YORK 16 June 2012
My first ever trip in UK which organized by Hallam Union.
It was really cold and it started to drizzle once we reached there. Hence, we decided to go shopping first XD
We were just happened to pass by this cafe and wondering why there was a long queue outside the cafe. The British told us that it is a must to spend your tea time over here and proudly tell others that you had your tea in Betty's Cafe and Tea Room (National Winner - Baker of the year 1989)
This is a lovely place to for you to spend your tea time with your great friends ! Besides that, the tea and cakes there taste really good ! I am missing them already......
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| See ! The long queue out there ! |
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| Me & K shared the scones tea set which cost us
£8.50 ; my friends had the afternoon tea set which cost
£17.80. I understand that it is quite expensive when you convert it back to RM ! But, how many times are you going to spend your tea time in Betty's Cafe? I will always remember that I had the greatest tea time in York when I am studying in UK :) |
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| Me & K |
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| The one day "rich lady" (贵妇) |
It drizzle and stop, then drizzle again for the whole day ! Very very cold...... The so called "summer" in the UK.
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| Spotted a nice place and then tried to take as many photos as we can :) haha |
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Was holding umbrella for almost the whole day! *Umbrella is the MUST bring thing in UK because the weather is so unpredictable*
  
City Walls, our next stop !
2000 years in 2.5 miles, it encloses an area of 263 acres !
This is simply the wall surrounding the York City and I personally feel that it is a wall where every soldiers were standing there to defend the enemies and protect the citizens ! *Watch too many movies* Hehe
 
Then, we headed to Clifford's Tower
It is one of the most popular attractions in York ! It set on a tall mound in the heart of Old York, this imposing tower is almost all that remains of York Castle, which was originally built by William the Conqueror.
This was our last stop before we headed back to Sheffield ! Because we had to board the bus on time if not the bus drivers would leave us in York !
We didn't pay for the entrance fees and went inside due to the time constraint. The entrance fees is around £3.40 for students.
It was a regret for not visiting the Clifford's Tower as we missed the chance to see the stunning panoramic views from the top of Clifford's Tower !
  
No doubt, I enjoyed my very first trip in UK although the weather is bad !
After all, York is really a nice place not to be missed !!!
Cost :
Hallam Union - £10
Lunch - Nil (Prepare own lunch box)
Betty's - Approximately £5
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MANCHESTER 23 June 2012
Another Saturday trip organized by Hallam Union!
Our weekends is always full with activities :)
We went to Manchester United, the third largest urban city in England !
Took almost one hour plus to reach MU from Sheffield !
The students are divided into 2 groups :
We were in the first group and I personally feel that it is a better arrangement as some of my friends who were in the second group felt that it was too rush for them to discover the city in only 3 hours plus.
Luckily
Although I am not a football fans, when I reached the Old Trafford Stadium (Theatre of Dream), I got so excited as I am amazed by the huge & grand stadium (the second largest football in England after Wembley with a capacity of 75765 !).
I believed that those MU fans are more excited than me because they were in the Theatre of Dream !!!!! Especially K, he is the loyal MU fans :)
The signature colour - red, can be seen everywhere !
Even the Red Cafe, all the tables and chairs are R-E-D ! There are football players' name printed on the chairs !
 
 
Then, we visited the museum !
A lot of pictures, jerseys, trophies, information about the football club and etc there !
I only knew about the Munich Air Disaster happened in 1958. 20 of the 44 people on board (MU Football team, supporters and journalists) died in the crash.
Here comes the most excited moment !
There is a tour guide to bring us walk around to ensure that we won't get lost in the stadium ! Haha
No la, he is responsible to guide us and explain every single things to us ! He is nice !
However, the stadium tour was kinda rush... Maybe there were a lot of SHU-Tarcian and tourists there and we had to rush here and there :(
   
