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UK AND SCANDINAVIA TRIP - August 2014

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10 Interesting UK Facts
about the UK!
We've just returned from the England, Norway, Belgium, Scotland, back to England, and then Ireland!! 

Scroll down to see the day by day accounts, insights, and reviews of this absolutely splendid trip! 

Image yourself there with me as you read each of my daily reports!   

Bookmark this page and take notes to keep up with me and all my fun activities and adventures abroad...
You're not gonna want to miss a beat! 

Then perhaps some of the work I have done will help you plan your own visit to one or to all of these richly historic and beautiful countries.


The Cities & Towns Visited

We travelled to 10 Major Cities/Regions within the UK and 4 Ports within Norway

* London
* Brussels
* Bruges
* Edinburgh
* York
* The Cotswolds
* Bristol
* Bath
* Galway
* Killarney

* Stavanger
* Skjolden/Songefjord
* Alesund
* Bergen

Within the UK Countryside, we will also do a couple of road trips during our stay.  
We are planning to see the following areas:

* Northumberland
>Hadrians Wall

Early Tasks

Airline Tickets - DONE

Rental Car - DONE
* From Edinburgh to London
* In Ireland

Train Tickets - DONE
* From London to Brussels
* From Brussels to Bruges
* From Bruges to London
* From London to Edinburgh

Festival Tickets - DONE
*Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Festival

Broadway Tickets - DONE
*A Gentleman's Guide to Love 

Tour Bookings - DONE
*Buckingham Palace Tour
*Houses of Parliament Tour
*Urnes Stave Church & Scenic Drive Tour
*Hacking in the Cotswolds
*Cycling in Bruges
*Cycling the Flemmish Countryside
*Boat tour to Skellig Michael
*Inner Stonehenge Circle Tour



 

Accommodations

London
The Milestone Hotel
Norway
Princess Cruises
Bruges
Hotel de Orangerie
Edinburgh
The Scotsman Hotel

York
The Grange Hotel

Cotswolds
Buckland Manor

Bath
Ston Easton Park

London
The Landmark Hotel

Killarney
Killarney International Hotel

Dublin
Bewleys Airport Hotel

Finalized Itinerary - 
(London was the only place that I actually didn't/couldn't stick to my itinerary - I had no idea of the vast size of this city and with so much time spent of getting around - I did not get to see/do everything I had orignally planned - this is the actual itinerary:)

London
Day 1
Afternoon: Tower of London,  Tower Bridge
Late afternoon: Cruise on the Thames, Millennium Bridge
Dinner: Vanilla Black
Day 2
Early Morning: Woke up late

Breakfast: N/A
Late Morning: Visit Buckingham Palace
Afternoon: Kew Gardens
Tea: Langham Hotel
Evening: Picadilly Circus, Trafalger Square
Dinner: Chinese Take Out
Day 3
Breakfast: Whole Foods Picnic on the grounds of Kensington Palace
Morning: Kensington Palace

Cruise
Day 1 - at Sea
Day 2 - at Sea
Day 3 - Cruise along Lysefjord, Iron Age Farm, Stavanger Church, Old Stavanger
Day 4 - Sightsee in Skjolden/Songefjord, Urnes Stave Church & Scenic Drive excursion
Day 5 - Sightsee in Aalesund
Day 6 - Sightsee in Bergen, Bryggen, Fløibanen Funicular, Old Bergen Museum
Day 7 - at Sea
Day 8 - at Sea

Brussels/Bruges
Day 1
Lunch: Picnic
Afternoon: Bus Tour, Tapis de Fleur
Dinner: Italian
Train to Bruges
Day 2
Breakfast: N/A
Morning: Medieval City Bike Tour
Afternoon: Flemish Countryside Bike Tour
Lunch: Italian
Evening: Boat Cruise,
Horse Carriage Ride
Dinner: Reliva
Day 3
Breakfast: At Hotel
Train to Brussels
Lunch: Picnic


Edinburgh/York
Day 1
Afternoon: City Tour
Evening: Old Town
Dinner: Henderson's
Day 2
Breakfast: Henderson's
Morning: Edinburgh Castle, Ross Fountain & Princes Street Gardens
Lunch:TBD
Afternoon: Royal Mile, National Monument
Evening: Pick up Car Hire
Dinner: David Bahn's
Night: Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Festival
Day 3
Breakfast: Henderson's
Morning: St. Giles Catherdral, Scenic Drive to York, Hadrian's Wall

Lunch: Picnic
Evening: The Shambles

Dinner: Room Service
Day 4
Breakfast: The Hotel
Morning: York Minister
Lunch: 

Cotswolds
Day 1
Arrive by car
Day 2
Breakfast: At Hotel
Morning: Hacking
Afternoon: Upper Slaughter, Lower Slaughter, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Stanton, Glouchester, Chipping Camden

Bristol/Bath
Day 1
Evening: Clifton Suspension Bridge
Dinner: The Green Rocket Cafe
Day 2
Early Morning: Stonehenge Circle Access
Breakfast: At Hotel

London
Day 1
Morning: Return Car Hire, Changing of the Guards
Lunch: Cookies and Scream
Afternoon: Camden Market, Borough Market, Houses of Parliaments
Late Afternoon: Knightsbridge, Big Ben

Tea: Fortnum & Mason
Dinner: Amico Bio
Day 2 
Breakfast: Inspiral Cafe
Morning: Notting Hill Carnival, British Museum
Lunch: TBD 
Afternoon: London Eye, The Monument
Dinner: 222 Veggie Vegan
Day 3
Transfer to Southend

Galway/Killarney
Day 1
Walking Tour of Galway City
Day 2
Boat trip to Skellig Rock
Hiking Skellig Rock

The Dailies:


