My XXL weekend in London (and Harwich:)
Here, have a picspam of my four/five day trip to the UK! I had a marvelous time; the plan was to relax and read and I've succeeded to do lots of both:)
Two stupid things: on Sunday evening, when I grabbed my backpack from the side of the bus, the luggage handler closed the side panel ON MY HEAD /o\ Ouch. I still have a bump on my head, but that could have ended a lot worse if I didn't have such a hard head;)
Also: while changing trains on my way back home on Monday, I left my shoulderbag with my passport on the train. /o\ But after stressing out for a bit, calling customerservice and filing a rapport, it was already found yesterday and after yet another train trip, I got all my stuff back, including my travelsnuggle. Pfew.
Other than that, the trip was a big succes: I felt very fancy with my ferry cabin, my hotelrooms and luxiourious food in between all the reading and bubblebaths :-D
I also apparently still had time to make loads of photos... Here's a selection.
Thursday, OCT. 27, Day 1: Traveling to Harwich
Train to Hoek van Holland (photo at Amersfoort station) and the long walkway to the ferry.
Dinner on the boat: carrotcake, pie and fries. (I saved the yoghurt and muesli for breakfast, so I could sleep in a bit;). My cabin.
Friday, OCT. 28, Day 2: London
Now try and remember how many bags I have here: my Spongebob backpack (with clothes and books) and my Ecuador shoulderbag with travelpapers and one book.
A photo taken from the train: bye ferry! (it arrived around 06:30, the trainstation is next to the port, a direct train to London leaves at 07:15)
Reading time on the train, wahey.
Arrived at Liverpool Street Station a little before 9.
Breakfast at LEON: orange juice, porridge with seeds and blueberries, cinnamon toast, omnomnom.
Lovely ceiling at the station.
A sneakpeek outside Liverpool Street Station before I get on the Underground to Leicester Square, where I get out on the Covent Garden side for a bit of a walk.
I so love the buildings in this area and for the first time I don't get lost in Covent Garden, but find my destination without any problems: Hardy's Sweetshop \o/ I buy a lot of Harry Potter sweets:)
Then I sit down on a bench in Leicester Square for a bit of reading. Shakespeare approves;)
Birdbuilding on corner of Leicester Square and another awesome building in Carnaby street.
My lunch destination: Choccywoccydoodah.
I have to wait about fifteen minutes for a table in the tearoom upstairs, but well worth it, because I get the fanciest seat in there <3
Lunch: lemoncake with icecream, a plumpy and a salted caramel milkshake *rubs belly*
Angels in Regentstreet; must go back in the evening to see the lights!
Ehm, this sign confuses me... isn't this a warning already?
MY LOOT: got all the things I wanted, so now I only have to leave my hotelroom for food:) (bubblebath goodies from Lush, more shower goodies from Boots, a marvelous mask and loads of Harry Potter snacks for my movie marathon weekend)
After a bit of reading, it's time for dinner. (Pic from the doorway of my hotelroom; it's right next the elevators \o/)
My weekend arrangement includes a coupon for two threecourse meals in either one of the participating hotels. For my dinner I go to the restaurant in my own hotel: I love it. I try bannoffee pie for the first time in my life: HOW DID I NOT HAVE THIS DELICIOUSNESS BEFORE?
This restaurant is definitely on my list for next time:)
After dinner I settle on the bed for more reading.
Around 21:00 I unpack my bubblebath goodies; I choose the Candy Mountain Bubble Bath for tonight. READING IN BATH IS THE BEST. I spend two hours in the tub \o/
Saturday, OCT. 29, Day 3: London
Previously when I stayed in the hotel, I had breakfast in a huge, crowded self service room with stacks of toasted bread gone cold and where a scary kitchen lady checked the hot meals.
