London – Scotland Story

May 14, 2014

 At Pearson international airport

 Flight boards at about 9:05pm
 Flight Arrives in England 5:00am / 10:00 am England time
 Beer at airport lounge

May 15, 2014

 Arrived at Gatwick International Airport – Mehul and Krunal picked me up and took me
to their home in Hayes
 Travelled to Hayes Town – market place with tons small boutiques
 Went to visit Bipin Mama for about 10 minutes before leaving for Central London
 Walked through Central London
o Parked at Hay Market and walked around
o Dinner at Sushi Restaurant – Yo Sushi
o Visited Piccadilly Circus
o Visited Trafalgar Square
o Visited Leicester Square
o Went to Embankment to see Big Ben/Parliament and London Eye

May 16, 2014

 Woke up around 10am, ate breakfast and relaxed for the first part of the morning
 Everyone got dressed and ready – out of the house by roughly 2pm
o Walked to Hayes and Harlington station and purchased 3 all day transit passes (25
pounds)
o Travelled to Ealing Station and got off at St. Paul’s Cathedral
 St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral, the seat
of the Bishop of London and mother church of the Diocese of London. It
sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London
 Walked around the exterior and the garden in front of the Cathedral
o Beside St. Paul’s Cathedral was a mall – One New Change
 Ate Nando’s for lunch within the mall
 Got on the double decker bus and drove to Tower Hill – Castle with walls
o Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, in the London Borough
of Tower Hamlets, just outside the City of London boundary.
 Walked to Tower Hill Memorial
o a Commonwealth War Graves Commission war memorial on the south side of Trinity
Square Gardens
  Walked Across the suspension bridge – Tower Bridge
 Across from Tower Bridge was the Queen’s Walk/South Bank walk
o Follows River Thames
 During the walk, passed by City Hall (Mayor of London’s Office), The Shard Building
 Walked through the More London Place to get to the London Bridge
 We took the train to Embankment and walked across to Charing Cross Station to take a
quick look
 Quickly walked through Trafalgar square, Leicester Square and once again through
Piccadilly Circus
 Took the train to Paddington Station – very massive, like Central Station
 Took train back to Hayes Harlington Station

May 17, 2014

 Woke up at 8am got ready and left for Hayes Harlington station at 11am
 Stopped for lunch at Pizza Express
 Took the train to Madam Tussauds Wax museum
 Went to visit some Piano Store Mehul was interested in
 Travelled to see Westminister Abbey, Wesminister Palace as well as Big Ben
o large, mainly Gothic, church in the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west
of the Palace of Westminster
o Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of
Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as
the Houses of Parliament after its tenants
o Big Ben is the Clock Tower located on the North end of the Westminister Palace
 Took the train to Kensington Garden – walked through it
 Walked to Kensington Palace
o Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough
of Kensington and Chelsea in London
 Left Kensington Palace and walked up a street in which we passed Embassy buildings
and wealthy residential buildings
o Richest person in England Mr. Mittal lives there
 Travelled to Oxford circus which was pretty much a giant are for shopping
o Visited various shopping boutiques like River and Selfridges
o Stopped to grab a cold snack – wafflemistier
 Walked along Oxford street passing Bond Street, Marble Arch and eventually ending up
in Hyde Park
o Marble Arch is a 19th-century white marble faced triumphal arch and London landmark.
The structure was designed by John Nash in 1827 to be the state entrance to the cour
d'honneur of Buckingham Palace
 o Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in London, and one of the Royal Parks of London,
famous for its Speakers' Corner.
 Sat at Hyde Park for about an hour relaxing
 Travelled back to Paddington station and made our way back home
 Enjoyed a cup of wine with Mahendra uncle and Chanda aunty before eating dinner

May 18, 2014

 Woke up at about 10 am and headed out to Hayes Arlington Station to Paddington

Station
 Took the train to Oxford Circus and walked down Reagent Street towards Piccadilly
Circus
 Stopped off at Hamley’s Toy Store
 Walked to China-town and viewed the stores
 Walked to Leicester square and had lunch at Noodle Stop
 Walked down Hay Market and turned to Pall Mall (parking area)
o Walked along the Mall – red bricks towards Buckingham Palace
 Walked past St. James park on route to Buckingham Palace
 Arrived at Buckingham Palace and viewed the sites
 Walked through Green Park via the Canada Gate to Green Park station
o Saw the Canadian Memorial
 Dedicated to Canada for support during War World I and II
 Arrived back to Paddington Station and back home
 Had BBQ dinner with the family

May 19, 2014

 WOke up in the morning and went to TinselTown for lunch

 Drove to Portsmouth to meet with Mehuls friends at Portsmouth University
 Met up with a few of Mehuls friends and hung out at their place
 Evening time we went to Tiger Tiger Club
 Got Pizza for dinner at about 3am
 Slept over at Sunny D’s place

May 20, 2014

 Woke up in the afternoon and met up with Mehul and Sunny Patel
 Went to lunch at Mozzarella Joe’s
 Left Portsmouth to return back to Hayes
 Hung out at home, played basketball and other games
 Ate dinner then went to TopGolf
  After TopGolf, went to BlackLeaf bar
 Returned home and watched a movie

