There were plans to get onto one of those cheesy tour buses, meet up with the chaps, return to the town I used to stay, Chinatown… and all.

Lazed in bed a little to rid of the jet-lag, before we woke up for a traditional English breakfast.

Day 2 - Of shopping and the countryside

We headed to one of the cafes round the corner and kickstarted the day with a pot of hot tea and chocolate croissant (I used to have that for breakfast with orange juice!).

Before we knew it, we were on our way to Bicester Village for some shopping. We had thought it was gonna be a short distant trip but didn’t expect it to be almost 2 hours away (with Aunty Dorene’s driving that is).

Travelled half the way in the sun “topless”, listening to the radio, and I remember hearing Leona Lewis’ “Run” twice on the journey, and I told myself if I heard it another time on the radio(to and fro), I know it was a sign I was doing something right.

It then got too cold and we stopped halfway to dress the car, but we still saw endless stretch of the blue skies as we sped down the highway.

I didn’t get to hear it for a third time.

I was apprehensive about shopping, cos I didn’t wanna waste the time shopping during the trip, and to travel that distance was pretty time-wasting, or so I thought.

As I got there, the monster within was unleashed.

It was a cluster of outlet stores of branded gear, and with pounds at an all-time low, most of them are considered awesome bargains.

I tried very hard to control, and by the end of the day at 5.30pm, the total damage include: 2 pairs of Puma shoes, a burberry zipped throwover for Minibean, 2 matching Burberry scarf, a set of suit (for him), 2 shirts (for him), a jumper (for him), a pair of Gucci sunglasses, and my favourite buy - a red, hot Burberry trenchcoat, the best buy - Tag Heuer Alter-Ego watch.

I resisted the temptation to bag myself a pair of Alexandra McQueen or a Dior bag.

All the prices were pretty reasonable, and I paid slightly less than S$850 for the watch, the most expensive buy of all. The scarf was $29.90 pounds each with the exchange rate at slightly less than 2.2.

It wasn’t easy for me to decide to splurge, but hey, we travelled the distance, might as well right? I mean, if I didn’t buy anything, I would have wasted an entire day. Ahem.

We packed the boot before we set off for the return journey, and a road sign pointing us towards Blenheim Palace prompted us to embark on an adventure, looking for the Palace we had never been to before.

It took us quite a while, with the help of the GPS, before we finally found the quaint palace as the sun was setting.

It was definitely worthwhile as we found ourselves in Oxfordshire, a town that is so cute and pretty that I don’t know how else to describe it.

It is nothing you would find in London or any other European places for that matter (well uh… cos I have never been to much lah!)… it is just very extraordinary.

We had wanted to rush to the palace before the place is closed, thus we had said we would return to the town later, but it was dark by the time we returned to the town and I didn’t manage to capture its beauty.

As we got off from the car, the guards told us that the palace was closed, and apparently there was gonna be a wedding held there. Wah, then like that sure great place to find rich and successful men. Ahem.

The tourist tag proved to be useful during a random conversation struck up with the guards and an appreciative grin as he gave the go-ahead for us to walk round the park towards the palace sealed the deal.

It definitely ain’t as majestic as any other palaces we had seen before, but the serenity of the place, the spacious vast, and how the 2000 acre park was highlighted by the evening sun made the place absolutely gorgeous.

There was a big path that hugs the lake in its embrace, and it was an hour and a half later, before we finally returned to a darken entrance, where the car was parked.

Blenheim Palace is the birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill a.k.a. the Bulldog and is around 300 years old.

It was the perfect place to take in the autumn’s grace.

On the far left you could vaguely see “The Grand Bridge“.

It got chilly as we reached almost the far end of the park and I was just glad my newest purchase came in handy as I threw it over the other coat.

The piercing wind to the face made me feel like a piece of frozen meat.

We rushed back to London in time for a late dinner, and had authentic Naplese Italian food with Brendan joining us. The restaurant was buzzing with life even though it was no longer early. A flashing thought came to mind of how I could really get used to this.

It was the first time I met Brendan, and he’s a charmer.

By the time we got back, I remember the weather took a dip and the temperature plunged even lower to an unexpected 3 degrees.