BUT with my special weekend arrangement I get to eat in the fancy new Meeting Place room, where my table is set already and I can toast my own fresh bread and refill my plate as often as I like
I get to eat as much as I like. Gosh, I feel like a queen and I eat ALL THE THINGS (I hardly have time to read:)
When I get back to my room it is already cleaned, so I can spend the whole morning on bed reading without being disturbed \o/
Around 13:30 I leave the hotel for lunch and first bus I see has King's Cross on it. A Harry Potter sign :-D
I walk down the street to another hotel for lunch in their gorgeous (and very empty) restaurant.
A true three course meal a la cart! I pick courgette soup, which I never had before and is delicious.
The gnocci is also new for me, but I'm not impressed and only eat a little bit.
When the waiter notices my more than half full plate, he asks if I'd like something else, but I'm already quite full from the soup, so I say there is no need. But then...
...Then he offers me a double portion of the dessert I ordered: I get two pieces of Caramel Chocolate Salted Cake and I'M IN HEAVEN.
I walk through the park back to my own hotel and see tons of squirrels.
Thanks to my Twitter fangirls I imagine them to be J2; they are so cute and fluffy!
I spend the afternoon in bed reading (BLISS) before I venture out to the city centre for dinner. The Angels in Regent street are not lit :( I guess they are waiting for Christmas? Shame.
Still impressive though.
Just like the Harry Potter window at Hamley's Toystore. SO COOL. They have expanded their Potter corner and I finally buy myself an actual Marauder's map; I've wanted one for EVER.
After that bit of shopping I walk on to Ganton Street for dinner at Mother Mash: London Smokey Sausages with -of course- classic Mash:)
For dessert I have Sticky Toffee Pudding with warm custard, omnomnom.
For tonight's bath I pick the Halloween bomb \o/
Sunday, OCT. 30, Day 4: London
After yet another fancy breakfast, I figure there's no better place to spend my hours before check out than the bath.
I JUST LOVE BATHS, OKAY.
Time to travel: remember the amount of bags I had before? Spot the difference ;-)
The weather is awesome for reading in the park. Plenty of pigeons and -after a dog starts chasing it: I spot a squirrel running up a tree!
See? See? *chinhands*
I'm going back to yesterday's lunch restaurant for a Halloween High Tea. I'm having so much fun:)
Gorgeous bookshelves in the restaurant.
Another building on my walk to the station.
Love the old lettering on this Underground sign and the advertisement in the subway.
Turns out there is no direct train to Harwich this weekend, so I have to track back underground (not a lot of people on the tube here) and take a replacement bus to connect to a train in Witham. (That's where I bang my head)
It's dark by the time I get to Harwich, but I have a google map printed to show me the way. I walk the wrong way up to Station Road first, but eventually I get to the hotel, pfff.
I'm rewarded for my long (and sweaty) walk with a marvelous double room. What a treat!
They even have a whole set of pillows to choose from, HOW FANCY IS THAT?
It's very luxiourious bedreading:)
AND I HAVE A BATHTUB, WOOHOO.
Monday, OCT 31, Day 5: traveling home
After a truely quiet night sleep, I pack again, this time to really travel home.
Don't have a lot of time for breakfast, but I get a good taste of everything before I walk to the ferry, this time without getting lost;)
Look at that massive boat in the distance; it's even bigger than the one behind the train station!
I booked a daycabin with a window and make myself a nest to read all the way across the sea:)
Mmm, reading. I have an additional breakfast with lemon yogurt and a chocolate roll I took from the restaurant:)
Spooky windturbines. And a photo of me and my snuggly hoodie (I just really like my happy face here)
A carrotcake lunch in the ferry's restaurant and sooner than expected (we're 90 minutes early!) we arrive in the Netherlands and I have to leave my awesome cabin. *sighs*
Right next to the harbour is the trainstation where I get on the train to Rotterdam. There is a bit of chaos there so I can't get on a direct train home, and I decide to change my route through Leiden, where I forget my shoulderbag on the train...
Tuesday, NOV. 1
Luckily I get a call the next day that my bag is found. So I travel to Leiden to get it back \o/ (That returntrip includes a coupon for a hot meal, so I don't only get extra reading time but also dinner out of my mishap, ha!)
