Ramadhan Kareem to all my muslim friends. I'm wishing for a peaceful, blessed and meaningful Ramadhan to everyone of you, wherever you may be.



As for me, we started one Ramadhan on Friday, followed Saudi despite chaos and earlier announcement about Ramadhan will start on Saturday for Kuwait based on Rukyah system. As we speak, we already done our second day and we're doing pretty okay, the girls included despite summer is at it's peak now. I came to realized that it's not the heat that we despise, but the humid. And ohh Alis started fasting this year and so far have completed 2 days full fasting successfully and also Terawihs on both days. Proud of her.



Well, as I mentioned in my last post, we decided to do Europe tour this summer and by saying this summer, means last 3 weeks and we're back home just few days before Ramadhan. Beside the fact that editing a zillion of pictures we took has been nothing but a daunting experience, I am thrilled to tell you every little thing about our trip so please bare with me.



Starting with this post, the next 10-15 posts will be extra lengthy, wordy and pictorial ( since when my posts is ever short anyway? ) cause I decided to dedicate 1 post each day just because I had so many pictures to share and to make my life more easier he he he..



Our excursion is divided into 3 phases. First one is self planned 4 days trip to London City and it's country side by road, the second one is group tour by Cox & King and finally, 5 days stay, also self planned at Disneyland Paris. Within 25 days, we have done almost everything humanly possible. We experienced so many different climates from the hottest and dry, have a taste of heatwave firsthand at Italy, gone under English Channel, froze at Mt Blanc and Jungfrau, rode so many different trains there is, hop on and hop off several buses, in and out tube and on and off cable cars. Heck we even ride a snow mobile!



We were travelling with another family friend, Kak Anis's clan, the best decision we ever made and by far, the best travel companion anyone could ever asked for. Things would have turned out differently should we travel on our own I reckon. Suffice to say, we shared the same wavelengths and I believed we made a great team together. We started planning for this trip with Kak Anis's and Mr Yuzly months and months before. We discussed every details together, tailor made our routes, decided on which place to visit, which hotels is available in the area. But as much as we traveled together, we didn't stay at the same place and in fact our rental car company is different. This is because of many factors such as personal liking on certain things, budgetary constraint ( mostly because of our budgetary constraint kah kah kah ) , previous experiences and many other factors. Kak Anis and family has been to UK few years back so they already have preferable hotels to stay, and basic blue prints of the trip unlike us, first timer. Plus, being difficult as I always be ha ha ha, I have specific requirements in mind when it comes to lodging which I would tell about it later.



Okey let's begin. We flew at midnight of 18th June to Heathrow via Gulf Air after a short transit at Bahrain. Arrived approximately at 6 am and welcomed by a cool and refreshing breeze of UK. Going from 50 degree celcius to 10 degree, what's there not to like? Even I felt like doing jumping jack.







{ I had to put on another layer for the girls the moment we walked out of airport }





After collected our luggages, we immediately proceed to looked for our pickup from car rental company which will take us to collect our rental car. Anyway, we picked EasiRent out of many rental company available for it's low rate offered that suits our budget. We managed to find the van after a series of phone calls to their HQ and off we go to their office that located within Heathrow airport also, at Arora Park Hotel to be precise. Signed few forms, had car boosters for the girls fixed in (required by UK law), collect our vehicle and ready to make a move when the rented GPS provided died on us. Errrr actually the GPS never went alive. It just hang and decided not to boot up. We turned back to get a replacement only to find that they have none except for the died one. Since we have paid for GPS and since there's no way we going anywhere sans GPS, the kind lady recommended us to buy new GPS and claimed the bill from them once we returned the car 3 days later and guided us to the nearest shop that sells GPS. That shop however, ran out of GPS so we had to make few stop at gas station and ask the staff there who advised us to buy at Tesco instead. Long story cut short, we did get our new GPS from Tesco but because of this unexpected incident, we wasted 3 hours from our actual plan. Quickly made our way to Kak Anis's hotel, only to found out that they, also just arrived as they too, have some unexpected incident where as the car of their choice and actually have paid for was not available when they went to pick it up so they were given another type of car that took quite sometime to get ready.