Day 1 - NYC
Day 2 - London
Day 3 - London
Day 4 - London to Southampton
Day 5 - Cruising the North Sea
Day 6 - Norway
Day 7 - Skolden, Norway
Day 8 - Alesund, Norway
Day 9 - More Norway
Day 10 - Out to Sea
Day 11 - Brussels, Belgium
Day 12 - Brugge, Belgium
Day 13 - Brugge to Edinburgh
Day 14 - Edinburgh
Day 15 - Edinburgh to York
Day 16 - York to Cotswolds
Day 17 - The Cotswolds
Day 18 - Stonehenge and London
Day 19 - London
Day 20 - Galway, Ireland
Day 21 - Killarney, Ireland
Day 22 - Dublin to NYC

Restaurants & Markets

Bruges
Le Pain Quotidien
Indian Tandoori
Reliva


Edinburgh

David Bann Restaurant
Henderson's Bistro
Henderson's at St. John's
Himalaya Vegetarian Cafe

York

Goji Vegetarian Cafe
El Piano
>Alligator Whole Foods, Tullivers Health and Wholefoods

Cheltenham
Marinades
Applebar
Global Footsteps

Bristol
Pepe Nero

Bath
Acorn Vegetarian Kitchen
The Green Rocket Cafe

Galway
Chi Pan-Asian
Fat Freddy's

Killarney
Genting Thai
Lakeside Bistro

London
Amico Bio
Carnevale
The Coach and Horses
Vanilla Black
222 Veggie Vegan
Manna
Tibits
Inspiral Cafe
Serpentine Cafe
Cookies and Scream
>Japan Center, Planet Organic

Dublin
Cornucopia

List of Sights 
by Location

London

*Kew Gardens

*Kensington Palace

*Buckingham palace
>Changing of the Guard

*Tower of London 

*Tower bridge

*Millennium bridge

*Hyde Park

*Cruise on the Thames

*London Eye

*Borough Market

*British museum

*Picadilly Circus

*Palace of Westminster 
>Houses of Parliament

*Westminster Abbey

*St Paul's Cathedral 

*Big Ben

*Trafalgar Square

*Leadenhall Market

>Shop in Knightsbridge

>Shop in West End

Bath

*Stonehenge

Bristol 

*Millenium Square 

*Clifton Suspension Bridge (from North Eaat cliffs)

Cotswolds 

* Stanton
>Horseback Riding

*Forest of Dean
>Go Ape Tree Top Adventure

*Upper Slaughter

*Lower Slaughter

*Chipping Camden
>Cycle Cotswolds

Edinburgh

*Royal Mile

*St. Giles Cathedral

* Old Town Edinburgh

* Edinburgh Castle

*Carlton Hill

* Royal Botanical Gardens

* Ross Fountain & Princes Street Gardens

* National Monument 

* Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Festival

York

*York Minster

*The Shambles (Britain's Most Picturesque Street)

Brussels

*Brussels Tapis de fleur

*Atomium

*Brupark 

*Musée de la Ville de Bruxelles 

*Musée des Instruments de Musique 
>view from the top floor - Cafe Du Min 

*Grand Place 

*Galleries St. Hubert

Bruges

*Market Square
>Medieval City Bike Tour
>Flemmish Countryside Bike Tour

*Belfort (Climb)

Stavanger
*Old Stavanger

Skjolden/Sognefjord
Alesund
Bergen


Galway

*Galway City

Killarney

*Skellig Michael


Narrowing down where I can eat in London.

London is actually one of the most up and coming vegan scenes worldwide. PETA ranked London the most vegetarian-friendly city in the world in 2009. And CNN has it listed as one of the World's 10 best vegetarian destinations. With so many dining choices to choose from, I browsed over many a menu and read plenty of reviews and this is my list so far:
  • Amico Bio
  • Carnevale
  • Mildreds
  • The Coach and Horses (lunch tofish & chips!)
  • Vanilla Black
  • 222 Veggie Vegan
  • Inspiral Cafe
  • Manna (the oldest vegetarian restaurant in England)
  • Tibits (we've dined at a number of Tibits while in Switzerland)
And for the Best Soy Latte:
  • Serpentine Cafe (in Hyde Park)
Best Vegan Ice Cream:
  • Cookies and Scream (Camden Market)

Not to mention that I will of course be indulging is a few afternoon teas! 
So very happy that they have some that actually cater to Vegans!:
  • Claridges (accepts bookings 90 days in advance)
  • La Suite West (Contemporary)
  • The Langham
  • Le Chandelier (special dietary needs require a 3 day notice)
  • Fortnum & Mason

Booking Norway Excursions!

Skjolden/Sognefjord - We're looking very forward to doing the Urnes Stave Church and Scenic Drive Excursion!
In 2004, "National Geographic Traveler Magazine" rated the Norwegian fjords as the world's best travel destination. The innermost arm of the Sognefjord, Norway's largest fjord and second longest in the world, the Lustrafjord reaches inland approximately 124 miles from the open sea all the way to Skjolden. 
The motorcoach leaves Skjolden towards Urnes on a narrow, winding road called the Romantic Road; so named for the storybook countryside that's dotted with quaint little villages tucked in the folds of the undulating tree-covered hillsides. Resting on the Lustrafjord is one of Norway's prized stave churches. Of the original approximately 1,000 stave churches constructed across Norway, only 28 remain. And the Urnes Stave Church is the oldest and most highly decorated of them all, and is the only one in the country to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 
Built in 1130, the church you see today is actually the third church built on this spot. After our church tour, we'll hop aboard a ferry and set off on a scenic tour of the villages that reside on the western side of the fjord. Colorful boathouses on the waterfront and white wooden houses give this little hamlet a fairy tale quality. 



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