There is also a megastore and you can buy your MU jersey over there ! You can even customize your own jersey :) Besides that, you can buy other MU related souvenirs there too !!!
We were so lucky to meet and take a photo with the torchbearer before we board the bus to city centre !!!!!!!!!!
He is Jason Eade. Having won 4 New Zealand Boxing Championships. Jason's life was turned upside down in 1991 when a motorcycle accident, resulting in the loss of a leg, shattered his 1992 Olympic Boxing dreams. Like a true champion Jason picked himself up, redirected his passions and has been incredibly successful in all of his ambitions, including winning his grade at the Japan Wheelchair Tennis Open and is determined to reach his goal of playing the US Amputee Golf Open.
After all, I can say that Old Trafford Stadium is one thing you cannot miss when you visit to Manchester !!!
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Next stop, the city of Manchester !!! The bus driver drop us at Piccadilly Station then we decided to take Metroshuttle instead of walk to save more time !! Most importantly it is FREE !! :) *Nahh, we were just too tired to walk!* Haha We went to John Rylands Library, the Victorian Gothic on Deansgate in Manchester ! "The Harry Potter feel library" is opened to public and the entrance is FREE :)
Me & Yu En were so excited as both of us are Harry Potter fans !!!
After lunch, we headed to Manchester Art Gallery...
The gallery is free to enter and it houses the civic art collection which includes works from local and international significance.
Next, we continue our journey to Chinatown !
Ummm... very small chinatown where all the Chinese restaurants, groceries are there !
45 mins left before we headed back to Sheffield !
Hence, we decided to walk around the central retail district. A lot of outlets there too...and there is a big Primark there !!! Too bad we got no time to shop at the biggest shopping mall in Manchester - Arndale :( A tired trip ! A busy city ! Everyone fell asleep (like a pig) in the coach *haha*
But we were so happy and satisfied :):)
Cost :
Hallam Union (Coach ticket & Old Trafford entrance ticket) - £16
Lunch - Nil (Prepare own lunch box)
Postcards - £0.66
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WHITBY 1 July 2012
Windy Sunday !
Once again, we followed student union to Whitby - the beautiful seaside town situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of River Esk.
The scenery is breathtaking ! And I am missing the sea so much because I could always look at the sea when I am in Penang, Malaysia :)
Clear blue sky + Deep blue sea = Perfect match ♥
 
A trip to Whitby isn't complete without trying fish & chips !!!
You could see a lot of fish & chips restaurants along the harbour and people is holding a box of fish & chips, eating while viewing the breathtaking scenery !!
Our friends who went to Whitby one day before us recommended us to The Magpie Cafe. It is one of the finest fish restaurants in the area and it is housed in a distinctive black and white building overlooking the harbour in the historic port of Whitby.
Most importantly, the fish & chips tasted really good and fresh !
The fish and chips come in a BIG portion !
Our friends told us that they couldn't finish up the meal during their trip to Whitby.
So, me and K shared the regular cod fish & chips which cost us £11.95 and then we shared a cup of yummy hot choc (£2.25) too......
It is cheaper to take away the food but we decided to enjoy the fish piece by piece in the restaurant :)
As we were too full to board on the pirate ship boat (we were afraid that we would vomit in the boat..ha-ha), we decided to walked along the harbour :)
Then we took as many pictures as we can !!!
My friends who holding DSLR were busy shooting the seagull. Haha
Because the seagulls were so close to us :)
We climbed up the staircases and got a higher view of Whitby !
Very nice ! I really love Whitby ♥
After the walk, we went to board the pirate ship boat.
We got a discount from the boss as we purchased the tickets in bulk and it cost only £2.30 *wink*
Whole journey took us about 20-30 mins :)
I couldn't describe the scene I saw during the pirate ship boat trip, it was just so pretty !
There are a lot of other boats available and the prices are different too !
We decided not to make our day trip in Whitby too rush as we thought that it would be better to slow down our steps and enjoy the scenery there ! :)
Last but not least, we climbed the countless stairs case to reach the Whitby Abbey which is located high up in the cliff. We didn't pay the entrance fees to Whitby Abbey. We just happened to discover a pathway to the backyard and got a closer view of the Whitby Abbey :)
Guess what we saw at the backyard there? HORSES :)
Haha..okay..nothing special with the horses but we played around with the horses and fed them with the grass !
  