Have a bonus photo of the glorious autumn trees at the station. My bike is parked there somewhere:)
J.
Two stupid things: on Sunday evening, when I grabbed my backpack from the side of the bus, the luggage handler closed the side panel ON MY HEAD /o\ Ouch. I still have a bump on my head, but that could have ended a lot worse if I didn't have such a hard head;)
Also: while changing trains on my way back home on Monday, I left my shoulderbag with my passport on the train. /o\ But after stressing out for a bit, calling customerservice and filing a rapport, it was already found yesterday and after yet another train trip, I got all my stuff back, including my travelsnuggle. Pfew.
Other than that, the trip was a big succes: I felt very fancy with my ferry cabin, my hotelrooms and luxiourious food in between all the reading and bubblebaths :-D
I also apparently still had time to make loads of photos... Here's a selection.
Thursday, OCT. 27, Day 1: Traveling to Harwich
Train to Hoek van Holland (photo at Amersfoort station) and the long walkway to the ferry.
Dinner on the boat: carrotcake, pie and fries. (I saved the yoghurt and muesli for breakfast, so I could sleep in a bit;). My cabin.
Friday, OCT. 28, Day 2: London
Now try and remember how many bags I have here: my Spongebob backpack (with clothes and books) and my Ecuador shoulderbag with travelpapers and one book.
A photo taken from the train: bye ferry! (it arrived around 06:30, the trainstation is next to the port, a direct train to London leaves at 07:15)
Reading time on the train, wahey.
Arrived at Liverpool Street Station a little before 9.
Breakfast at LEON: orange juice, porridge with seeds and blueberries, cinnamon toast, omnomnom.
Lovely ceiling at the station.
A sneakpeek outside Liverpool Street Station before I get on the Underground to Leicester Square, where I get out on the Covent Garden side for a bit of a walk.
I so love the buildings in this area and for the first time I don't get lost in Covent Garden, but find my destination without any problems: Hardy's Sweetshop \o/ I buy a lot of Harry Potter sweets:)
Then I sit down on a bench in Leicester Square for a bit of reading. Shakespeare approves;)
Birdbuilding on corner of Leicester Square and another awesome building in Carnaby street.
My lunch destination: Choccywoccydoodah.
I have to wait about fifteen minutes for a table in the tearoom upstairs, but well worth it, because I get the fanciest seat in there <3
Lunch: lemoncake with icecream, a plumpy and a salted caramel milkshake *rubs belly*
Angels in Regentstreet; must go back in the evening to see the lights!
Ehm, this sign confuses me... isn't this a warning already?
MY LOOT: got all the things I wanted, so now I only have to leave my hotelroom for food:) (bubblebath goodies from Lush, more shower goodies from Boots, a marvelous mask and loads of Harry Potter snacks for my movie marathon weekend)
After a bit of reading, it's time for dinner. (Pic from the doorway of my hotelroom; it's right next the elevators \o/)
My weekend arrangement includes a coupon for two threecourse meals in either one of the participating hotels. For my dinner I go to the restaurant in my own hotel: I love it. I try bannoffee pie for the first time in my life: HOW DID I NOT HAVE THIS DELICIOUSNESS BEFORE?
This restaurant is definitely on my list for next time:)
After dinner I settle on the bed for more reading.
Around 21:00 I unpack my bubblebath goodies; I choose the Candy Mountain Bubble Bath for tonight. READING IN BATH IS THE BEST. I spend two hours in the tub \o/
Saturday, OCT. 29, Day 3: London
Previously when I stayed in the hotel, I had breakfast in a huge, crowded self service room with stacks of toasted bread gone cold and where a scary kitchen lady checked the hot meals.
BUT with my special weekend arrangement I get to eat in the fancy new Meeting Place room, where my table is set already and I can toast my own fresh bread and refill my plate as often as I like
I get to eat as much as I like. Gosh, I feel like a queen and I eat ALL THE THINGS (I hardly have time to read:)
When I get back to my room it is already cleaned, so I can spend the whole morning on bed reading without being disturbed \o/
Around 13:30 I leave the hotel for lunch and first bus I see has King's Cross on it. A Harry Potter sign :-D
I walk down the street to another hotel for lunch in their gorgeous (and very empty) restaurant.
