england 2014 :)

remember my last entry in the UK before i went back to Malaysia?
i said a little prayer hoping i would go there again
n alhamdulillah, i got the chance to be there again for my graduation in january 2014
10 days, just managed to stay for 3 nights at coventry and spent the rest at london
thank You Allah for this very sweet and lovely opportunity :)

this entry comprises some the memories captured there
there were from various sources (thanks tike, kamal n anip)
oh yes, there were only 4 of us plus anip's mom

22/01/2014:

boarded emirates from klia to heathrow via dubai at 0950
arrived at heathrow late evening
boarded national express coach straight to coventry pool meadow coach station
arrived around 10pm. hiked a cab to to Qiqi's house (10 minutes walking distance to warwick main campus)

had a late dinner with her, took a long hot bath

and had a very cosy sleep that night, cocooning in a soft duvet :)

23/01/2014:

woke up at 7 for subuh prayer with a smile

and despite the coldness of winter, i still had the energy to fight the urge to continue my slumber

had a quick shower, donned a simple 2-layer blouse with my black leather jacket

and of we went to the coventry city centre

took a bus, paid the day-saver ticket and 25minutes later...

ahhh, do u know how much i miss u dear city? ;')

our first agenda that morning: ikea for breakfast 

had a cup of hot choc with a plate of english breakfast.  

 next: a stroll around coventry market. see? kat market pun boleh teringat tau..

 a short cut to the city centre from the market. 

fountain in the city. it is still early at that time, almost 11 i think..

 at intan's favourite place: Primark

spent some time browsing some stuff in primark

then we strolled along the city, stopping at any shop for a glance

and around 12, we had a lunch at my favourite place in coventry: Noodle Bar

i really miss my big portion and scrumptious fried ho fun!

my dulu, kini dan selamanya : fried ho fun with king prawn cooked with onion, mushroom and black pepper. Allah, where can i get this here T____T

 i think i was eyeing someone else food here. perhaps wanted to have his/hers as well!

 then, we moved to 99p store. bought 10 bars of tobelerone, Schwarzkopf shampoo and conditioner

 had a break again. this time, at my fav cafe in the UK, a small, warm and homey Amber Cafe. had a glass of the perfectly brewed hot hazelnut latte. lepak there for quite some time because i really love the ambiance..

then, sambung jalan ikut tunnel tu sebab nak singgah our old heaven: 13 Westminster Road 

 tadaaa!

nasib baik tuan rumah tak keluar hahaha

stop for snack again! this time, prawn marie rose jacket potato at central six. best jackpot ever!

dinner at xanana before the big day. we stayed up so late kat situ. rindu laaaa... samapi xanana dah nak tutup baru kitorang blah

24/01/2014 : the big day!!!

instead of walking to the butterworth hall, warwick art centre for the ceremony

we (me and tika) took a cab

oh u know, wearing a baju kurung with heels were not a great combination to walk in the cold winter morning hihi

we went straight to wariwck art centre and i got a few photos taken

then, queued for the mortar board and my graduation robe

lepak at the cafe for a light breakfast. saw this little family. anak dia cun gila. and ayah dia sangat loving. tolong kacau her tea, betulkan rambut dia bila dia pakai mortar board tu. sedih gila time ni, teringat kat makayah. really wished they were there :'(

 seated in the Butterworth Hall :)

finally!

(official photograph from Ede & Ravenscroft Photography)

  

ada lunch gathering organised by CAL department. sempat la lepak dengan some of the lecturers :)

 then petang tu lepak at Costa with kamal n tika

look at my giant cup!! hahaha

then ziarah and dinner with kak ira and abg mazuir sekeluarga. such a pleasure! sampai pukul 11 baru boleh balik hahaha typical of abg mazuir and kak ira. dah la jamu sedap2!

