United Kingdom

Southampton & Stonehenge

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Southampton is a small city…very quiet, beautiful and attractive. There is nothing much to see in Southampton, but the Titanic Museum and remains of old Southampton fort. Next day we started our exploration of Southampton. We went to the market and saw the gate of Southampton Fort. In WWII, SH was completely destroyed and it was re-built. The pier from which Titanic sailed, was also destroyed and there stands the new port.

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London 2012 – Getting there

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We went in and did the usual hoolah of checking in and immigration etc., and headed for the duty-free/lounges. My dad waited patiently while mom and I took a look around the duty-free, and finding nothing to our liking, commenced to the lounge. It was the same lounge and, of course, nothing had changed since last year – the couches, the low impossible-to-eat-off little coffee tables, the lights, everything was the same. The food was kept on a granite table with L-shaped counters around it. They had patties, sausages etc for starters, and rice, Mexican chicken gravy and different curries for people wanting a full-er meal. I first went to the patties, which were kept in that microwave-y, revolve-y thingies. I took one and got back to the couch we were sitting on and picked up the day’s Daily Mail, and spent the next 10-15 minutes savouring ‘delicacies’ (okay, it was just a patty, but still) and reading about what’s going on in the country hosting us for the next 14 days or so. I then went on to get myself the other things – I got myself sausages and sat down to eat, and in my mind thought, ‘wow, pretty delicious’, but the truth was, I was gonna learn what delicious sausages really are. I decided not to pig out anymore on the food on land and fill myself only once in air, and so for the rest of the time all I did was drink various kinds of juices, call all my friends to say bye and generally watch the news and listen to music, thinking of all the delicious cuisine I was going to savour soon.

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Portsmouth & Spinnaker Tower – Day 15

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Today was our 15th and second-last day in England. Our plan for the day was to be at the beach in the morning, then go to see the Spinnaker Tower in Gunwharf Quay in the afternoon, and finally take our Coach back to London (we’re in Portsmouth, remember?)

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Portsmouth Ahoy! – Day 13 & 14

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Our 14th day in London was much more fun – for me. Our plan was to go to this town called Portsmouth. It is a waterfront city, with a lot of fun stuff to do, like arcades, amusement parks, and the most important of all, beachesJ. It is also the birthplace of Charles Dickens. Mausi Ji has a house there, and so we were going for an over-night trip.

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Southend-on-Sea Visit – Day 12

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We could see the water shimmering white, much closer to the beach now. The beach had started looking a rich shade of yellow, and we could see those cute little typical English houses in the background, beyond the beach. Anyhow, we reached the little pier all excited, hoping for some coffee or food stalls. However, the pier was just that – a pier. It was a wooden structure, with a huge-ish area to walk about in and a few benches to sit on. The view was quite lovely, and there was something about standing in the middle of the water, with the wind in your face and the sun shining above. The water tide had come in quite a bit and I wanted to get back to the beach. The next train was due half an hour later, and so I decided to make the most of it.

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Let’s Walk everywhere – Day 10 & 11

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Today was our tenth day here in London, and our plan for today was, er… nothing. We were basically going to sleep and rest for the first half of the day, then we would go to The Garden Café for a quick bite, and then for the second half we would come home and sleep and rest a bit more.
We decided to play a little game of taking pictures of the signboards that came on the way.

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A Quiet Day in Romford – Day 9

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Today was our 9th day in London, and my mother had planned for us another ‘fun’ day at the mall. The logic was simple – it was raining, we had to be indoors, so we might as well be indoors outside. We were to go to The Brewery first, and then The Liberty Mall, both located within close proximity of each other, in Romford. Romford is one of the major commercial centres in the London suburbs.

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Thames River Cruise & Much More – Day-8

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It was a two-tiered open-top boat. We, of course, went to that top deck and took the seats in the front row. The weather was quite pleasant, sunny with just the right amount of wind, so that you weren’t too cold when the boat moved. A guide was giving us little nuggets of information on the landmarks along the Thames River. Mom and I were both busy clicking pictures on our respective devices, but did manage to intake most of the info being given by our guide. We had a closer look at Westminster Abbey and the Big Ben as we sailed past. We saw Canary Wharf, the Tower of London, the retired battle-cruiser – HMS Belfast; St Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern, Tower Bridge and a lot of other bridges. It was a lot of fun going under the bridges, with mom trying to take pictures of the underside of the bridges.

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Hello Wembley, Hi Freddie – Day 7

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The moment we reached the station I zipped out, making a run for the stadium, dodging people left & right, while mom followed closely panting behind. The stadium could clearly be seen from the station, but the speed with which I was sprinting did not exactly allow me to take my eyes off the road and the people on it – yes, the ones I was dodging – and so I couldn’t soak in its beauty, magnificence and all at that time.

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Tynemouth: Sand, Sea, Castle & More

Tynemouth: Sand, Sea, Castle & More

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Just two or three stations before Tynemouth, through the metro window itself, I got the first glance of the sea, the great North sea, blue as sapphire. And when a person, who has spent most of his life in Delhi, which is 1100 km away from the nearest sea, gets a glance of the sea – He has every right to open his eyes wide.

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Trip to Harrods

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It being a Sunday, the place was kinda full, but the fullness of it did not take away the splendour, grace, elegance & overall beauty of the place. There were beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceilings, antique looking furniture was scattered everywhere and there were, of course, beautiful mannequins in windows. The décor of the place somewhat varied from section to section. The toys section was done in tones of cheer, with streams of holly adding to the gaiety, while the fragrance section was done up in subtle tones, so that the focus was totally on the brands displayed.

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