The day ended with some light reading, and then it was lights off.

***

Day 3 - Of the familiar, and the casino

Woke up and made a dash to one of my favourite places - Tower of London, which overlooks the London Bridge. It has something to do with my fascination of the monarchy, especially King Henry VIII.

Took the tube and bought an oyster card that didn’t survive more than 15 minutes before we lost it in the tube.

There was already a huge queue at the ticket booth, before we entered into the Palace grounds, exploring different towers, and looking at the crown jewels.

The myths behind it, gave it a shroud of mystery. Tower of London is one of the world’s most haunted site.

It was pretty much touch and go, before we headed to Leicester Square (my weekly hang-out place!) to meet Aunty Dorene, Lynette and Wei for dim sum lunch at Yauatcha. It was one of those hip restaurants with fusion dim sum, and it was of a really interesting concept.

It was another day of fabulous weather with the day not too cold, and the famous gloomy weather stayed away.

We walked from Chinatown, trying to figure out the way in Soho, unfortunately getting ourselves lost. I was smart to dispatch the guy to ask for directions, since the street was littered with guys walking hand in hand. I didn’t think I would have much luck asking for directions. Hurhurhur.

We managed to find the place finally and after lunch, we walked the way down Oxford Street to Selfridges!

Unfortunately, nothing caught my fancy and I survived Selfridges without hurting my wallet. Helped someone bought a Miu miu and an LV bag. Despite how they weren’t meant for myself, it still felt good to be strutting out with those fancy paperbags.

It was in the evening when we were dropped off at Westminster Cathedral, and we explored the place a little, before we walked to Victoria Station (where I used to have to take trains back to Croydon, and vice versa) to grab a map.

It was then a long walk to Buckingham Palace to admire its full glory in the night.

We hang around Victoria Memorial, where the Angels of Truth, Justice and Charity were at.

It was great just to chill and watch the sight in its orangey hue.

By then, it was time to head back to Victoria and meet the loveliest guys for dinner!

Met up with YL, Wenwei, Huina, Suzanne and Uncle Ben at a small eatery where we had duck noodles. The last time I met them (YL, Wenwei and Huina) in the country was 11 years back in Shrewsbury/Birmingham when I made a solo trip to visit them, and I remember I got drunk from lager.

But the last time I met up with this bunch of awesome guys were during Wenwei’s wedding, and we had so much fun.

There are not many weddings people attend and feel that the marriage could last, thus theirs was one that was truly memorable and touching, because it was so genuinely lovely.

It was the highlight of the trip to get to meet up with them and such a cosy dinner was more than enough

Uncle Ben then dropped Suzanne to take a bus back to Nottingham(later did I know Suzanne is actually Lynette’s friend!), before we all squeezed into his car to head to Leicester Square.

We parked at this dark carpark with a car shivering in the cold, before you see 2 faces emerging from the dark. I asked if they wanna walk up and take a closer look, but they say they would cover me should I get attacked for watching a live show.

I doubt so you know, since they probably have to like get dressed and get off the car or else they would really freeze.

They dared me to go up and take a picture instead, but I have no balls.

Came to the junction of Piccadilly Circus and took the obligatory picture of the neon-lights.

When we get to Leicester Square, the bad influence caused me to lose my virginity in the casino! The Empire Casino, which apparently luuuuurrrrrrvvvvess Chinese customers.

And it feels good to be asked to check our IDs just to make sure we were all above 18. Ahem.

The old pals decided to pool in and go for red/black, and luck was obviously not on their side.

I betted on roulette for the first time, and we spent a great deal of the night in there, and surprisingly, were in the black when we called it a night.

When the others decided to leave, we stayed on and continued on till it was late. It was perhaps 1am when we finally left the casino on a very cold night.

As we made our way back to Kensington on the cab, I remember I was incredibly tired as my hair was stroke with tiny pecks planted as I took a short nap. I remember how good it felt, and also painfully aware how short-lived it would be.

After a hot shower, it was plenty of scurrying to pack for next morning’s flight, before a short 4-hours sleep was caught.

And then, a new journey begun.