Oh ya, before saying goodbye to the beautiful seaside town, I sent a postcard back to Malaysia as a souvenir :)
I am gonna look at the postcard whenever I miss Whitby when I go back to Malaysia ! Hehe
I love everything about Whitby ♥
Maybe because it is so different from the other places in England, or maybe because of the sea view :)
Cost :
Hallam Union - £10
Fish & Chips and Hot choc - £7.10
Pirate boat trip - £2.30
2 Postcards and stamps - £1.82
DISNEY PARTY @ EMBRACE 5 July 2012
Don't stop the partayyy !!!
We study hard and play hard too ! :)
People here go party/club to socialize with each other and release stress !!! It is normal to party here but way back in Malaysia, clubbing is considered as an unhealthy activity and it is not encouraged by the parents or any seniors !
Hello~we just wanna be happy and dance dance dance with the wonderful music + DJ in the club ! With a little help from alcohol maybe ? hehe
However, we must not have any drugs and be careful all the time to make sure that your family will not worry about us !
Disney party at Leadmill , a themed party organized by the best party organizer - La Fiesta ! Thank you La Fiesta for giving us such a great night. Looking forward to your next party - Cowboy party ! hehe
We could see the long queue outside Leadmill when we arrived.
But there was a performance arranged by La Fiesta to keep us entertained. How sweet is La Fiesta :)
We got to see a sexy lady and a "tall" guy dancing around and playing with the fire ! so HOT ! haha
Finally, we got inside and I personally feel that the interior design is so different (with British feel?) hehe.
We didn't know that we couldn't bring bags into the club......
Yu En brought her bag there but she need to pay for the locker to store her bag. Everyone started to warm up themselves and the dance floor is fulled with the dancers slowly !!!!!!
The most excited moment of that night, Andrew's birthday celebration !!!
La Fiesta had prepared a birthday celebration for Andrew and everyone of us sang a birthday song for him ! He must be very happy :)
Some of us are having PASBD presentation tomorrow morning so we left earlier !
Really an enjoyable night...
But I think we would be more enjoy if we had a pre-party session/pre-drinking session in our hostel :)
That is why I noticed that the British here are usually having a pre-party/pre-drinking session, just like what my British flatmate did ! hehe
Once again,
thank you La Fiesta for organizing this party for the summer students !
Not to forget,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW !!!!!! :)
 
 
 
Cost :
Party ticket : £5
COWBOY PARTY @ LEADMILL 12 July 2012
After the Disney Party, another themed party - Cowboy Party is organized by La Fiesta !
Another great night for us to dance and drink with our great friends !
We were getting smarter this time. Hehe we had a pre-drinking session in our hostel first then only walked to Leadmill. *Remember to walk in a group! Although it is quite safe here but it is still so dark and quiet in the city* When we got inside Leadmill, the BULL caught our attention !
La Fiesta prepared that specially for us and that was the thing that made the party a GREAT one !
La Fiesta always prepare something to surprise us and that's really great !
Not only that, who can stay on the BULL for a longer time will win a T shirt from La Fiesta !! Woohooo~
K & Huang tried to conquer the bull but failed !
It is not an easy task. The longest time Huang can stay on the bull is 20+ seconds only !
The cowboys wannabe, failed ! :P
Then was the usual dance dance dance ~~~ shake shake shake ~~~ dance and shake and dance ~~~ haha I have to admit that Jason is good at shuffling ! And now he is good at Oppa Gangnam Style ! LOL He even look like the singer when he put on his sunglasses ! haha Again, some of us went home earlier because we have PASBD presentation on the next day ! Why La Fiesta organized the party on Thurs ?????? Why ????? :(   
A great party after all !!!
We enjoyed so much !!! " All works no play makes Jack a dull boy ! "
that's what my daddy told me ! hehe ♥
Cost :
Party ticket - £5
LONDON 7 July 2012 - 9 July 2012
" London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down...
London bridge is falling down, my fair lady... " I think everyone know how to sing this, including me :)
Going to London to check out the London bridge !!! Of course... not only the bridge...
DAY 1 7 July 2012 We bought the Megabus ticket to London and back to Sheffield for only £16 because we purchased the tickets earlier. Remember to plan your trip to get early bird discounts !
A lot of people asked me, " Why don't you take train to London? "
Ummm.. it is much more expensive compared to traveling by bus although taking train is a faster way to reach London.. We went to Meadowhall to board the bus and it took around 4 hours to reach London ! Pheww~~~ a neck rest is a must if you want to have a good sleep in bus !
We reached London around 2pm and everyone of us straight away walked to our hostel which is located 2.2 miles away from the Victoria station (the central London wailway terminus and London Underground complex) !!!
We walked for approximately 1 hour to reach the hostel ! hehe
We stayed at Barkston Rooms, located at Barkston which is near London Underground station (Earl's Court Station). That is the advantage of it but I personally feel that the disadvantage is : whole floor consist of 1 bathroom & 2 toilets only.
This is so inconvenience !
Accommodation fees for 3 days 2 nights is £36.12.
It is a youth hostel and all of us stayed at common dorm. 8 persons per room, which means you might need to stay with someone you don't know.
Luckily, we were in a big group of 15 persons...
But unlucky one, they didn't have an empty room anymore...
One person gonna stay alone with the strangers !
However, Huang was the MAN ! He volunteered to be the only one man !
So 6 persons per room, another one was 8 persons per room, Huang stayed in another room ! We walked into our room, knowing that we were going to have two roommates ! But they were not in the room ! Couldn't meet them before we go out to tour London ! :)
We decided to take the underground train to the places we want to go by buying the day pass (zone 1 - 4) for £7.70.
First, we stopped at Hyde Park ! It is one of the London's finest landscapes. It is really HUGE as it covers 350 acres ! We just took some pictures then off we move to another place already. We planned to visit here again on the next day as we couldn't manage to discover the park when everyone of us were so H-U-N-G-R-Y ! lol
We just had a breakfast before we board the bus ! Luckily we did bring some tuna bread, if not we would be more hungry !
After that, we board the train to Leicester Square. It is a pedestrianized square in the West End of London !
It was so crowded over there !! I should say that it was so crowded everywhere is London ! It is because it was weekends ???
We were so excited as we saw a lot of outlets selling London's souvenirs, etc !
To be more precise, the girls were so excited ! haha
The guys were too hungry to be excited already. The first thing first was to search for our dinner...
Hence, the girls went shopping; the guys went to hunt for food ! :P
Me and the girls saw a huge M&M outlet there and we couldn't resist the temptation... we left the guys and went into the outlet ! hehe
Until a call from K, he asked us to gather outside a restaurant and reminded us that it was time for dinner !!
We decided to treat ourselves some good food !!!!!!
Some of my friends went to have Chinese food buffet (something like economy rice, but it is in a buffet style); me and K and my friends had our dinner at Golden Pagoda !
The foods were NICE ! Everyone was so so hungry till each person finished up 3 bowls of rice !! Haha
However, the restaurant required us to have a minimum spending of £10 per person.
But ended up, we also spent £11 for our dinner.
So full and satisfied ! :) After the dinner, me, K, Yu En and Li Sin went to M&M again ! hehe
M&M is really the heaven for children and choc lovers !
Spent our sweet time there and got myself a pressed penny as a souvenir :)
  
