Play: Journey down memory lane (Day 5 - 15 March 2015)

Day 5

Today again we woke up at about 7am. We showered and by 8am, we are ready. Church only starts at 10.30am and I wanted to go to the Downs again as i didn't manage to stroll through the downs yesterday due to the windy weather. We parked at Rutland Hall and I spend sometime taking in the scenery at the downs, reminiscing the time I walked to school daily in the past. It is still pretty windy today so I only walked halfway and went back to the car.

Flower started to spring out...

Hubby also took sometime to visit Coates and Tower Building where most of his classes were held when he is studying. 

Coates Building

Faculty of Engineering

Tower Building

After which we drove to the new site which houses Cornerstone Church. They have moved since we left. The church used to hold their weekly service in one of the primary school but now they have their own building at castle boulevard. We even pass by the Nottingham Castle, but didn't have time to visit it this time round.

This new building is much bigger now with modern design. We were seated at somewhere at the middle and the back as we have to leave before the services end to make our way down to London.

Attending service at Cornerstone Church, Nottingham

Though the "look" have changed, but the church's soul pretty much remains. The band is still as nice and most of the church members are still around, nice to see familiar faces!

The band

Colin Webster, one of the church speaker which leaves an impression  when we attended service in the past

We left at about 11.15am and makes our way down to London. We takeaway KFC  and starbucks halfway on the motorway for our lunch (sharing one sets for the two of us). 

We reached Hilton Tower of London Hotel close to 3pm due to the traffic. The hotel is strategically situated next to Tower Bridge and Tower of London (within walking distance). 

However, the view from the room is pretty disappointing. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Tower Bridge but.... 

Oh well, we were glad that the room is quite comfortable. Bed and quilt is comfy, MacBook as computer and TV, water pressure in shower is good but no bath tub. 

Room is pretty chilly despite tuning to the highest temperature and the hotel staff kindly help us rectify the issues.

Oh and did I mention that the rates in Hilton is surprisingly cheap at SGD 240 per night on Sunday and it is only on Sunday. Other days rates can be as high as SGD 400 plus. So for those travelling to UK, do check out Hilton if you will be staying in London on Sunday, it is pretty worth it for the rates :)

View from room

Wardrobe and tea/coffee facilities

Computer which doubles as TV

MacBook in each room

Comfortable bed and quilt

Toilet

Shower area

General look of the room

Each of us got a complimentary cookies from the check in counter and it seems like a tradition in UK as we got cookies in our room in Salisbury and Nottingham as well. I didn't seem to see the trend until we were given cookies in our third stay in UK. Must have some significance I think.

Complimentary cookies

We rest for a bit and we are on our way to return our rented car. The car return station is pretty near to where we stay, it is actually a car park lot at Q Park near the tower bridge. There are few designated parking lots for Sixt Car Rental and we just need to park the car there, inform the security on duty as the Sixt Car rental booth is closed on Sunday and place a time stamp on the car to show the time we return and that is it! We took picture as back up but everything is in place :)

Meet this cute vacuum cleaner we passed by in Hilton... Took pic cause this looks exactly like the one i used while studying. Memories memories....

After returning the car, we strolled along the Tower Bridge and the view is still as great as ever. The tower bridge does look as good as always each time I passed by this area.... really one of the nicer sights in London. We then catch a cab to Soho for our dinner at Burger and Lobster. It is about 14 pounds for the cab fare...

Strolling along Tower Bridge

I have seen many wonderful review of Burger and Lobster thus would not miss the chance to taste the food myself ... they do not take reservation unless you are in a party of 6-10 people. So, when we reach, we put our name down at the waiting list and wait patiently at the mini round high table which is provided for our turn. We were there at 4.30pm just before the dinner peak hour and we waited for about 30 minutes and the wait is definitely worth it!

Opening hours and Menu

Interior seatings at Burger and Lobster

The menu here is really simple. You either get the Lobster (steamed or grilled), the lobster wrap or the burger. Everything is at 20 pounds and you get a selection of drinks from their drink list. Each set comes with fries and a salad.

