Edinburgh, Scotland

There are so many things to do in Edinburgh.  You can either travel by foot or by tour bus.  We chose to travel by foot armed with our checklist.  I will let you in a secret, I like to google the spots and I rely heavily on Wikipedia to tell me the places of interest in certain area.  :P

Calton Hill:

It is located in Central Edinburgh.  This is a very good spot over-looking the New Town.

Entrance:  £3.00

Whisky Museum:

No explanation needed.  If you are interested to do whisky tasting, please go to this website - http://www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk/

Princess Street Gardens:

One of the prettiest gardens that I've been.  The photo below is a perfect photo spot.  You have the Edinburgh Castle in the background.

Here's the map for Princess Street Gardens - http://www.edinburgh-royalmile.com/princes-st.gnds/princesst-gnds-map.html

Edinburgh Castle:

This is probably the number 1 tourist spot in Edinburgh.  They had a massive queue when we went.

Visit this website to know more about the castle - http://www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk/index.htm

Tartan Weaving Mill:

Admission is FREE.  This spot is a 5-minute walk from the Edinburgh Castle.

Royal Botanic Garden:

The 8 metre high hedge is a must see.

To know more about the Royal Botanic Garden, please visit this website - http://www.rbge.org.uk/

Streets of Edinburgh:

Beware:  Photo ain't free.  :)

Lisbon, Portugal

Please enjoy my photo of Lisbon taken by my friend Jack.  

Taken at Castle of St. George.

When I first went to Lisbon, I thought this place resembles a tiled toilet.  Being ignorant that I was, I didn't realise that it's one of the country's best teasures.  You can find different tiles everywhere in Lisbon and it's amazing how intricately designed were each tile.

Jardin Estrela

If yo are planning a trip to Lisbon, this site will help you - http://www.golisbon.com/

Madrid, Spain

If you have 24 hours to spend in Madrid, what are you gonna do?

SIGHTSEEING:

 Eat at Museo del Jamon.  Definitely the place to see jamon in Madrid.  This is a big franchise and it's everywhere in Madrid.

 Palacio Real

 Catedral dela Almudena

 Visit the Real Madrid Museum

Breakfast at Plaza Mayor.

CULTURE:

Watch Flamenco Ballet.  We had the chance to watch Carmen when we visited.  We only paid 15 Euros for an hour and 40 minutes performance including break.

NIGHT LIFE:

La Venencia, the best Sherry Bar in Madrid.  I had so much fun I ended up inside a waste bin!  :P

C/ Echegaray, 7
28014 Madrid
Metro Stop: SEVILLE

Montserrat, Spain

Montserrat is located in Catalonia near Barcelona.  It is famous for the Virgin of Montserrat and Abbey of Montserrat. 

Here are some of the things you can do in Montserrat:

1.  Visit the Basilica.  The fascade is amazing!  It housed the Virgin of Montserrat.

2.  Hike.  

3.  Take photo of the monument or better yet, climb the monument turning a blind eye on the sign "do not climb the monument".  It is too dangerous.  If you drop, you will surely die.

4.  Visit the monastery and pray.

5.  Experience the cable ride.

6.  Dine alfresco

Interested?  Please go to this website - http://www.montserratvisita.com/

Winchester

I went to Winchester with my family yesterday. I saw this train stop on our way to South Hampton but didn't take interest until the office organised a tour. I think it is very reasonable for £5 per person. The only problem is that, there aren't many places to go to. About 2 hours is enough to cover the whole place. 30 minutes on the Winchester Cathedral, 15 minutes on the Winchester Museum, - so small but free, 10 minutes on the Round Table and Park for 30 minutes. High Street looks usual with lesser shops than my town, Reading. The only good thing about the place is that, they have free and clean toilets everywhere! Even my mum point that out. :) Most of the museums are free as well but I'd rather go to London. Which brings me to my next trip.


-originally written on missailema.blogspot.com-


*I can't change the orientation of the photos.  Sorry*

South Hampton,England

Friends are very important to me. Strengthening my relationship with people is one of My New Year's Resolution. About 2 weeks ago, I proposed a monthly bonding with my girlfriends. It doesn't have to be big as long as we make ourselves available for one whole day.

We decided to go on a day trip this month, South Hampton. We met up at 10AM, Darlene was the earliest in town as her bus comes every hour. She said, we just missed the train and we have to wait for another hour before the next train arrives. Nevermind. 1 hour is short especially when you are with girl friends. It took us 50 minutes to get there. I was disappointed at first cause the place looked like an industrial area. We didn't plan for anything, Nadda! We just walked around town and luckily covered the whole city centre in a day. To give you an idea of how South Hampton looks like, think of a castle but build houses and small roads around it, put water docks at the edge and big shopping centre. It was new and old at the same time. Very interesting.

-originally written on missailema.blogspot.com-