Breathless

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

the Corrs
album: Best of the Corrs

love this song!

Cambridge Week 5

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Destination: Dublin, Ireland!

First and only trip out of the UK over the 8 weeks.

Welcome to Stansted Airport, a haven for cheapo overnight airport campers like me. An experience to forget asap... The airport was a hive of activity when we reached at 12 midnight! There were obviously seasoned campers... who were already sprawled across the prized benches by the time we arrived. The champions were those who set up shop on the floor with their sleeping bags and blankets. And you thought a jacket was sufficient. No... not at Stansted because, for some reason, the entrances were left open. I barely caught a wink, no thanks to the cold drafts. At around 3 am, I saw 2 armed policemen patrolling the terminal. Got a bit worried... They were called in because some joker left his bag unattended. After some instense interrogation and admonition, the poor guy was let off. He probably would never dare leave a packet of tissue on the table to reserve his seat anymore...

Dublin in a day!

Avalon House, the hostel we stayed on Saturday night...

A trip to where it all started... the St. Jame's Gate Brewery.

Guinness is good... not that I have tried lots of other beer. But yes, I like the clean taste of the brew... it's particularly refreshing... Cheers~

It started pouring by the time we reached the temple bar district.

We scrambled for shelter at a random restaurant/bar, and the food was not bad!

Guinness beef stew...

Really glad that we went for a tour to Wicklow and Glendalough the next day!

A view of Kiliney coastal area, where all the rich and famous stay... See if you can spot Enya's castle towards the top left of the picture

Wicklow Mountains... Loch Tay aka Guinness Lake

the view was marvelous!

Glendalough... at the ruins of a monastery.

with yunqin at Upper Lake...

The famouse Trinity College of Ireland, where the Book of Kells is kept. Unfortunately, we got there too late, and the library was already closed to visitors...

The fickle weather did dampen our spirits... but still it was a fun-filled weekend, thanks to the wonderful company!

photos stolen from khian hong!

Cambridge Week 4

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

DESTINATION: Stonehenge, Windsor, Oxford

All in a day's work! Pretty amazing eh?? One good thing of a package tour - every minute is stretched to the last second (that is a bit of an exaggeration)... you get the point!

1st stop: Windsor Castle!

What visit to the UK would be complete without a visit to any one of the castles? The royal family, albeit anachronistic, remains an integral part of the British identity... even for tourists like me!

A closer look at the flag atop the round tower... the Royal Standard! So the queen was in that day...

Heavy, thick stone walls with narrow slits (for the archers) surrounded the perimeter of the fortress. That sure didn’t prepare us for the interior wards of the castle, which were... residences befitting of royalty - extravagance complete with a touch of cosiness...

And the much touted Queen Mary's dollhouse... A fully functional house, only a miniature one (a scale of 1:12). The chandeliers and the grandfather's clock in the front foyer actually work! And there is even electricity and plumbing in the dollhouse! Even vintage wine, albeit a mini bottle... Amazing... A dollhouse fit for a queen indeed! It's really worth the see, trust me!

2nd stop:

Presenting...

Once a site of pagan worship, now a place where tons flock to marvel the construction feat...

Set amidst rolling meadows, it is probably the most prominent feature in the vicinity. Probably why it was, and probably still is, a place of pagan worship... Close to 4000 years ago, they transported the bluestones from Wales over sea and land for close to 240 miles! Go figure! Although the Sarsens were brought in from 25 miles away, they were HUGE...

What purpose the stones served remains a mystery...

3rd and final stop: Oxford!

It was a shame that we spent less than 2 hours in Oxford, of which half an hour went to a walking tour of the campus.

Christchurch college! Harry potter!

Thankful... for the wonderful weather that weekend amongst many other things!

photos were stolen from khian hong!