Quickly transferred our bags to their hotel room since we need to catch up on our initial schedule. Oh by the way, we have 4 suitcases for the entire trip with us while Kak Anis, ermmm more than 7 suitcases I think. It is rather not wise to carry all those suitcases to our next destination since we will be coming back to Heathrow again as our tour group starting point is Heathrow. Not to mentioned, limited space in our car so we decided to take only one beg with us, rent 1 room for the next 3 days, split the bills and put all our bags in it. We'll pick it up once we returned to Heathrow a day before our tour actually begin. Brilliant right? Save us a lot of headaches hehehe..



Once we sorted everything out, set our GPS and off we go to.............................









STOKE-ON-TRENT!!!!!!!




We made a few stops for gas and lunch stop at their RnR called services. It's quite difficult to get halal certified food at services so avoid meat and stick to bread, croissant, cheese pizza and fish&chip. The weather was lovely and a bit chilly. Flowers started to bloom hence the view was very scenic and picturesque it was hard to ignore we just had to snap em' all. Even the girls kept clicking away with their iPod.





{ UK services. Spotless clean. It will be perfect only if there's water pipe inside the toilet because having had to clean yourself using only tissue paper is just ermmm how shall I put this without offending anyone.. Let just say not satisfyingly hygienic. Roughly translated as We Asian Prefer Toilet With Water! Tips : Carry small mineral water bottle and fill it up at the sink outside for your usage every time you visit toilet. Avoid a bottle that is too big as some sink is small so your bottle can't fit. As far as I'm concern, the absence of water pipe is the only flaw I can think of to an otherwise perfect and beautiful country }











{ Erin was obsessed with free sleeping mask given by the airline and decided to don it although we had landed hours and hours away. She slept in the car like that, took lunch afterwards also like that. The sleeping mask has become some sort of accessories to her. Thank god it was momentarily. }













{Blooming!}



The only reason why we choose Stoke as our first destination was for it's massive collection of fine bone, porcelain, ceramic and whatnot. It was called The Potteries for a reason you see. You know you're entering makcik-hood when the first stop in your itinerary after 8 hours flights and 3 hours drive is to see some pinggan mangkuk he he he.



Located at Staffordshire, England, around 3 hours from Heathrow, it can be consider a hive for all high end potteries and kitchenware from all brands you can possibly think of. Did Royal Albert or Royal Doulton ring a bell? As much as I love plates and glassware and potteries and whatnot, this place is meant for serious buyer and collector since even though the price is much much cheaper from Malaysia, it is still expensive for my wallet and obviously far cry from my budget. From the moment we decided to stop by Stoke, I knew I will be doing only serious WINDOW shopping ha ha ha to which I don't mind at all. Honestly, most of the stuffs in there comes with eye popping price tag. Well, not everything we see in this trip, we have to buy right? There are things that are better remained in memories rather than in my shelf. But, I still get few cheap cheap mementos, those of friendlier to my wallet :)



Here are some eye candy for you brought specially from Stoke. For those who have no passion for pinggan mangkuk, you may skip this part..





{ Drooling *wipe saliva* drooling again.. }







{ RM 200 for 3 pieces of tea set? How can my eye not pop out then? }







{ Cuter and more of my style piece. I bought few stuffs from this collection }








{ Can't agree more! }







{ Olympic collectible mementos that we don't buy he he }







{ Think think think! Actually no thinking needed. One quick glance and I'm heading to their exit door he he he }







{ Everything was on discount yet still pricey. I had a pretty good warming up session nonetheless :) }





While mummy and daddies busy roaming inside, the kids have better idea of making their free time useful.