25/01/2014

last day in coventry

decided to have a quick visit to Leamnington Spa with kamal

so walked alone to the main campus for a coffee at Curioustea

walking down a memory lane :)

 short cut next to university house

 on the way to warwick SU building

Costcutter 

 inside of Curiousitea before boarded the bus to Leam

 Victoria park, Leamington Spa

 jalan2 sekejap je. sebab have to catch our coach to London at 3pm

 on the bus, ada bekal lagi! oh god sedapppnyyyaaa smoked salmon baguette ni!

arrived at London around 5pm

took the tube to Malaysian Hall

checked-in, settle down

and went for a dinner with hanif at Noodle Oodle 

no picture, too tired hahaha

just had a nice bowl of crisp duck noodle with few dim sum

and yeah, had a good long chat with hanif 

26 / 01 / 2014

woke up late

had a breakfast at a small coffee shop 

then kebetulan, aunty zarinah was in london

so she invited us for a lunch at a Moroccan diner

had a big portion of lamb and chicken in my tummy that day hahaha

thanks aunty! u still looking good as always :)

then, bawak mak hanif jalan2 around Kensington and Harrods

bought few things

had a simple dinner at Pret-A-Manger

went back and sleep

27 / 01 / 2014

kamal and i decided to visit Bath since we never got the chance to go there before

so this was a day trip for both of us

such a fond memory there :)

boarded a national express coach at 8am from london victoria

reached bath around 10.30am

stopped for a very marvelous brunch before deciding which way should we explore

we just walked around the town to cover all the attractions

and remember this is England, so yes we experienced both rainy and sunny day

strolling happily in the sun, and running like crazy when it pouring heavily hahaha

 i had cheese and mushroom toast, Allahu akbar, i swear it was sooooo sedaapppp!!! kamal was so jealous i told u because his was not so sedap like mine! hihihi

first stop, Bath Abbey. famous for its beautiful and classical architecture. can u see the fan-shaped ceiling? beautiful isn't it? it is rather large and able to seat 1200 at one time. mula dibina pada kurun ke 7 dan dibina semula (maybe for repair and renovation) pada kurun ke 12 dan 16

front view

The Royal Crescent. one of the major attractions in Bath. known for its uniquely shaped building. ada anak raja, Prince Frederick pernah duduk sini dulu. anda banyak jugak notable persons yang ada rumah kat sini zaman dulu. now ada yang dah jadi hotel and some converted into flats.

 in front of Assembly Room. orang dulu, zaman gown kembang2 tu, guna tempat ni untuk gathering, macam ada ball ke, wedding ke, musical performance ke. simple je dalam ni

 one of the ballroom halls.

 in front of main street in Bath

 Kennet and Avon Canal, through Sydney Gardens

before balik, singgah makan at Pumps Room. had a super nice salmon steak to complete the visit that day. siap ada orang main piano lagi ;)

28 / 01 / 2014

four of us, hanif and his mom, kamal and me

we went to Bicester Village pagi tu

ada la kena gak beli barang sikit2 kan

see? dah several days kat uk, badan macam kena pam!

mushroom and cheese croissant for lunch at Jamie Oliver's

stay kat bicester sampai 3pm je

dah beli barang, rest for lunch and coffee 

pastu naik train balik london sebab aunty ajak mengeteh around 5.30pm

so janji tunggu depan station Knightbridge tepi harrods

 afternoon tea at Richoux, Knightbridge. i swear, this is the most british u can get hahaha we had variety of teas, from plain breakfast to sweet n tangy fruity teas. n yes, the scones were to die for! fresh from the oven with scrumptious creamy clotted cream n strawberry jam. aaa no wonder balik tu berat naik!

last day in London before we went back tomorrow. hari ni shopping je dari pagi sampai malam. shopping tak payah letak pics la. old same, old same. so we stop for a lunch break at one of my fav places, Wasabi. super duper sedaaapppp! btw, this was just me n kamal. had a good meal, with a good company. lovely!  

letih gila lepas shopping kat oxford st. lepak kat Pret

so while waiting for kamal, me n tika had a cuppa hot choc each n we chat a lot in this cosy Pret-A-Manger. sipping the warm choc, facing the narrow lane, watching people n having a good laugh with your dear friend is such a bless!  

last night in London. dinner at my favourite diner, Tinsel Town. had a super nice steak with the infamous tinsel town milkshake. heaven!

 last meal in the UK at GatwickAirport. i had tuna jack-pot with a teapot of earl grey tea. generous portion i got there!

 Dubai International Airport, 3hrs transit

arrived - KLIA 31 January 2014. last photo before we went our separate ways

thanks for being such great friends and fellow travellers. it's a joy to hang out with u guys!

thank You Allah for everything! thank you university of warwick. lets meet again insyaAllah :')