A true three course meal a la cart! I pick courgette soup, which I never had before and is delicious.
The gnocci is also new for me, but I'm not impressed and only eat a little bit.
When the waiter notices my more than half full plate, he asks if I'd like something else, but I'm already quite full from the soup, so I say there is no need. But then...
...Then he offers me a double portion of the dessert I ordered: I get two pieces of Caramel Chocolate Salted Cake and I'M IN HEAVEN.
I walk through the park back to my own hotel and see tons of squirrels.
Thanks to my Twitter fangirls I imagine them to be J2; they are so cute and fluffy!
I spend the afternoon in bed reading (BLISS) before I venture out to the city centre for dinner. The Angels in Regent street are not lit :( I guess they are waiting for Christmas? Shame.
Still impressive though.
Just like the Harry Potter window at Hamley's Toystore. SO COOL. They have expanded their Potter corner and I finally buy myself an actual Marauder's map; I've wanted one for EVER.
After that bit of shopping I walk on to Ganton Street for dinner at Mother Mash: London Smokey Sausages with -of course- classic Mash:)
For dessert I have Sticky Toffee Pudding with warm custard, omnomnom.
For tonight's bath I pick the Halloween bomb \o/
Sunday, OCT. 30, Day 4: London
After yet another fancy breakfast, I figure there's no better place to spend my hours before check out than the bath.
I JUST LOVE BATHS, OKAY.
Time to travel: remember the amount of bags I had before? Spot the difference ;-)
The weather is awesome for reading in the park. Plenty of pigeons and -after a dog starts chasing it: I spot a squirrel running up a tree!
See? See? *chinhands*
I'm going back to yesterday's lunch restaurant for a Halloween High Tea. I'm having so much fun:)
Gorgeous bookshelves in the restaurant.
Another building on my walk to the station.
Love the old lettering on this Underground sign and the advertisement in the subway.
Turns out there is no direct train to Harwich this weekend, so I have to track back underground (not a lot of people on the tube here) and take a replacement bus to connect to a train in Witham. (That's where I bang my head)
It's dark by the time I get to Harwich, but I have a google map printed to show me the way. I walk the wrong way up to Station Road first, but eventually I get to the hotel, pfff.
I'm rewarded for my long (and sweaty) walk with a marvelous double room. What a treat!
They even have a whole set of pillows to choose from, HOW FANCY IS THAT?
It's very luxiourious bedreading:)
AND I HAVE A BATHTUB, WOOHOO.
Monday, OCT 31, Day 5: traveling home
After a truely quiet night sleep, I pack again, this time to really travel home.
Don't have a lot of time for breakfast, but I get a good taste of everything before I walk to the ferry, this time without getting lost;)
Look at that massive boat in the distance; it's even bigger than the one behind the train station!
I booked a daycabin with a window and make myself a nest to read all the way across the sea:)
Mmm, reading. I have an additional breakfast with lemon yogurt and a chocolate roll I took from the restaurant:)
Spooky windturbines. And a photo of me and my snuggly hoodie (I just really like my happy face here)
A carrotcake lunch in the ferry's restaurant and sooner than expected (we're 90 minutes early!) we arrive in the Netherlands and I have to leave my awesome cabin. *sighs*
Right next to the harbour is the trainstation where I get on the train to Rotterdam. There is a bit of chaos there so I can't get on a direct train home, and I decide to change my route through Leiden, where I forget my shoulderbag on the train...
Tuesday, NOV. 1
Luckily I get a call the next day that my bag is found. So I travel to Leiden to get it back \o/ (That returntrip includes a coupon for a hot meal, so I don't only get extra reading time but also dinner out of my mishap, ha!)
Have a bonus photo of the glorious autumn trees at the station. My bike is parked there somewhere:)
J.