Volume 2

After 9 years of blogging,  I've exceeded the maximum size for this blog.  Therefore I have created Midlife Bliss Volume 2.  See you there!

Manchester's Old Trafford Stadium

One of the primary reasons why it was England for us is that E is a die-hard fan of the football team Manchester United.  We were lucky that there was a game in the Old Trafford Stadium during our holiday and we had to go! We allocated 2 nights in Manchester since it will be the first for both of us, and he wanted a tour of the Old Trafford Stadium, so we scheduled that for our first day.  E was so happy!

Day 4: Central London with Cousins and Friends

E and I are getting the hang of riding the Tube.  On our fourth day, we went to Central London with several agenda:  1) Take a city bus tour to cram sightseeing  2)  Have lunch with E's cousins based in London and High Wycombe at the very popular Berners Tavern 3) Meet my grade school friend and her husband.

Had to have this souvenir shot at the Piccadilly Circus station

Escaping from the cold at the beautiful Cafe Savini.  We had the whole place to ourselves!

Lunch at the very popuar Berners Tavern with E's cousins

Now joined by my grade school friend B. We haven't seen each other for more than 25 years.

Drinks at a Pub!

Day 3: Day in Central London

On our third day, we ventured on our own,  trying out the tube to get to Central London, also rode on the bus to get around.   We wandered around and found several shops we really intended to go to.   That was a tiring day but so worth it!  Even found a COS store on sale!

Day 2: Outlet shopping in Bicester Village

Our second day in the UK was spent in Bicester Village.  It was overwhelming and we didn't really come prepared.  Clothes, shoes and bags were 30-70%, everything was hard to resist.  There's also a lot of dining options where you could rest from all the shopping.  We enjoyed dining at Villandry Grand Cafe so we ate there twice, breakfast and late lunch.  Had to try the Fish and Chips!

Also had snacks at itsu to keep our minds off more shopping or we would be bankrupt on our second day!

London 2016: The Journey

We have wanted to go to the UK for many years now but we finally decided to go in January because it is the least busy season at work.  We also have finally accumulated enough airmiles so we didn't have to pay for airfare, plus family and friends based in UK have invited us to go too!

The long journey started with a 5:00 AM flight from Manila to Hongkong where we had an almost 5 hour layover.  Thankfully, our Citibank credit cards allowed us free use of the Plaza Premier lounge at the Hongkong airport where we were able to enjoy free food and drinks, plus a comfortable place to rest before the 12 hour flight to London.

We took advantage of  CX's inflight entertainment by watching several movies and even managing a few of hours of nap on the plane.  Finally after 12 hours, we arrive in cold, cold London!  London Heathrow is huge!!!

While waiting for our host GD, we had to get coffee to warm ourselves at Caffe Nero.

Finally, we are with GD and kids having dinner at Harvester.

Hong Kong Visit: 4th for 2015

Hong Kong is starting to be my second home as I'm finding myself visiting more often.  My 4th for the year had me staying at Novotel Century Hotel in Wan Chai.  It was my first time to stay in that area and I felt a bit lost.  But later on discovered that the place had a lot of cheap and delicious restaurants.

Managed to see my HK friends CC and GDR, we dined at Victoria City very close to my hotel.

Our meetings were held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, around 1 km. from our hotel.

On our second night, our hosts brought us to 1938 Hey Hey, and authentic Hongkong restaurant offering roastings.

Day 2 of meetings, also at the Grand Hyatt with a view of the Hongkong Exhibition Center.

Hongkong for Business and Pleasure

I was lucky to be in Hongkong again for work. Got to stay at the Mandarin Oriental and it was great.  Loved the room and the Hermes bathroom amenities.

Also had the chance to see my MSCF BFF CC for dinner at Cafe Causette of the hotel.

E joined me and we got to see one of my college BFFs RJW. We had a most delicious breakfast at the Clipper Lounge of the hotel.  Had so much dimsum.

Also had two good meals with E, such as Cafe Angelina, the famous french cafe at IFC.

And this Asian restaurant in Landmark.

Day2 in San Francisco and Last Day in the US

My day started with brunch at Aveline with my friend HF. Just wanted to show you how I got around on my own. E would always be our navigator and I would just follow him but I managed this time.  I did the same for the walk to Embarcadero the day before.

Just wanted to show E that our restaurant of choice (because it's cheap) 6 years ago was still there in the same location.  I even saw our former hotel which was along the same street.

After brunch, I went back to the hotel to do some last minute packing before checking out to meet our friend DR who brought me to several tourist spots where E and I didn't get the chance to go the last time:

Sausalito

Palace of the Arts

Palace of the Arts with DR

Marina

Also had the chance to see friend from Share CE we went to Lands End Point Lobos.