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.