{ Who cares if there's boxes and boxes Royal Albert inside. This steel bar is more fun! They exclaimed. Amazing fact about kids : They found fun in every little things around them. We, complicated adults who need to laid back a bit once a while }







After few hours, purchases made, we had to leave since our next destination is still hours away. By the way, for those who are interested, most outlet in Stoke provide VAT refund on the spot and and and.... shipping service to your home country with minimal cost. They'll do the wrapping and boxing for you and before you knew it, your Royal Albert will be at your door step. I didn't check for other countries but for Kuwait, they charged 35 KD for postage and your parcel should arrive your home 2 weeks after delivery, safe and sound, Insya Allah.



Next destination, Bath!



My hubby have friend in Bath named Ikram. His wife is a post graduate of University of Bath so he took unpaid leave from his current job to help taking care of their small son for the next 3 years. Baby sitter fee in UK is madness and ridiculous. He had part time job though to fill his time and he took leave purposely to bring us tour around Bath the next day.



Since it's almost 6 pm when we left Stoke, we proceed our way to our B&B in Bath and call the day off. It's pretty long and tiring day indeed. UK is in summer hence daytime is longer than night time. It was still very clear and bright at 8 pm at night. Maghrib is around 9:45 pm and Isya' is around 11 pm which makes travelling is less rushing for us since we still had sufficient travel time before Maghrib arrives.



About driving in UK, we unanimously agreed that driving experience in UK is by far the most pleasant, stress free and rewarding we've ever been into. Driving in UK works like detox to us I felt my shoulder gotten lighter and my mind became clearer by end of the day hahaha. Seriouslyyyy... Their road system is very well maintained and systematic and their drivers were very very very very civilized, polite and the calmest I've ever encounter. No cutting que, no rude stares or unnecessary honk. They stopped at place they were supposed to stop, they comply to the speed limit and they give way and treat pedestrians like a king. Truly bliss experience and because of this, long drive felt shorter. To find a place in UK, you need to have the postcode, mixture of 4 digits and numeric and this postcode system is a godsend I tell you. So accurate you won't get lost, even for a first timer. So don't worry a bit. Try driving in UK and you'll get what I meant.





{ My husband got every routes involved in our trip plotted and printed out. Point A to point B - one printout. Point C to Point D, another printout. So I just need to play good co-pilot and read out what's written on it. We stopped using this printed instruction after a day since GPS and postcodes is good enough to take us to our destination }



Back to lodging...



When my husband asked me about lodging, I specifically told him I wanted english cottage style of lodging. Period. NO NEGO ha ha ha. To my defense, we certainly have no control of where we're going to stay for the next 15 days of group tour, therefore I would like our lodging for the next 3 days to be of my liking and dream. Plus, we're already in UK countryside where traditional B&B and old mansion is heaps so spending a night in one of them can't be more befitting.



Honestly, ever since The Holiday ( have you seen the movie? If you haven't, then you should), it's always been my dream to stay in an English traditional cottage even if it's only for overnight. If it's come with fireplace with charcoal and all, even better! Since I am very firm with my decision, my husband handed the task to hunt for our place to stay to me and given me certain figure for budget. After much contemplating and frustration because most of B&B that I picked is either fully booked or way too expensive, I found High Beeches. An old mansion located on an uphill of Bath outskirt. High Beeches is personal property owned by a pair of Ian and Ali and they handled all the bookings via email personally. It's like a change of email between old friends and I had warm feeling about this.



When we're arrived, we were greeted by Emma, the housekeeper because Ian and Ali was out of town. We were not surprised since Ian had us updated of their absence days before our departure. Emma was a very warm lady , sporty figure with pretty smile and very welcoming attitude. For once, she was a lot younger than I expected her to be. I bet she's not any older than 35 years old. After we exchanged names and brief chat, she took us up to our room, the biggest room in the mansion where my jaw dropped I almost got teary. Ha ha ha soap opera tak menahan ni...