May 21, 2014

 Woke up late and relaxed at home

 Mehul and I travelled to Knights Bridge via Hayes station
 Went expensive store: Harvey Nichols
o Ate Wagamama for lunch
 Went to see Harrods
o One of the most expensive stores in the UK
 Picked up my Krunal and Sunny and we went directly to Spice Rack restaurant
 After dinner went to Tinsel Town for dessert

May 22, 2014

 Woke up late and packed to leave for Preston

 Went out with Krunal to KFC and Starbucks
 Travelled to Chimes located in Uxbridge
 Returned home and took the Piccadilly line from Hatton cross station straight to Green
Park to Euston Station
o Boarded the Virgin train at 9:20pm and arrived at Preston to Kamu didi’s place at
about 12:30am
o Spent the night talking

May 23, 2014

 Headed out of Preston to go to Manchester at about 11am

 Visited an amazing mall – Trafford Center
o More for seeing the beauty of the mall than shopping
o Sat for coffee at Costa
 Travelled back to Preston
o Got a glimpse of the city
o Went to the Mandir to pick up Sophie
o Picked up Indian snacks
o Went to Chiccito for dinner

May 24, 2014

 Woke up at about 6:40am and got dressed

 o Had breakfast at Kamu didis
o Set out on the road with Narendre Kumar and Mehul
 Drove to Edinburgh (took about 3 hours – spent about 6-7 hours there)
o Parked car and walked along Princes St.
 Lots of good shopping plaza’s, equivalent to Oxford St.
 Walked to Scott Monument

 From Scott Monument, we walked through The East Princes Garden
 Really nice garden, scent of flowers in the air
 In the middle of the walk, there is a Scottish National Museum
o Didn’t visit due to shortage of time
 Walked to Royal Mile and passed by many small shops, pubs and whisky
stores
 Walked to St. Giles Cathedral (High St)
 Continued along Royal Mile and saw old bank buildings, law firms and
parliament buildings
 Continued down Royal mile to The Palace of Holyroodehouse

 Across from The Palace of Holyroodehouse was the Scottish Parliament
 Went back up Royal mile while visiting pubs and stores towards
Edinburgh Castle
 Took the tour of the castle ourselves
 Tour was worth it as there was a lot of history about the castle
o Tour also provided excellent scenic pictures of the entire
city of Edinburgh
o In the castle we saw everything they had to offer
o Sometimes in the future it may be worth taking the tour
with the audio set
 Spent about 6-7 hours there – can essentially
spend a day there if you want to experience night
life
 Refer to the Image below to see the city map and
things seen in the castle
 From Edinburgh, drove to Perth (1 hour drive)
o Drove across the Forth Rd. Bridge
o Perth is a city for….
o Went directly to our bed and breakfast stay – Achnacarry Guest House
 Highly recommended – good service, good facilities and great food
 o Unpacked our belongings and walked into town – crossed a bridge 5 minutes
from where we were staying – absolutely beautiful view of the city and
o Walked into town and saw the old city hall buildings and museums
o Went to Witherspoon’s for dinner
 English pub style restaurant – delicious food and drinks
o Walked around the city to get a feel for it, entered a few punbs
o Around 9/10pm walked back to the bed and breakfast

May 25 2014

 Woke up at about 7am got ready. By 8am we ate breakfast at the bed and breakfast
 Got into the car and drove to Dalwhinnie to visit the Dalwhinni Distilleries
o Drive to Dalwhinnie was about 1 hour
o This site is in the Highlands – beautiful scenic views!
 Definitely worth the drive
 Driving through the Highlands seeing the various Lakes/Loch
o Absolutely beautiful sites while driving
o Initially stopped at Loch Laggan – took many scenic pictures
o Continued to drive along Loch Laggan and arrived to Laggan Dam
o Continued driving and arrived at a memorial for British Commandoes during
WWII
o Continued to drive and saw Loch Lochi and a bit of Loch Oich
 Drove by bridge of Oich
 Arrived at Fort Augustus

 Drive to Fort Augusta was about 1-1.5 hours
o Walked along Main street over a bridge (over River of Oich) towards the
Caledonian Canal
o Parked the vehicle and went to eat lunch – Canalside chip stop – Fish and Chips
 Really good food! Worth trying
o Across the restaurant was a Canal – Caledonian Canal
 Watched ships pass through the lock system of the canal
o Walked around the community,
o Purchased tickets for The Royal Scot
 One hour boat tour around Loch Ness
 Great experience, got to see the Loch up close, discusses the history of
Loch Ness
o Continued to walk through the community
 Continued to walk down main street and approached the Aonach Mor,
Highland club and Lilybank
  The lot was beautiful, worth a quick look
o Left for Fort William (1 hour drive from Fort Augustus)
 Drove past Fort William
o Scenic views
 The Next few sites were seen while driving – there are spots along the road for one
to take pictures. These are scenic sites encountered along the drive, takes 2-5
minutes at most. DO NOT base a day’s event on these site as it can be done while
driving
o Drove Past Glencoe, Ben Nevis (stopped and took quick pictures) and Loch Baa
 These are scenic sites that can be seen from the car - stop for pictures –
very impressive
o Drove past Black Mount Estate and Bridge of Orchy
 Amazing scenic views
o Went through Crainlarich
 mall town nothing really to see there
o Very scenic drive, driving along Loch Lomond
o Drove through Glasgow and arrived back to Preston