Their very simple menu

There are a few huge lobster available and that is at a different price depending on the lobster's weight which is written on one black board. Once the particular lobster is ordered, it is strike off. We were satisfied with their normal menu so we go with their usual menu. Both hubby and me ordered the steamed and finished with grilled lobster with lemon and garlic sauce. The lobster is amazing! The exterior is grilled with salt i think and it complements the lobster meat very well... and the lobster is pretty big i must say, not the mini type so it is totally worth it. Lemon and garlic sauce on the other hand did not fare too well, it is still good to go with the fries but i wouldn't waste dipping my lobster in it as the lobster is too good on its own already.

Finger licking good!

Yummy!

We left the place happy and satisfied with our meal. Took a stroll through Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Then we took a cab again back to our hotel (We initially wanted to take tube but it is 9 pounds for the two of us plus lots of change in tube line, we figure taxi's fare is not much difference plus we get directly send to our hotel door step so we just hop on a taxi and on our way back)

Back to the room and showered, we watch TV for a bit and went up to the 12th storey sky bar to enjoy the night view of Tower Bridge.

TV time

View from 12th storey

We slept early as we have to catch an early flight to Basel, Switzerland tomorrow  for the second leg of our trip! Good night!

Travelling to Wengen, a charming town in Switzerland : http://eatplaycook22.blogspot.sg/2015/04/journey-down-memory-lane-day-6-16-march.html

Journey down memory lane (Day 4 - 14 March 2015)

Day 4

Today is the highlight of our trip and the main reason why we planned this vacation :) We are finally back in Nottingham after graduating for 8 years (9 years for hubby) ! Nottingham may not be a popular town to visit for those coming from holiday overseas (except probably for the Robin Hood Pageant which is held each year in October) but it does hold significant meaning to hubby and me and probably those who had studied here before. 

As we had slept pretty early yesterday, we woke up at 6 plus and by 7am, we are ready to explore!

We walked to Beeston as it is quite near to Willoughby Hall where we stayed. On our way to Beeston, we passed by Broadgate Park where I stayed during my final 2 years in Nottingham. Nothing much has changed from the outside which brings back familiar memories.

Outside of Willougby Hall

Broadgate Park entrance which I exit every weekend to go to Beeston

This is where hubby used to stay... the most right window on second floor....

Hubby and his brother's accommodation flat

Unfortunately we couldn't go in to have a closer look at the gate is closed during weekend and require access card.

Gate to access the flat hubby used to stay.. 

As it is still early, most of the shops are still closed though we could see some grocers started to set up their stalls. This is one of our favourite grocers stall which only opens on Saturday. We patronise them almost every week to stock up our weekly supply of vegetables and fruits. They do go at a really cheap price which is great for us as students.

Grocers on Saturday next to the butcher

Chinese grocers we used to patronise

It was really windy that day and temperature only about (3-5 degree celsius), so we seek shelter at Greggs which opens early and got ourselves a set deal (a pastry and a cappuccino for 2 pounds). We ordered a chicken bake and it tasted as good as before, especially in the cold weather. Love it as it was served piping hot!

Greggs Promotion

Another place with pretty good deals which opens daily.. got ourselves a box of strawberries :) They are really sweet!

Strawberries on sale!

We continued to walk until the end of Beeston where we usually go in the last (the Argos area). One of the cheap chocolate stores that we like is now closed down already...

We are really not too used to the cold weather as we just got to UK few days ago from Singapore so after strolling for an hour or so, we decided to walk back to Willoughby Hall where we stayed to take our car keys plus a quick toilet break...

Back to room to get car keys and a quick toilet break

Pick up our car key and we are on our way to continue exploring :)

Our drive in UK

Our drive in UK

Now it is nice and warm in the car with the heater... Our next stop is Rutland Hall where I stayed during the first year of my university life. I could still remember the first day we arrived and it was already dark... picking up our keys and lugging our luggage up to second storey where we stayed as there is no escalator. I was lucky to get the same hall as one of my college mates so we do help out and look after one another during our first few months in a foreign country. 

Entrance to the block that I used to stay. Block  K.

Main Hall Block which houses other Blocks and Dining Room

Our mini square in the main block. Below the pointed area is our hall mini library. 

At Rutland Hall

Entrance to dining hall

Dining tables in our dining room seems to have changed. Used to be long and more ancient looking.

Block F, where one of my other good friend stay... Got to know  her during our stay in Rutland and  manage to stay in touch even until now. 

Our locked keypad to enter the respective blocks which changes code every now and then. 

