London: Me, Alex, Eatery, London Underground and Crockett & Jones

Despite its unpredictable weather...
A bad day in London is still better than a good day anywhere else.
When I was in London, everyday was a happy day!

The shopping experience in London was incredible.
Too often - many cities in Asia - shoppers are bombarded by big brands e.g. Chanel, LV, Gucci etc.
It was nice to see so many niche brands in London offering something unique, good quality and different, hence making this city the best shopping centre capital in the world.

Me & my new Kate Spade rose jade handbag on Oxford Street.

It was quite cold for a Summer morning.

Monday, 13th of June 2016.

Breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien before heading off to Natural History Museum.

Alex's gigantic bowl of soy cappuccino...

... that comes with an organic Pain Au Chocolat (French Chocolate Bread)

My organic soft boiled egg with bread...

... and cup of French Hot Chocolate.

In London, we travelled mostly by London underground.

The system is easy to follow and all the underground officers that we had come across with were very knowledgeable and helpful.

This is Victoria Station.

We were on our way to Trafalgar Square when Alex and I got lost at the underground. 

His brave wife took this picture while waiting for the next train to arrive. We reunited not long after.

When Alex was a small boy, his father used to take him to work via Waterloo Station.

This station has 22 platforms and is always heaving with people during peak hours.

Spotted the Pasty Shop from afar.

Alex introduced me to the famous Cornwall Pasty which had made my day very happy indeed!

Selfridges on Oxford Street (a chain of high end department stores) is one of the busiest shopping centres in London. After looting a couple of pairs of shoes, we sat down for lunch at Aubaine.

The interior of this French restaurant was beautiful. Sadly my camera didn't do her a fair justice.

Me and my Salade Nicoise.

(Seared rare tuna, soft-boiled free range egg, green beans, cherry tomatoes, new potatoes, red onions, Kalamata olives, mix leaf)

Alex's Le Croq' Aubaine (French toasted sandwich)

(Bayonne ham, Gruyere & Bechamel in Aubaine sourdough bread)

Then we headed of to Harrods for more shopping.

This is the new Egyptian escalator in Harrods after the revamp of the luxury department store in 2010. Cool huh?

My second pair of shoes from London.

A pair of classic brogues from the well-known English shoemaker - Crockett & Jones. 

Crockett & Jones have many very elegant lady shoes neatly displayed on the shelves.

Alex got himself a pair of leather shoes from Crockett & Jones as well.

This model was worn by Daniel Craig in James Bond's Skyfall 2012.

The first couple of nights in London, I suffered from severe jet lag - so severe that I dozed off halfway through eating my dinner.

Dinner at Zizzi - an Italian restaurant chain in Victoria, not far from The Nadler.

The wood-fired Skinny Pizza Primavera and Baked Seabass Cartoccio were two very good choices from the menu.

That's it from me for now - will continue my next journey at Teddington (where Alex was born and spent his childhood in) in the next Chapter.

Thanks for reading ^_^

London: The Nadler, London Downtown & Bill Nighy

When we were in London, this is where we stayed. 

 The Nadler Victoria - 3 stars boutique hotel within close proximity to Buckingham Palace and major London attractions.

Our room was spacious enough. Let's not forget we were in London.

To my delight, the bathroom had a heated tower rail as well!

Some pictures of London downtown.

The weather in the UK was almost unpredictable. Overcast sky at most times.

The Londoner's China Town! Errr... I don't like it at all...

What's so special about No. 29 St James Place, London?

Sir Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of the UK during WWII) used to live here.

Exploring the London high streets.

Stopped by a French cafe for cups of coffee.

The flakiest croissant ever! These guys were expert!

So much shoppings to fulfil. So little days to accomplish.

My first shopping loot - Michael Kors leather flats from Shelfridges.

This is Liberty - A department store on Regent Street which sells luxury goods.

At Liberty, Alex spotted the award-winning English actor - Bill Nighy.

He looks exactly like this in real person.

It was an incredible surprise to bump into an international celebrity like Nighy.

There was one other shopper who went up to shake his hand and said how proud he was to meet him at this setting. I was tempted to do the same but we then thought -

Well, this guy is genuinely seeking some peace and quietness out of the limelight.
We should really abandon that terrible thought!

Bill Nighy became known for his performance in Love Actually.

Bill Nighy as Professor Rufus in Harry Potter.

Bill Nighy as Davy Jones in Pirates of The Caribbean.

We spent 6 nights at The Nadler before moving to Conrad Hotel at St James.

I look forward to sharing more of my UK stories with you in the next update.

London: The Queen & Trooping The Colour

Trooping the Colour is watched by millions every year.

It marked the official birthday of the British Sovereign and its ceremony is performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth armies. 

It is difficult to smell the intensity of patriotism without being there in real life.

I was very lucky that my husband took me back to England just in time to experience this event.

This is Buckingham Palace (The Queen's Palace) on the day before the parade.

The Grenadier Guards outside the palace.

Overlooking the busy traffic on The Mall and the majestic Admiralty Arch.

Saturday, 11th June 2016. Trooping the Colour.

Outside Buckingham Palace at about 8am. Another overcast sky with no rain.

The crowd thickened as time went past. By 10am, there was at least several hundred thousands of people gathering around St James Park and along The Mall.

Admiralty Arch at the other end of The Mall.

The Queen's Life Guards marched past.

The Grenadier and Coldstream Guards along The Mall.

Mounted bands of the Household Cavalry and the piebald drum horse at the front.

Sitting in this carriage were Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (left), Kate, Duchess of Cambridge (right) and Prince Harry (opposite the duchesses). The carriage went by so quickly. I couldn't spot the presence of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Not his father, Prince Charles, Duke of Cornwall either.

Here comes the monumental moment!

Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburg (waving in our direction). The Queen looked resplendent in her bright green outfit. 

After inspecting her troops, The Queen now made her way back to the Buckingham Palace.

The glimpse of The Queen remains the most unforgettable moment in my life.

The Queen's on her 90th birthday also celebrates her becoming the longest reigning monarch in British history. Duke of Edinburg, 5 years older than The Queen, looked just as fabulous.

After the ceremony, The Queen stopped on the balcony with the rest of her Royal family members.

(Photo: telegraph.co.uk)

On the ground, the King's troop fired 41-gun royal salute in Green Park.

The fearful pigeons stayed away from the air.

Then the flypast event by Royal Air Force followed.

Here came the mighty Red Arrows! 

Whoops! The Red Arrows were too fast for me!

Well, this was how it supposed to look like (Photo: Telegraph.co.uk).

As soon as the event was over, the pouring rain began. It was so weird but we were all so lucky!

That's the end of my memorable event in London, seeing The Queen with my very own eyes and witnessing the majestic march-past and the spectacular flypast.

We then made our way to the Oxford Street and continued our shopping at Liberty (where another exciting highlight took place).