{ Our bed }







{ White crisp linen, embroidered plush pillow.. geezzz I felt almost royalty! Trust me I smiled in my sleep that night hee hee hee }







{ The room smells so lovely, flowery scent. Definitely match the atmosphere }







{ You don't get any english than this. Here Ms Erin can't resist the temptation. We didn't asked for extra bed since the master bed is more than big to fit us 3 and Alis can sleep on the daybed by the window but Ian asked Emma to prepare the extra bed for us, free of charge, out of courtesy. Owhh english people are so lovely don't they? }





{ The bathroom with windows looking out to little garden outside so you can have a scenic poop experience like that Lollllllll }





{ Old skul style shower and let me show you why }







{ Traditional thermostat. Na'ah, can't get this anywhere nowadays :) }



















{ Snippet of little garden at the front yard from bathroom window}













{ Collections of novels should we feel like reading and various collection of VCDs for the girls for their in-room entertainment }





After Emma leave us, we were getting ready for shower but was kept distracted by the pretty garden, the uphill view, the room itself and every detailings in it. It's okay, shower can wait..













{ Fooling and goofing around in bath robes 10 sizes too big }





After shower, my husband decided to take a stroll around the village for fresh air and to get something to munch and also prepaid card. Emma told us there's a few shops around the corner and also Tesco Express within 10 minutes walking distance. The girls are tad too tired for walking so my husband went alone and came back later with no prepaid card still but something else better.. A full groceries bag!!  I'm expecting snacks and drinks but to my surprise I found this too...









{ Red Velvet Cupcake! My belated Red Velvet treat for my birthday to be exact. Still remember my birthday story ?.. Yeayyyyy.. Honestly, I've tasted better but the fact doesn't make me any less happier. Thank you YOU! }







{ She claimed she's big enough to handle her own hair. Fine! }



After Isya' we called the day off. Need to get as much rest cause we had so much thing to do tomorrow. Nite nite .......





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The very next day, we woke up feeling fresh and energetic. Got ready and headed down for breakfast.













Since we're staying in B&B, the breakfast was prepared by Emma personally, traditional homemade English breakfast it is. We can just request whatever we feel like eating, scramble, poach egg, sunny side, omelet beside pastries and bread that was already prepared beforehand.... Anything and Emma will be more than happy to make for us. Anyway, we took bread, fruit juices, cereal and I requested for plain scramble eggs for kids and omelets with baked beans for both of us later on. It's so casual we felt like eating in our own dining room except that my dining room was far cry from the amazing one they have in High Beeches. The table setting, the interior, fresh flowers, the detailings.. everything feel like it's belonged to where they are. No such thing as those vase don't belong there or that bell was better of somewhere else but on that console table, if you know what I mean.







{ Cereal section }







{ It would be very nice if we can have table setting like this at our home, every single day, during every meal so we always can have holiday-y feeling at the comfort of our own home. Sighhhh yeah I know, too much job, too many utensils involved. In short, too ambitious! }







{ At my home, I served butter straight from fridge, with the aluminium wrapper somemore hahahaha. Here, the butter even have it's own "shell" I bet butter at my home would die of jealousy should they see this :) }









We knew that Emma is a good housekeeper but less did we know that she was superb cook too! Our omelet was perfectly cook and well seasoned. Literally the best omelet I've tasted so far. No kidding.







{ Erin enjoying her cereal }









Since we arrived pretty late last evening, we didn't get to know other tenants. We got to meet them during breakfast. This is where we got to know this lovely couple. When we told them that it was 50 degree Celsius at the place we came from, they shook their head in disbelieve. The young man told us, his girlfriend got sunburn at 15 degree Celsius so he can't imagine how they'd survive in 50 degree instead heheh







{ Morning talk over a cuppa tea }



While having our breakfast, Ikram appeared out of nowhere. Good thing my husband already message him the place we're staying with the postcode and all via FB. Thank god our B&B was equipped with free WiFi so there's still a way we can communicate. We haven't gotten our simcard and internet connection just yet remember? So there's no way Ikram can call us that morning hence he just find his way to our B&B.



With his arrival, we finished up our breakfast, get our beg and say our goodbye to Emma and thanking her for her hospitality.









{ Ikram and Alis at front door }







{ Old wooden chair by the garden outside that we didn't get a chance to enjoy during our short stay }











{ Front side }







{ Back Yard }




Next : Tour around Bath and strawberry picking