       We planned to see the Olympic Stadium so we headed to Olympic Park !
That was also the reason why we purchased the Zone 1 - 4 day pass, as Olympic Park is in Zone 4 !
However, it was too late for us to reach there.
The shops in the shopping mall closed already :( No more shopping :(   
Finally, we found the Olympic Stadium !!!!!!!!!
BUT...............
We only could see the Olympic Stadium through the holes :(
Too bad !
Luckily K has DSLR and he managed to shoot this ......
Then, we headed back to our hostel with our tired and disappointed faces ! LOL
 When we reached our hostel, we met our roommates :):):)
One girl from Hong Kong and another guy from Ireland who is working in APPLE ! OMG !
We had a good chat and even planned to have breakfast together on the next day morning. But the girl is going back to Hong Kong tomorrow morning already !
Everyone were so tired and fell asleep very quickly.
That was the Day 1 in London !
Tired, lost but quite a happy one :)
DAY 2 8 July 2012 Woke up early in the morning and had breakfast at Greggs !
Then we decided to buy the Big Bus Tours ticket, it is a London's hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus tour...
The bus tour takes you to all the London's famous landmark and reveals London's colourful 2000 year history. Furthermore, the tour offers you a choice of a recorded commentary or a live commentary.
We chose hop-on and hop-off sightseeing bus tour because it enable us to get on and off the bus at many places of interest !
Besides that, our tickets are upgraded to a 48 hours tickets at a promotional price which is £28 !
Most importantly, the tour includes a free cruise on the river Thames and 4 guided walking tours plus Big Bus Reward Vouchers. However, we forgot to redeem the vouchers :X This is a relaxed and safe way to experience the city ! However, the tour stop at 6pm, which means we couldn't take the bus to view the night scenery at night :(
Not only that, the bus tour has a specifically route, which is from station 1 - 43. You have to follow the route designed !
We took the Big Bus tour bus and stopped at Marble Arch !
It is a white Carrara Marble monument that now stands on a large traffic island at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane and Edgware Road.
We planned to change another bus to go Buckingham Palace. But the person said that it was too late for us to board the bus now :(
So we changed our plan and decided to join the Harry Potter tour.
It was too early for us to go there so we decided to walk around the area.
We walked along the Oxford Street !
Oxford Street is a leading luxury shopping destinations with a list of London shops, boutiques, departmental stores and etc.
You can see Primark, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, FCUK, La Senza, Swaroski, Esprit, Uniqlo, etc... Lots of big outlets there !!!!!!!
Our shopping mode is on and we forgot the time !!!!!
Hence, we bought the train day pass (zone 1 & 2) too for £7 as we planned to take the train to Trafalgar Square to join the Harry Potter tour offered by Big Bus Tour. We couldn't take the Big Bus Tour as we were already late for the Harry Potter tour so we decided to go for a faster way to prevent us from missing the Harry Potter tour ! Because we spent too much time at Oxford Street and we thought that we would make it on time for the Harry Potter tour, but failed :(
Advice : Strictly follow the time when go for a tour !!!
But, we need to take the train to go back our hostel too laaaa !
   
