Hey everyone! Hope you have all had a lovely festive holiday and New Year. I managed to go home (UK) for the holidays. I was really busy catching up with friends and family (as to why there has been a slight delay again in my posts;). You don't realise how much you have missed them until you see them after some time apart. All i can say is.....thank "God" for Skype and Whatsapp, those two things have been my saviors and enabled me to have constant connection with friends and family whilst living abroad.
I wasn't quite sure, this time, how to start off my New Year post, as I had done, quite a few things, towards the end of last year. I then decided, the best way to share with you all, is by giving you a snippet of my London and the things I got up to and saw when I was there.
I would also like to mention before i continue, that in this post and my blog thus far, any recommendations i make are from my own personal experiences and not something i am being paid for or asked to promote. I love to travel and experience new things and revisit others and i just wanted this to be a place for me to share those with you. Ok, i am babbling now, i hope you like my London New Year post, please feel free to comment and ask any questions;)
(Whilst there, i only had my iPhone to take pictures with me, so apologizes in advance for the crappy photography!!)
Oxo Tower is another high rise building which sits along the river Thames and has an amazing view of the city from one of the top floors where the restaurant/bar is located..............and it is free to go up and take a peek!
This was a first for me, i have never done any of the London walks. I have always been interested in murder mysteries and Jack The Ripper is one of them...i know...i'm strange!
There are many attractions at Winter Wonderland. I would say the majority of the rides are available at anytime, you just have to queue for a bit.
Anyway, enough of moaning, maybe i'll save that for another post;)
I wasn't quite sure, this time, how to start off my New Year post, as I had done, quite a few things, towards the end of last year. I then decided, the best way to share with you all, is by giving you a snippet of my London and the things I got up to and saw when I was there.
I would also like to mention before i continue, that in this post and my blog thus far, any recommendations i make are from my own personal experiences and not something i am being paid for or asked to promote. I love to travel and experience new things and revisit others and i just wanted this to be a place for me to share those with you. Ok, i am babbling now, i hope you like my London New Year post, please feel free to comment and ask any questions;)
(Whilst there, i only had my iPhone to take pictures with me, so apologizes in advance for the crappy photography!!)
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| Panoramic view from the Roof Terrace
Anyone can go up to the Roof Terrace of One New Change, which is a shopping arcade in the City.....and it is FREE to go!
There are many sites to see in the City, so if you happen to be in the area, i would say "why not check it out". I'll admit, its not the perfect view of the City, but you do get to see St Paul's Cathedral fairly close up and at no cost.
It is open 7 days a week and you will find all other information on their website: http://www.onenewchange.com/roof-terrace
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| Madison Restaurant and bar |
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| In the lift up to Roof Terrace |
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| View of St Paul's Cathedral |
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| Outside area to to sit and take in the views of the City of London |
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| View from Oxo Tower, London |
Oxo Tower is another high rise building which sits along the river Thames and has an amazing view of the city from one of the top floors where the restaurant/bar is located..............and it is free to go up and take a peek!
This is one that i would say is worth seeing when you are in London. You could even sit out on the balcony, have a coffee whilst watching the boats go by on the river and take in the scenery of all the buildings/architecture along the Thames.
For address details and Opening times: http://www.oxotower.co.uk/who/oxo-tower-restaurant-bar-brasserie/
I thought this would be fun to do with a group of friends, so i booked a few of us to go on this London walk around the East End and have dinner after. There are lots of restaurants to choose from and all close by.
I would 100% recommend going on this tour, of course, if you are in to that sort of thing. I though it was something different and fun to do, if you are in a group, or just one other person. I have to say, the tour guide we had was brilliant, extremely enthusiastic and in character throughout the tour. He really got our imaginations going and took us on this journey, back in time. On this particular tour, they used a handheld projector, so at certain points on the walk, our tour guide, could show us pictures of the crime scene, bodies of the victims (be warned) to help us build up a picture. Here is the link of the tour company i used: http://thejacktherippertour.com/index.html
Winter Wonderland is a Theme park situated in Hyde Park which is in the center of London. It is seasonal, so it runs from November-January and has no admission fee to enter! Its an outdoor theme park and where it takes place during the winter month, I would advise to wrap up! Oh, another thing, typical of being in the UK, it does rain a lot...so, where it is in the park, if it rains, it does get muddy, so make sure you have the right shoes on;)
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| Lamp post in the area date back to 1899 |
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| All of us with our tour guide;) |
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| Random street art on shop front of Edward Scissorhands |
I would 100% recommend going on this tour, of course, if you are in to that sort of thing. I though it was something different and fun to do, if you are in a group, or just one other person. I have to say, the tour guide we had was brilliant, extremely enthusiastic and in character throughout the tour. He really got our imaginations going and took us on this journey, back in time. On this particular tour, they used a handheld projector, so at certain points on the walk, our tour guide, could show us pictures of the crime scene, bodies of the victims (be warned) to help us build up a picture. Here is the link of the tour company i used: http://thejacktherippertour.com/index.html
Winter Wonderland is a Theme park situated in Hyde Park which is in the center of London. It is seasonal, so it runs from November-January and has no admission fee to enter! Its an outdoor theme park and where it takes place during the winter month, I would advise to wrap up! Oh, another thing, typical of being in the UK, it does rain a lot...so, where it is in the park, if it rains, it does get muddy, so make sure you have the right shoes on;)
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| I was clinging on for dear life here! |
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| As you can see by the crowds it gets really busy!! |
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| They have a German style market there and lots of food stalls! |
There are many attractions at Winter Wonderland. I would say the majority of the rides are available at anytime, you just have to queue for a bit.
There is a, big Ice Rink in the centre of the theme park and that, you definitely need to book, way in advance as tickets sell out really quickly and apparently, the same goes for the Zippos Christmas Circus and The Magical Ice Kingdom.
Here is the w/site with all the info: http://www.hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/
Ok, so that is it for my London touristy stuff i did, i hope you liked it!
Peace out x
