A Visit to the Tower of London

Almost two years after my last post, I am finally back, and I hope to continue and be more consistent in writing about my travels in this blog. I know I still have to finish my Australia series but for the mean time, I wanted to share about the most recent places I've been to given the changes in my life. Because as of last August 2014, I have temporarily moved to the UK to pursue my MBA studies.

(Gasps!) Yes, one of my greatest dreams of going to Europe has finally come true.

So going a bit back to the topic at hand, it is currently summer here in the UK (meaning more time to explore). Since I would be meeting my highs school friend in London, I decided to combine some sightseeing as well.

Loving the medieval feel at the Tower of London

My classmates in the MBA have mentioned that going to the Tower of London is a must-do while you are here, so given the opportunity, I decided to book my ticket in advance and consequently avoided the long queues and wasted time.

By visiting the official website of the Tower of London I was able to see its opening and closing times, including the link to purchase the tickets. As a student, I was entitled to a discount and purchased the ticket for GBP16 versus the GBP21 as an adult. I also decided to purchase an audio guide since I tend to appreciate the place and the history more as opposed to just roaming around by myself. This cost an additional GBP3 with the discount already included.

I arrived at the place at around 2 PM by taking the tube and getting off  at the Tower Hill Station. This gave me three and a half hours to explore the place. Personally, I think I should have gone a bit earlier especially since I chose to also take part of the Yeoman Warder guided tours. If you are pressed for time however, I would suggest that you just take the Yeoman Warder guided tour (which is free), without the audio guide and then just select the areas of interest you wouldn't want to miss out on such as visiting the Crown Jewels.

Australian Adventure (Day 8 of 21) - FUN at Jamberoo Park

At Jamberoo Action Park

         What better way to escape the summer heat, but to go to Jamberoo Action Park. It was an extremely enjoyable and exciting Saturday as I was able to visit Australia's version of a water park where friends and family can have a great time.  It's the perfect place to cool down, create great bonding moments, get some adrenaline rush from the rides and bring out the kid in everybody.

         The park opens daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.  Children three years and below are given free admission, while children from 4-12 years and seniors aged 60 and above are charged at a rate of AUD33.  Since I didn't belong to any of those categories, (as much as my height may sometimes say otherwise), my ticket cost about AUD41.  The ticket already covered all the rides for the entire day.

         It took us about a 2-hour drive from Tita A and Tito Bru's house and we didn't even encounter any traffic on the way to the place.  The next thing I know, I could just see mountains everywhere and saw a sign welcoming us to Jamberoo.  There were plenty of parking spaces so we were able to find a spot in no time.  We arrived at the park by around 11 AM and my aunt proceeded to get us some tickets.

Australian Adventure (Day 6 of 21) - more city adventures!

         Day six involved another fun-filled day in the city.  Our first stop was to visit St. Mary's Cathedral, located at St. Mary's Road,which was conveniently near the city centre and a few steps away from Hyde Park. It was certainly a beautiful church and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by its wonderful  facade.  Its design was gothic in nature, made from yellow-block sandstone and has high majestic arches.  The architect who was responsible for this magnificent structure was William Wilkinson Wardell, from the 19th century. The ambiance inside the church was very solemn, peaceful and inviting.  It seems to be the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life, reflect a bit and have a one-on-one conversation with God.  For those brides-to-be, I'm sure they also wouldn't mind having to walk down its long aisle on their very special day.

In front of St. Mary's beautiful facade

Australian Adventure (Day 5 of 21) - Surfing on the Australian Waves

On the road to Manly Beach

          Boxing Day or the day after Christmas is considered a holiday in Australia.  It would actually be my first time to "celebrate" it since such holiday is not observed in the Philippines.  As it was looking to be a hot day, Tita A and Tito Bru thought it may be a good idea for us to go to Manly Beach. As far as I can remember, I haven't been to any of the beaches in Australia since it was nearing winter when I first traveled to this country.  So I was more than happy to have the chance to finally visit one.
         
           Manly Beach was around a 30-40 minute drive from my aunt's place.  However, if you would be coming from the city, you could opt to take a ferry, which takes around 30 minutes as well, or you can also travel by bus.  It's actually pretty accessible and popular to both locals and tourists.  Its name was said to come from the "confidence and 'manly behavior' displayed by a group of local aborigines" sited by Captain Arthur Phillip way back in 1788.  There are plenty of cafes, restaurants, and shops in the area.    In case you would want to stay overnight, there are also hotels, guesthouses, and serviced apartments available. For sure, you wouldn't get bored staying in Manly Beach because there are a lot of activities to choose from.  You can go kayaking, biking, whale watching (only if in season which is from Mid-May to November), diving, sailing, and of course, surfing.

Surf, Sand and Sun - (3 of 3)

Beautiful morning

   There's just something in Baler that no matter how tired you are the previous day, you would be excited to rise and start early the next day.  I guess that aptly applied for us, because by 7 in the morning, we were already up and getting ready for our surfing lessons.

      Once we got out of our rooms, we headed straight to Bay's Inn Restaurant and ordered for our breakfast.  After placing our orders, I was distracted by the view that greeted us.  The sun had risen quite beautifully over the horizon that I couldn't help but take quite  a number of pictures to capture the moment.   

My fave breakfast

     
        Afterwards, I went back to our table and eagerly awaited my all-time favorite breakfast in Bay's Inn, which was the tapa flakes with egg, garlic rice and hot chocolate.  Just thinking about it makes me crave for it again.  I used the breakfast stub this time so there was no need for me to bring out any cash.

An hour after, we immediately changed to our rash guards and did some stretching, as our muscles would definitely be taking a pounding once we are out on the water. We then headed to Mahdox Surf, the surf school partner of Istokewa Surf Tours. The walking distance from Bay's Inn was less than five minutes.  We also discovered that Mahdox moved just a little bit farther because apparently, the owner of the land in which they were previously located, decided to open up his own surf school.