 
We missed the Harry Potter tour :(
Then we spent some time at Trafalgar Square & National Art Gallery.
Trafalgar square is a opened and public space built around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars over France. Read more about Trafalgar Square here :)
We just took some pictures around the area and we didn't go into National Art Gallery :( Because we were having time constraint ! We went to take the Big Bus tour in order to board the river cruise :D 
 
Finally, we can board the cruise already !
Feeling the wind on the top deck of the cruise ! *cold*
The hop-on and hop-off cruise starts from Westminster to Greenwich via Tower of London. However, you could board the cruise at any stops if you hold the tickets :)
We were busy shooting the pictures when we passed by the Tower Bridge !!!
The tower bridge is really amazing !
The central span of 200 feet between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 83 degrees to allow river traffic to pass. Read more about the tower bridge here We passed by London Bridge, Millennium Bridge too !!!
In the beginning, I mistakenly referred Tower Bridge as London Bridge. Haha.
When Yu En told me that which one is London Bridge, then I was like huh? hehe
     
We took the cruise to Greenwich (0° longitude) and went down for a walk :)
We went to a gallery and had our fun time there.
Then we visited National Maritime Museum :) 
After the cruise tour, we hop-off at Westminster and walked around !
Out of a sudden, it rained heavily ! Luckily our cruise tour ended already :)
We decided to have our dinner first.
We took the train to Leicester again (it was 6pm something so no more Big Bus Tour)..
Automatically thought of Leicester, don't know why....
Chinese wanna have Chinese food there? Typical china man, especially Jack ! :P
After the dinner, we took the train back to Westminster, area of central London.
The Westminster Abbey (the venue of the wedding of Prince William and Kate) is closed ! :(
We didn't visit the Palace of Westminster too ! It is closed as well :(
Whoever wanna visit Palace of Westminster can come on the next day ! Then we saw the Big Ben !! Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster and generally extended to refer as clock tower too ! It was so amazing ! The night view is even more perfect !!!!!!
You wouldn't want to miss the night scenery !
Yu En had a ride on London Eye :)
The others felt that it was out of their budget to take the ride.
However, she also felt that the London Eye is not high enough. She couldn't even see the Tower Bridge from the highest point of London Eye :(
Too bad !!!
    
Day 2 gone !
No doubt, it was a nice one ! :) Love London ♥ but not the crowd ! haha DAY 3 9 July 2012 Time flies !
It was our last day in London ! Still remember how we walked 2.2 miles to the hostel from Victoria Station ! LOL
Time to check out the hostel :(
We must not miss the opportunity to see the change of guard at Buckingham Palace anymore ! Woke up earlier and had Subway as our breakfast, then we took the Big Bus tour to Buckingham Palace ! Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch. Changing of the guard will take place at Buckingham Palace !
We reached there about 45 mins earlier before the time for changing of the guard !
But many people has already reached there to book for a nicer spot ! We were a bit too late, but it was still okay :)
Finally, we could see the guards marched in and out from the Buckingham Palace !
So grand and uniform !! Salute ! :)
Enjoy the pictures below ;)
      
From the previous day's experience, we decided to split into few groups !
Jack and Li Sin went to St Paul's Cathedral. St Paul's is London's Cathedral and embodies the spiritual life and heritage of the British people. Entrance fees is needed ! Read more about St Paul's Cathedral here *Salute both of them as they were taking their heavy backpack to climb up the staircases!* Some of them went to Oxford Street for shopping ! But me, K, Yu En, Fong Yee & Tae decided to walk to Westminster to board the Big Bus !
We wanted to have a relaxed Day 3 in London, no more rushing !
Hehe...
We passed by Westminster Abbey and it was opened !! But a long long queue outside :(
We didn't want to queue up as we have to board the coach back to Sheffield in the evening !
Wish to visit Westminster Abbey if I have the chance to go London again as it was the venue for Prince William and Kate's wedding !!!!!! Besides that, it has more than a thousand years of history !!!
Managed to take some pictures with the building only :(
  
