardiff

A fun little garden area across the street.

collage of executive lounge snacks including fruits, desserts, condiments, cookies, and sugar

The executive lounge provided a variety of snacks!

pink gumdrop station in cardiff for recycling gum

Haha, can’t say this is what I imagine when I hear “gumdrop” but it’s a nice way to discourage gum where you don’t want it.

small purple flowers

We walked through an industrial zone that was intimidating, but at least there were pretty flowers!

swan on picturesque river in cardiff wales

We tried walking to this Cardiff Bay we heard about, but couldn’t quite figure out what there was to see. It was pretty along the way at least!

white swan swimming on river in cardiff

So many swans around here! I love it.

As we were walking along the river, we heard a splash and saw some movement out of the corner of our eyes. We thought it was a bird diving into the water to get a fish, so we watched and waited for it to come up. A few minutes later, what did we see? A GINORMOUS FLYING FISH! I mean, it was like a foot and a half long and propelled itself out of water better than salmon swimming upstream. I tried to get a video of it but we never saw it again. Sad times.

brains brewery across river with silver tanks and colorful tops

After giving up on going so far, we headed back and I wondered what those colorfully-topped silver canisters are for.

yellow flower on stem in slim vase centerpiece

We stopped for dinner at an Indian place, with pretty yellow flower centerpieces.

glass of clear sparkling lemonade drink with lemon slice inside

This was not what I expected when I ordered lemonade, but it was amazing. I want more!

appetizers at indian restaurant in cardiff wales

Yuuum, enjoying our appetizers.

plates of indian food including naan bread

We both enjoyed our dishes and the garlic naan. Wonderful meal together. 🙂

church clock tower against blue sky in cardiff

I enjoy the little alleyways and cobblestone streets, and of course the architecture and beautiful blue skies.

red flower floating in water as centerpiece with mug of water on table

Back at the hotel, we enjoy a little break in the lounge.

layers of dark clouds with thin bright area in middle

The clouds are moving in!

fridge and shelves with small glass bottles of sodas and drinks

Oooo yes, I love these little glass soda bottles!

free bottles of wine in executive lounge of hotel

In the evenings, the executive lounge offers free wine here. I’m sure that made some folks happy.

UK Vacation Day 2 Recap

laelene Posted in lifestyle glimpses, photo blog，Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
16 September 2013
3

Continuing from my UK Day 1 recap, here’s a look at what we did the second day of our UK trip. We did a lot of walking as we went from the Victoria region to Buckingham Palace, through Green and Hyde parks, into the Science and Natural History museums, and back to Victoria.

english breakfast buffet with hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, and waffles

The day started off with breakfast at the hotel, where we encountered some traditional English items like baked beans and cooked mushrooms. Panda loved it!

roll mops au vinagre platter at hotel breakfast buffet

I also discovered some things I couldn’t quite figure out, like these “roll mops.”

tourist taking picture of buckingham palace guard

We then walked to Buckingham Palace, stopping along the way at a gift shop where Panda found tea towels for our moms.

view of gates to green park and tourists walking around outside buckingham palace

From Buckingham, we went over to Green Park, which was new to me.

red street running along buckingham palace lined with trees photo bombed by pedestrian walking by

As we crossed the street I wanted to get a shot of the thick trees lining the road and it totally got photo bombed.

stoplight with red person riding horse crossing light

Apparently there are a fair share of equestrians around here since they have their own crossing lights!

large tree in park with branches growing down creating cave space underneath

This is the second time I’ve seen a tree like this (the first time was at Hershey Gardens). I want one in my yard!

looking out from underneath tree branches nearly touching ground

I couldn’t resist going into the little tree cave for a moment. I mean, it already had an opening!

squirrel standing on hind legs looking far away

This adorable squirrel looked so forlorn when the squirrel it was chasing went through the fence. Why it didn’t just follow I don’t know.

bunch of pigeons and one squirrel eating on grass

Seems like the pigeons and squirrels get along quite well here.

crowd of pigeons eating in park by people's feet

Pigeons are always pecking, which makes me wonder if they’re ever not hungry…

two baby coons at edge of pond near nest in reeds

I found some cute baby coons nesting in the reeds. Aww!

ruffled pigeon standing at edge of pond with feathers everywhere

Haha! This ruffled up pigeon was cooling its feet in the pond.

black bird with neon greenish yellow feet walking into pond

Click on this pic and zoom in to see the freakin’ NEON feet of this bird.

brown and white duck with black accents swimming in pond

Now there’s an unusual duck with pretty black trim.

swan drinking water at edge of pond with kids standing nearby

There were a ton of swans around and it doesn’t look like I’m that close, but it felt like I could touch it!

kids chasing geese in park

Some of the kids enjoyed chasing the ducks, geese, and swans into the pond.

wooden and cloth lounge seats by willow tree in park

The park provided tons of chairs for anyone who wanted to relax. So nice.

pasta bake and salad with san pellegrino orange soda drink and black pepper and sea salt chips

After the park we went to the Science Museum, where I got a delicious pasta bake lunch.

zoomed in look at purple sapphire engagement ring under microscope

Next up was the Natural History Museum where we came across a microscope and decided to take a look at my ring up close.

red and white street sign with sticker grafitti

On our walk from the museums back towards the hotel, we came across signs that had been tagged with fun stickers.

ton of train tickets laid out on table as they are printed out

Before going to the room, we stopped at Victoria Station to pick up our train tickets for the duration of our trip. It printed out so many!!

bowl of wagamama ramen dish with pork, shrimp, wakame seaweed, fish cakes, and tea egg

For dinner it was Wagamama and I unknowingly went to the exact one I’d eaten at years ago.

365great Day 169: trains

laelene Posted in 365great，Tags: , , , , , ,
30 August 2013
0

Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 169: trainsI’ve always enjoyed traveling on trains. In my childhood, I’d go back to China each summer and ride a 12-hour train to get from Beijing to Shenyang. Oftentimes it’d be the overnight one, where we got fun bunk beds. I loved being on the top one because it was do high up and since I was small I fit easily. There wasn’t enough room to sit up properly since it was just meant for the sleeping portion of your trip. If you wanted to sit you could use the bottom bunk if the person let you, or stand around the aisles and snag a seat. They gave out these fabulous 3D puzzle keychains that I couldn’t get enough of. I trained myself to be able to put it back together with my eyes closed! During the day, I really like how the landscapes pass by and you really get a feel for the countryside. Plus, it’s nice to be able to get up as you please. For the most part the price is also great if you’re willing to spend some more time on the road. The best part? No tedious security checks!

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