The final entry on London.As I'm typing this, I've received the delegates invitation for the conference this year. We'll be having the conference at Leeds Castle, located in Kent. The highlight - we'll be staying in the castle! Due to rooms/budget constraints, there were fewer delegates this year, I'm thankful to be on the invitee list. Now, I can't wait for July to come :)
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Our tour guide for the evening. Memory must be failing me, for I can't recall her name. Nevertheless, she's a lovely lady & is fond of neon colours - check out her striking green watch. She provides customized tour packages, catering to your requirements. Drinking is the company's middle name, hence we did a bar-hopping tour, lol!
We stood in front of the Guildhall (administrative center of the city) & got to know an interesting bit of history. The City of London constituted most of London from its settlement by the Romans centuries ago. The Latin motto of the city is "Domine Dirige Nos" which translates as "Lord, direct (guide) us", which you can see clearly engraved in the building here. During the Roman period, it was the site of an amphitheatre. Partial remains are displayed in the basement of the Art Gallery (which we didn't have the chance to go) & the outline of whose arena is marked with a black circle on the paving of the courtyard in front of the hall. So, the exact spot where we stood was the middle of the amphitheatre.
This tower is the remaining piece of St Alban's church, located in Wood Street. The building was burnt out and partially destroyed during the Blitz (strategic bombing during the 2nd World War) . Today, the tower is left standing and remains as a private residential home. We were told that there is only one toilet in this tower, on the highest level.
The remnants of the London Wall. This defensive wall was first built by the Romans. No one knew the exact reason behind the construction of the wall, but it was highly speculated that it could be linked to the invasion of northern Britain by Picts. The wall was destroyed during the Blitz and Great Fire of London. Today, all that remains of the wall are a few fragments across the city.
Headed for bar-food + KTV thereafter, hence no pictures of our "after-party". KTV in London is an entirely different experience. In SG, we are used to singing Mandarin + Canto songs. MVs usually come with a storyline with elaborated outfits and nice scenery. We sang a lot of English songs (of course) with old MVs that mirrored settings from 1980s. We get to see the different generations as well. The older generations sang songs from Beatles, Elton John while the younger generations blasted songs from Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber :) It wasn't till 12 midnight when I had to call it a day and headed back to the hotel with a fellow colleague.
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The initial plan was to extend my trip, so I'll have 2 days to explore the city. My last trip was way back in 2007, where I was there for a week of training (read all about it here & here). Leecher joined me for a week of holiday & we visited the usual tourist attractions around the city (entries are here, after Taiwan posting if you fancy a read ^^). I changed my plans thereafter & headed back to Singapore on Friday night.
After a tour of Cambridge in the morning, we had a tour around London City in the evening. 2 tours in one day, that really made me feel like a tourist! Headed off to Hoxton to drop off our luggages & freshen up for the evening.
Situated in the heart of Shoreditch, one of London's trendy & vibrant districts. The location is a mere 5 min walk to Old Street Station, so it's extremely convenient for travelers.
A nice fireplace at the side of the lobby, where you can chill out with a glass of wine/beer and perhaps, a book in your hands. They have a wide range of cocktails on their menu as well.
Preparing to head out & assemble at the lobby. We were told beforehand that there will be a KTV session. Hence, when we were told to assemble at 5pm, I just assume that we'll be having dinner before heading for the session. Little did I realise that we were going on a guided tour.
"There is melancholy in the wind and sorrow in the grass" ~ Charles Kuralt.
Tour guide brought us on a walking trip around London city, and stopping at several bars in b/w for the guys to quench their thirst. Felt like a school excursion as we walked through buildings and standing in open areas, while she explained the history of London.
The Mansion House, where Lord Mayor of London stays. The place is not open to the public except for guided group tours, limited to 40 per group.
Headed off to a bar, where I just had to drink London Pride. I actually ordered half a pint, but they auto-upgraded my drink to a pint. This is Fuller's award-winning beer, and in recent years, its popularity has grown so much that it is now Britain's leading premium ale.
The massive drink ~ how to finish?
with Cindy, who is now based in Hong Kong. She moved from Japan to HK recently.
with Steve. He speaks in a fatherly tone & extremely fond of his kids :)
And of cuz with Eric, lol! Been working together for the past 6 years. This year, he's back to AM team.
A quick drink later, we headed off to visit other places. Smithfield market is the oldest & largest EU approved wholesale meat market in the country. The market is open Mon to Fri from 3am onwards. To see the market at its best, you should arrive by 7am.
Outside City of London Police. If not for the police-marked lamps protruding out, I won't have guessed that this is a police station. An interesting fact: Tug of war used to be a part of the Olympics Games. It was first featured in 1900 (Paris Games). In 1908, the London City Police Force won the game & took the gold medal. This event was removed from the Olympics program after the 1920 Games.
Break time @ Fox and Anchor. This is actually a B&B, pub and restaurant combined into 1. Wow, totally can't tell from the outside as the place looked rather small.
Headed for bar-food + KTV thereafter, hence no pictures of our "after-party". KTV in London is an entirely different experience. In SG, we are used to singing Mandarin + Canto songs. MVs usually come with a storyline with elaborated outfits and nice scenery. We sang a lot of English songs (of course) with old MVs that mirrored settings from 1980s. We get to see the different generations as well. The older generations sang songs from Beatles, Elton John while the younger generations blasted songs from Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber :) It wasn't till 12 midnight when I had to call it a day and headed back to the hotel with a fellow colleague.
********************
The initial plan was to extend my trip, so I'll have 2 days to explore the city. My last trip was way back in 2007, where I was there for a week of training (read all about it here & here). Leecher joined me for a week of holiday & we visited the usual tourist attractions around the city (entries are here, after Taiwan posting if you fancy a read ^^). I changed my plans thereafter & headed back to Singapore on Friday night.
Checking out first thing in the morning. Spot the huge luggage behind me, lol! Elliott joked that I can fit into the luggage easily and we can save on airfares, haha!
Express cut-out box, cute!
Spent the morning in London new office, doing evaluations with the boss, catching up on the details of the various global deals that we have in place.
I still remembered that ex-colleague Sarah ordered this when I first came to London for the training session. I stole a bite and my god, it was so yummy! I just had to eat this before heading back to Singapore, so we had lunch @ Canteen. The pie fillings change daily, but there will always be a vegetable and meat option. A must-order :)
Canteen2 Crispin PlaceSpitalfields, London, E1 6DWTel: +44 0845 686 1122
One of the many meals on-board. Kinda miss having in-flight meals now. I need to travel further instead of KL!
15 hours later, I landed in Singapore with my shopping from London DFS + SG DFS. Lugged all the stuff back home, facing an empty house. Leecher still got the cheek to ask for his present when he's not home to welcome me back.