Then, we board the Big Bus and have a relaxed tour for the whole great city !!!
The whole sightseeing tour took about one and a half hour :) We dropped at Marble Arch and planned to go for a walk at Oxford Street before we went to Victoria Station ! :)
Didn't buy anything from there though. haha
This was a great trip !!!
The process of discovering the new city was fun although something bad happened too !!
But so what?? We still enjoyed the trip so much as we got to spend our time exploring the city with each other.
Who knows that are we going to have the chance to be together when we are working after graduate?
Really appreciate the effort by Jack & Jason for planning this wonderful trip ♥
Cost :
Megabus two ways tickets - £16
Accommodation - £36.12
Big Bus Tour Ticket + Free River Cruise - £28
*Main costs for the whole trip, excluding meals & souvenirs*
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After the Disney Party, another themed party - Cowboy Party is organized by La Fiesta !
Another great night for us to dance and drink with our great friends !
We were getting smarter this time. Hehe we had a pre-drinking session in our hostel first then only walked to Leadmill. *Remember to walk in a group! Although it is quite safe here but it is still so dark and quiet in the city* When we got inside Leadmill, the BULL caught our attention !
La Fiesta prepared that specially for us and that was the thing that made the party a GREAT one !
La Fiesta always prepare something to surprise us and that's really great !
Not only that, who can stay on the BULL for a longer time will win a T shirt from La Fiesta !! Woohooo~
K & Huang tried to conquer the bull but failed !
It is not an easy task. The longest time Huang can stay on the bull is 20+ seconds only !
The cowboys wannabe, failed ! :P
Then was the usual dance dance dance ~~~ shake shake shake ~~~ dance and shake and dance ~~~ haha I have to admit that Jason is good at shuffling ! And now he is good at Oppa Gangnam Style ! LOL He even look like the singer when he put on his sunglasses ! haha Again, some of us went home earlier because we have PASBD presentation on the next day ! Why La Fiesta organized the party on Thurs ?????? Why ????? :(
A great party after all !!!
We enjoyed so much !!! " All works no play makes Jack a dull boy ! "
that's what my daddy told me ! hehe ♥
Cost :
Party ticket - £5
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YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE IN LIVERPOOL 17 July 2012 Liverpool FC , my family's favourite football team !
My brother was so jealous that I could follow Hallam Union and visited Liverpool !
Don't be jealous, brother... I got some souvenirs for you :)
Me, the one day football fans wore the Liverpool jersey bought from Liverpool FC for only £10 (Kids' size ... haha) but it was the previous season jersey ! Who cares ? hehe I still love the jersey ! Liverpool is located around 2 and 1/2 hours from Sheffield City. It is another beautiful seaside city in England ! Spent a lovely day in Liverpool :) 
First of all, we went to Liverpool Cathedral, which is the fifth largest cathedral in the world (in term of overall volume).
It took over 70 years to build this super huge cathedral !
The interior design is so beautiful and it was so peaceful !
My friend told me that if you visit the cathedral on Sunday, you might have the chance to listen to the music !
Furthermore, no entrance fees is required but donation to the cathedral is welcomed !
 
After that, we walked around in the city centre and planned to have a lunch in Chinatown ! However, most of the shop closed on that day and I didn't know why !
Then, we found a local cafe and we decided to have our lunch there !
Too hungry to find another restaurant already ! haha
I had panini as my lunch ! It was so Y-U-M-M-Y !
Dare not to try new stuff at the very first minute, but K asked me to try and he ordered for me ! And it was quite yummy :)
However, K ordered a local Liverpool food and it turned out to be out of his expectation !
He couldn't take it ! haha
After lunch, we took a cab to Liverpool FC !!!
The local British suggested us to take a cab there as we travel in a big group and when we share out the cost of cab, it will be cheaper than taking bus to Liverpool FC !
The taxi fares to Liverpool FC and backed to Liverpool One cost £ 2.97 per person !
Don't shy to ask ! You might know more when you ask and the British are very kind and friendly :)
I think everyone knows about Liverpool FC ! It is a famous football club playing in the Premier League !
The club has won 18 League titles, 7 FA Cups and 8 League Cups !!!
We paid £8.3 to visit the football club and we had the tour guide to explain everything related to the club for us ! :)
*Remember to show your student ID to get a student price*
   
