Derby

Apart from enjoying the way it is pronounced, the photo with houses says more about Derby than it may seem. We found "the most happening street" in the city, and saw the drunk Ampelmännchen on the way.

Nottingham

Perhap it was a little like being in Agra without seeing the Taj...

not exactly the Robinhood kind of place but it was a good break from the EMA hangout.

Castle Donington

...for Crunchies (yes, that Cadbury chocolate bar), and we finally decided to go with the 9.95GBP haircut after walking up and down the street too many times.

Pitlochry

...the Victorian town in Scotland where eating a tomato soup was somehow, something to hide thanks to afternoon mikan.

Loch Ness

No Nessie, just Castle Urquhart.

Glencoe & Scottish Highlands

North-west from Edinburgh, coffee stop Kilmahog (Hamish the Highland cow!), through Rob Roy country of Clans MacGregor and Campbell, then over the desolate landscape of Rannoch Moor and the Black Mount to Glencoe, one of Scotland's most famous glens, site of the 1692 massacre of the Clan MacDonald. Continuing via Loch Linnhe, stop in the Fort William area for lunch, then continue into the natural beauty of the Great Glen as we pass beneath Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis. Timberbush.

Edinburg

.:: Edinburgh ::.

Passing by the centre on arrival, the qipai that was not never quite captured through the lens, the busing, the walking up and down The Royal Mile, going to that castle, the baby blue and pink Princess Diana tartan, the cashmere gesture that was never made, the Scotch Whiskey which was never bought, the romantically classy breakfast at the Ard-Na-Said Guest house, the terrifying Chinese restaurant (and all the other good food), the overall accustomisation or acclimatisation, the inability to voice, getting used to being third, and the prayers for keeping the ash clouds away.

Ebbsfleet

Wild foxes wandering outside the train station, coming so close to people, as if they were welcoming you was just not something that I expected.

Dartford and Bluewater

The impressive bridge just after the Jolly Farmers, and the "village".

Cambridge

 

It was too cold to stay outside for long but we did our best to appreciate Cambridge. Spending time with those people who I shared moments of life in Wellington with, eating fudge that tasted like 99.99% sugar, admiring the infamous King's Colleage, watching the traditional punting along the Cam.

London

[(way, way, way) beyond first impression]

From all the initial impressions, to a comparative preference for NYC if anyone asked, to gradually falling for it all over again. I have long lost count of how many times I have been there, or how many times I have hopped on and off the Eurostar, our collective best friend. At one point I knew London far better than the city that issued the pink card, and it still holds the New Year's Eve record. From the unforgettable first, the long stay, the work trips, the angels, and finally faded to quality time with those I care about, again and again.

.:: Oxford ::.

For the first month and a half back in Europe I was away every weekend, yet I had the feeling that I didn't see anything new. It was just Rotterdam, Budapest, London, London and London all over again. There were some new places afterall - like Oxford. A beautiful and relaxing summer day in Oxford with Beb, which involved more of lazing around in the parks than appreciating the historical buildings but we did also manage to absorb the air and atmosphere of academia... and we wondered how it would have been like to study there.