Downs... the road we used to walk to our classes each day

Outer side of our Rutland Hall

Next stop is to Trent Building and Portland Building.

Trent Building

We parked at Trent Building and went to Portland Building. Pass by notice board and saw this "type" of study which we used to participate in the past. It is some psychological test which we gets to earn some cash or some chocolates. We used to love going for this for extra cash and to help up with the study...

Psychology study!

Hubby miss his grilled chicken drumstick leg at Portland Canteen but it is closed today as it is Saturday so won't be able to eat it... We will be leaving Nottingham on Monday so no chance to taste it... One of our little regrets... but this does give us a reason to come back, isn't it? :)

Portland Cuisine

Entrance to NatWest, the first time i opened bank account on my own...

Interior of the bank

Most of the shops in Portland Building is not opened as it is weekend. The student union shop however is opened, thus we went and get ourselves some T-shirts as souvenir :)

We were famished as it was already 11am and we only shared a chicken pie and a drink earlier, so we went back to Willoughby Hall for our complimentary brunch.

Students started to flood in already once brunch is served

Brunch Menu which is rather extensive

This is where brunch is served

We get to choose from selection of fruits, yogurts, some cooked food and toast...

This is what i had....

tadaa... our brunch cum lunch :)

We were quite full after our brunch, thus we skip our lunch :) save money on one meal.. hehe!

After brunch, we went back to our room for another toilet break then it is time to explore Nottingham City Centre! On our way there, we passed by the slope that we used to walk from Raleigh Park to city centre...It is about 20-30 minutes walk and we walk to city centre almost every week for our groceries to save on bus fare... Those were the days...

City Centre

The quaint building which houses Hard Rock Cafe has changed to another restaurant now

Old Market Square

Broadmarsh Shopping Mall now has this new Chargebox for Free.... for those who needed to charge their phone halfway while shopping!

Free Charge Box

Bus station where we took National Express Bus to London, to Heathrow Airport and to various town nearby to explore. We used to buy our tickets in advance especially when we get the 1 pound deal... really good deal to go London for just 1 pounds from Nottingham (about 3-4 hours bus journey)

Broadmarsh Bus Station...

National Express!

Almost done with city centre so next up is our favourite groceries shop at Aldi... they do sell really cheap and quality biscuits and chocolate and some other yummy food. Though the location is pretty far from where we stayed (30-45 mins walk probably), we do make the effort to walk there every few months to stock up our supply... 

After which, we visited Jubilee Campus which held much memories for hubby as he used to work in the kitchen here. It is still the same setting as before according to hubby...

Kitchen where hubby used to work

The pretty library at Jubilee! You don't need stairs to reach the top as you could walk round and round until the top of the building :)

Jubilee Library

Close up of the library!

Spend a while exploring Jubilee as I could see hubby has lots of memories of this place.. I was really freezing so I just find somewhere to hide....

Next stop is lakeside... which is one of the landmark of University of Nottingham. Really pretty and comes with lots of swan too! 

Lake side

Famous lake with pretty swans

Next is Pharmacy Building where I studied for 4 years... Still could remember the prescription test that we had, the practical classes making tablets, creams at the lab etc...

Hubby waiting while I go down and snap photos of Pharmacy Building where I studied for 4 years!

Yay! School of Pharmacy Building...

Interior had definitely changed....

View standing from front door of Pharmacy Building overlooking the area around the lake

Little walkway to access to Coates Building or Queens Medical Centre where we have some of our classes as well

Coates Building

We went back to Beeston as the last stop of our day... 

Iceland is open so went in and see see look look.. Warburton bread... used to wait for it to become reduced to clear... can be reduced until 20 pence... kept it inside freezer and slowly eat....

Warburtons Bread

Had some Thorntons ice cream too.. even nicer to eat in this weather.. hehe!

Lastly, dinner time at Lucky Restaurant. We had two person set meal... Food was ok, we are mainly eating for memories which is great!

Dinner time

Back to room and rest to refuel for tomorrow!

Tomorrow, we will be attending Sunday Service at Cornerstone Church where we used to worship while studying in Nottingham. I was baptised there as well!

We then will be travelling down to London and I can't wait for dinner tomorrow at Burger and Lobster, the much raved 20 pounds lobster!

Read about our day 5 here.