    
We didn't follow Hallam Union coach back to Sheffield but we overnight in our friends' hostel !
Because we planned to go Cheshire Oaks tomorrow !!!! WOOHOOO~~~ Shopping !!!
Thank you susian and her friends for the room they got for us ! Really appreciate it !
We had our dinner at Lobster Pot !
The shop that my friend recommended !
Then we visited Albert Dock and delighted in the most popular Liverpool's attraction. It is a free tourist attraction and you can spend your time in the restaurants or bars !
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool. It was opened in 1846 and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood. As a result, it was the first non-combustible warehouse system in the world ! *source from wiki*
For me, it looks similar to the Straits Quay in Penang, Malaysia ! haha
It was so cloudy and windy on that day !
We planned to view the sunset but we couldn't stand the coldness !!! Extremely cold at the night ! It was already 8pm something and the sky still bright ! Then we couldn't stand anymore, we decided to walk back to our friends' hostel ! Haha ...     Regret for not visiting The Beatles Story Exhibition ! However, we couldn't go every places in the limited time right ?
Furthermore, we already went to Liverpool FC le !!
Once again,
thank you susian for the room :)
Costs :
Hallam Union - £10
Taxi fares - £2.97
Liverpool FC Entrance Fees - £8.3
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CAMBRIDGE ♥ 21 July 2012
Nice weather !
A little bit hot ? The real summer in UK :)
Oh noooo, how am I gonna survive in Malaysia ? The weather in Malaysia is way hotter than UK :(
Another Saturday day trip to Cambridge with Hallam Union.
It took us 3 hours plus to reach Cambridge from Sheffield ! The coach driver stopped at a service centre for a 20 mins toilet break !
Cambridge is most widely known as the home of the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209 and consistently ranked one of the top 5 universities in the world. Cambridge University has 31 colleges, with the best-known college founded in 1441-King's College.
Cambridge is awesome with all the beautiful majestic and architecture college buildings scattered all around in the city ! Many of the older colleges have peaceful gardens backing into river Cam, known as 'Backs'. Hence, punting at the river Cam is relaxing and fun especially in the nice sunny weather. It is a relaxing way to tour Cambridge !
When we reached Cambridge, we straight away booked our punting tour with the agent !
However, it was so crowded in Cambridge and a lot of people booked the punting tour before us ! We could only go for punting at 430pm ! The punting tour would take approximately 45 mins ! Hence, we thought that it would be possible for us to go for punting before we board the coach at 545pm !
When we went there at 430pm, we couldn't go for punting !!!!!!
This was because the previous punting tours took more than 45 mins and every tour delayed !
The agent apologized and told us that we could only go for punting around 5pm and the tour might take around 1 hour !!!
Hence, we didn't get to go for punting :'(
How awesome would it be if we could go for punting !!!!!!
  
We planned to visit Trinity College and King's College !
Then we saw an Art & Craft Market at Trinity Street ! So we decided to shop for a while :)
You could see a lot of special and artistic stuffs there !
So lovely ♥
Li Sin got herself an unique chop ! Really very nice !   
Then we found Trinity College ! But it was closed on that day, we couldn't visit the college :(
So sad ! Trinity is one of Cambridge University's three royal colleges, along with King's and St John's. In the 20th century, members of Trinity won 31 Nobel Prizes of the 75 won by members of Cambridge University, the highest number of any college !!!
It was so crowded in Cambridge !
When we saw King's College, then only we knew that there was graduation ceremony going on in King's College !!!
That's why we saw people were in their robe when we were walking around in Cambridge ! I could imagine that how proud would the graduates' parents be !!! " Hello, my son/daughter graduated from King's College !!! "
However, I think that every parents will be proud of their son/daughter no matter where they graduate from :)
We had our lunch outside King's College. We thought we would not be able to visit the college anymore but in fact we could !!! :) Happy !  
We paid £5 (student price) to visit King's College !
We could only visit the King's Chapel and walked around the compound !
I thought that we could visit the lecture room or the seminar room or library, but no :(
Or maybe there was a private event (graduation ceremony) going on so we didn't get to go inside ?
King's was founded in 1441 by Henry VI. The building of the college's chapel, begun in 1446, was finally finished in 1544 during the reign of Henry VIII. It took 98 years to build the chapel !!! Wow !!!
The King's chapel is regarded as one of the greatest examples of late Gothic English architecture !!
I was so lucky to be able to visit King's college and the chapel !
 