May 26, 2014

 Woke up and got ready at about 10am

 Went out to Lytham Saint Annes
o Walked around the area, very nice scenic surrounding with beautiful ponds
o Walked along the board walk to an arcade center and played a few games there
 Drove to Blackpool
o Similar to Clifton Hill Niagara Falls
 Walked the board walk and entered various stores
 Arrived back home and had Dinner

May 27, 2014

 Woke up and picked up Narendra Kumars Sister and niece

 Drove to Lake District
o Went to Ullswate and Aira Force
 Beautiful parks with waterfalls and excellent hiking trails
 Drove to Windermere
o Small town with tiny boutiques – cute harbour and boats
 Drove back to Preston and had dinner at Kamu Didi’s house
 Boarded the 9pm train back to London
o Arrived back to London at about 12am
May 28, 2014

 Woke up late and relaxed at home

 Went to London to meet up with Hannah
o Went to Hakkasan for dinner
 Very POSH restaurant
o Went out for wine followed by coffee
 Krunal picked me up from the train station and we drove to a Hookah bar with his friend
Aakash
 Returned back home

May 29, 2014

 Woke up, got dressed and headed to Portsmouth

o Went straight to the Hotel and met with Sunny and Kinita
o Walked around Gunwarf Quays
 Nice boutiques, essentially shopping center for university students in the
area
o Went to Student Union and met up with other friends
 Had a few drinks
o Got ready and went to another friends house to Pregame
o Headed to night lounge – Liquid Envy
o Arrived back to the hotel late night

May 30, 2014

 Woke up late and left the hotel by noon

 Went to South See and sat at the pebble beach
 Headed back to London for a BBQ at Mahendra uncles house

May 31, 2014

 Woke up and went to Westfield Mall

o Beautiful mall, one entire section dedicated to
 Returned back home, got ready and went to Sangita’s house
 Pregamed at her place, met up with Sunny and Kinita
 Headed to Roadhouse bar in central London
o Live music, great drinks… AMAZING time
 Drove back home in the evening

June 1, 2014
  Woke up late and prepared meal for Windsor Castle
 Sangita and Krunal arrived home
 Everyone got together and drove to Windsor
o Found a picnic site and had lunch
o Walked around Windsor Castle
 Beautiful boutiques, amazing castle, felt as if I was in a different country
 Definitely worth going to
 Had BBQ dinner
 Left Windsor to go to Milton Keynes
o Ate dinner again at Kinita’s place
 Headed home late

June 2, 2014

 Got dressed and went to London

 Went to Shakespeares Globe theatre but it was closed (tours range from 9-12pm)
 Walked through Borough Market
o wholesale and retail food market in Southwark, Central London, England. It is
one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, and sells a large variety of
foods from all over the world
o unfortunately it was closed as well
 took the train to The O2 center
o 2 Centre is an indoor shopping and entertainment centre
o Amazing area, worth going to as it was MASSIVE
 Did not do the O2 walk (walk over the top of the arena)
 Took the train to Embankment and visited London Eye
o Saw the 4D tour and entered the giant wheel
o Amazing view of the entire city
 Took the train back home
 Went straight to Bipin mama’s house for dinner
 Returned back home

June 3, 2014

 Got dressed early and went to London

 Re-visited Shakespeare and took the tour
o Used online vouchers to get a cheaper fare
o It is beautiful inside but I don’t think it’s worth it unless you have an appreciation
for Shakespeare
o Went and saw the Shakespeare Exhibition
  Walked through The Borough Market (Market place closes by 4pm)
o Food there is AMAZING, various ethnic dishes and desserts
o Tried Ethiopian food
 Took the train to the British History Museum
o Free entrance, amazing architecture, worth visiting
o This event should take about an entire day to do; I just spent a few hours there
 Went Camden Market
o Equivalent to Canal street in New York but much better
 AMAZING food and boutiques
 Highly recommend visiting for food and souvenirs
 Went to “The end of the world” bar in Camden
 Took the train to meet with a friend for dinner at Dim T
o Good food at affordable prices
 Walked around London and went to Primark
o Good store with affordable prices
 Was picked up by Mehul and Sunny – went to Tinseltown
 Came home and hung out with the boys

June 4, 2014

 Woke up and started packing

 Went to primark, and a few pharmacy stores to pick up essentials
 Went to Tesco to pick up last minute gifts
 Sangita and Sunny came over for dinner
 Played games all night

June 5, 2014

 Went straight to the airport

 Back to Toronto