Then we visited Fitzwilliam Museum !
It is one of Britain's earliest public museums.
The present collections contain: Western European paintings; Egytian, Western Asiatic, Greek and Roman antiquities and many more ! Read more about the museum here  
As all of us couldn't go for punting, then we sat along the river and enjoyed the weather !
But with all the sad faces ! :(  
Cambridge is really beautiful and there's a real sense of living history almost everywhere you look !
I could see colleges in Cambridge after few steps ! The university and its 31 colleges dominate the centre with atmospheric cobbled courts, chapels, gardens and bridges !!!
Really love the culture here ♥
Had a relaxing and lovely Saturday in Cambridge :)
Costs :
Hallam Union - £14
King's College entrance fees - £5
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STONEHENGE 11 August 2012
Warm & good day :)
I just feel like we must go as many places as we can when we are here, in the UK :)
Another Saturday day trip with a local tour :)
It was a day trip to Stonehenge & Bath !
Most of my friends were so lazy to join this tour as the journey from Sheffield to Stonehenge would take approximately 5 hours !!!
They were just so afraid to sit in the coach for such a long hours !!!
However, I personally think that we should take the opportunity to visit the wonder of the world !
Few of the wonders of the world, whether natural, industrial, modern, ancient or medieval still remain a mystery to us today, yet Stonehenge is just that !
Nobody can be sure of why it was built and what official purpose it served...
However, it holds a great deal of historical fact and emotional significance for a great number of people across the world !
Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks......
It was constructed in 3 phases and it has been estimated that the three phases of the construction required more than thirty million hours of labour !!!!!!!!
OMG, how they built it and why ????????
Speculation of the reason it was built range from human sacrifice to astronomy !!
Enjoy the pictures below :)
   
  
We were so excited once we reached there !
However, we felt like they were just the stones after few minutes ! haha
Maybe we couldn't understand the history/story behind the stones !
After all, it was still a good experience to visit Stonehenge, the wonder of the world !
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BATH 11 August 2012
Left another half day for us to tour the city of Bath after Stonehenge !
It was actually quite rush :(
It is another beautiful city nourished by natural hot spring !
The city of Bath was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1987. The city was first established as a spa with the Latin name, Aquae Sulis by the Romans.
First thing first, we wanted to go in Roman Bath but there was a long long queue outside.
Then we went to Bath Abbey. However we just glance through the abbey quickly due to time constraint ! Sigh :(
Was too rush and I wish to have another trip to Bath again and enjoy the scenery there !
Begun in 1499, Bath Abbey is the last of the great medieval churches of England. Bath Abbey's tower is open for guided tours. You can climb the 212 steps to the top of the tower and enjoy a panoramic view of the city. Tickets cost £6 for adults.
Then we visited the oldest shopping venue in the city - Bath Guildhall Market.
It has traded on this sites for the last 800 years !!
You can enjoy the shops, architecture and history of it !
A very classic shopping venue I would say.
 
We also visited the famous Pulteney Bridge.
It is a bridge that crosses the River Avon. It is one of the only four bridges in the world with shops across the full span on both sides !
We bought two cakes from the bridge !
One is apple flavoured and another one is strawberry one !! It tasted so so so good !!!!! I am madly in love with the apple flavoured one !!
I am missing the cake already... Guess Li Sin is missing them too... hehe
  
Next stop, Royal Crescent !
It is one of the world's best known landmarks. Built between 1767 and 1775 and designed by John Wood.
The Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses laid out in a crescent.
There is a big field opposite the Royal Crescent.
We could see the local British were enjoying there and having sun bathing !
What a nice place :)
 
One hour plus left before we went back to Sheffield......
Then we ran to Roman Bath !!! How can you visit Bath without visiting Roman Bath ?????
Around Britain's only hot spring, the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex that still flows with natural hot water. See the water's source and walk where Romans walked on the ancient stone pavements around the steaming pool. Read more about Roman Bath here
The admission charge for full time student is £10.75......
Admission to the Roman Bath includes the free use of an award-winning audioguide available in 8 languages !
Too bad we were running out of time so we couldn't listen to every stories from the audioguide :(
I got the chance to feel the hot spring water as how the Romans felt it in the past !
haha but only with my fingers la !
   
People says, " No visit to Bath is complete without a trip to one of the oldest houses in Bath ! "
Sally Lunn Bun is the original Bath Bun. It is a rich round and generous brioche bun similar to the historic French festival 'breads'.
We asked the lady in the shop about the history of Sally Lunn Bun.
She said that the bun became very popular as its taste special and lightness allowed it to be enjoyed with either sweet or savoury accompaniments.
She said that Sally Lunn baked the bun at the right place & at the right time too !
Read about the history of Sally Lunn here
The bun is huge !!!!!! However, I think that it taste like a normal bun, nothing special...... Haha We were just buying the history ? The buns were on sale in the museum shop for just £1.60 each, when you buy 3 buns then you will get the 4th for free ! Hence, we bought 4 buns. Each of us will have one bun (But it really taste normal for me)   
A tired and rush trip !
We went to two places in a day (Stonehenge & Bath) !!!
But it was a nice one !
Costs :
Local tour to Stonehenge & Bath - £28
Entrance fees to Roman Bath - £10.75
Sally Lunn Bun - £1.20
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