Josefin+Blomkvist

Blog 1

When I was 12 years old I decided that I one day would travel to England. I would like to see all the famous places for example “London Eye” and “Big Ben” and then maybe go shopping in Oxford Street in London. I have been saving some money since then and finally, now when I am 20 years old, I have enough money to go. I am very excited and proud of myself because I actually saved up 50.000 Swedish crowns and I am planning to spend it all on shopping and experiences. I think London is an interesting city with all sorts of entertainments, therefore I think it suits all kind of people. That’s why I choose London. I have been longing for this trip over the last couple of weeks and now it is time. I am going to blog about this fantastic trip so you too can see what I am doing and take part of my journey. My flight leaves tomorrow at 7 o´clock in the morning. Enjoy! Next day I woke up at 3 am. I ate my breakfast and packed the last couple of things in my suitcase. I took a cab to Arlanda Airport at 3.30 am and arrived at 4 am. The cab cost me 500 crowns. I picked up my boarding pass and checked in my suitcase. Then I went through the security control and when I was done I tried to find the right gate. I asked a lady in the “Tax free” and she told me to look at the information board. I went to the big corridor and there was an information board filled with flight numbers and destinations. I found my flight and wrote down the gate number. I took a quick look at my wristwatch, saw that it was 6.30 am and I had half an hour until it was time to board the plane. // 30 minutes later // The plane was big with many seats. I have seat number 6B, it wasn’t hard to find. I sat down and about 10 minutes later I fell asleep. // 2 hours later // Heathrow airport is connected to the underground so I took the tube to Bedford Avenue, Bloomsbury. It was very efficient, if you don’t include the tricky ticket machines. I bought a "Tube Week Ticket" and the price was 250 crowns. I finally arrived to my hotel, St Giles Hotel & Leisure Club. This hotel is situated in the entertainment district of West End London. It is less than 5 minute walk from Tottenham Court underground station and it is very close to Oxford Street. The hotel has a few international restaurants, an Italian, Japanese and an Asian restaurant. The hotel is also just a 3 minute walk from Dominion Theatre. The price for the room was 10 000 Swedish crowns for a week. I stayed in the hotel for about one and a half hour to unpack my suitcase and make myself comfortable. I went down to the hotel cafeteria and they served warm and cold dishes. I decide to take a Caesar salad and it cost me 60 crown. It was absolutely worth it. I wanted to go shopping so I walked 5 minutes from the hotel to Oxford Street. Oxford street is a very famous shopping street but it´s crowded with tourist so you can barely walk. I wanted to buy some clothes and a new dress. I went down to a shop named Whistles. It was filled with clothes in many different colors and material. I looked for my dress and I found it. I tried it on in the locker room. It was light blue with some flower in different shades of black. But it did not fit so I carried on looking. I walked about 10 minutes down the block and there was a lovely shop with tea mugs. I walked in and I saw a mug with two eyes and a big mouth that looked like an oven. In the mouth-oven were two chocolate cookies. I thought it was very funny so I bought it. It cost me 70 Swedish crowns. I thought it was a bit too expensive but I really wanted a tea mug from England. I carried on looking for my dress in many different shops but I didn´t find the right one. So I went looking for a café because my legs were very tired after many hours shopping. Starbucks was in the corner of the avenue. I walked in and ordered a coffee and a muffin. Tougher they cost 50 crowns. It was very nice sitting in the café looking at the people walking around behind the window. Some people walked slowly and looked relaxed and some looked like they were going to panic. When my paper coffee mug was empty and the muffin was eaten I went out to the street again. About 20 minutes walking down the block I found a very cute shop called Rose. Inside the shop was a big pink sofa with rivets. I sat down and looked around in the room. Everything was in either pink or white and there was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen in my whole life. It was a white evening dress with a big bow on the back. I went to the locker room and put on the dress. It fit perfectly, I thought I looked like a princess if I do say myself. Then I went to the cashier and bought my new completely wonderful dress. It cost me 1000 crowns. I looked at my wristwatch and it was 8 pm. I was a little bit surprised, I didn´t think it was so much, so I took a cab to the hotel and had dinner. The cag cost me 300 crowns. I ordered fish with potatoes, salad and a big soda, together they cost me 250 crowns. It was actually really good. The long day were starting to catch up on me so when I was in my warm hotel bed I was “out like a light”. When I woke up the next morning I was very excited because I booked some tickets to the Dominion Theatre. It was very close to the hotel and my family at home recommended it. I reserved a ticket for “We will rock you” for about a half year ago because they are very popular. It cost me 800 crowns. The show started at 6 pm and now it was 12 am ( I thought I deserved a little bit more sleep this morning) so I had about 6 hours to just relax at the hotel and I think I will go sightseeing in the red double deck buses. The hotel had a big pool so I went swimming half an hour in the warm water. I took a quick nap and then I was ready to go sightseeing. I could pre-purchase tickets at my hotel, so I did. I bought “Yellow Route” because it´s the most popular one and the route takes in London's most famous sights; including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, The London Dungeon, Tower Bridge and The Tower of London. The bus trip is 2 hours and 15 minutes and the price was 260 crowns. I walked to the closes bus station and waited. After about 15 minutes the bus arrived. I showed the bus driver my ticket and stepped into the bus. The ground floor in the bus was much crowed so I decided to go up to the top floor where I also could get a better view. // 2 hours and 15 minutes later // We arrived at the same bus station we started from. The sightseeing was amazing, I had never seen such a beautiful building and towers before. I had forgotten my watch at the hotel so I asked a man standing beside the bus station. He was very kind and told me that it was 4.30 pm. I took a shortcut to my hotel and I bought a cold soda. It cost me 20 crowns. I took the elevator to my room and started to get myself prepared for the evening. // 20 minutes later // The clock was 5 pm so it was 1 hour until the theatre started. I walked there because it only was 3 minutes away. I came very early so I found my seat whiteout rushing. A bought a coffee in the theatre cafeteria and it cost me 40 crowns (quite expensive). Then I went back to my seat and sat down and relax before the wild show begun. The theatre slowly began to fill with people and when it only was 5 minutes left it was full. 3 hours later The show was fantastic I had never heard such great music and amazing dance moves and I loved the story and the performance was excellent. I would like to go there many more times. I walked out on the street again and remembered that I haven’t had dinner yet so I went to MacDonald 10 minutes away from the theatre. I ordered a Big Mac and Company. It was good but I couldn’t beat the yesterday’s dinner. Everything only cost me 40 crowns. After the dinner I went to my hotel and fell asleep. This was the first couple of days in London and like I said in the first rows “I think London is an interesting city with all sorts of entertainments, therefore I think it suits all kind of people.” I can tell you guy’s one thing, it suits me very well too. Bye Josefin
 * England Blog 1 **


 * England Blog 2 **

On Wednesday morning I woke up at 8 o´clock. I ate an absolutely wonderful breakfast at my hotel. I was a bit tired but very excited because this day I´ve decided to visit Camden market. It´s a very big market with many stalls and you can buy things from clothes and shoes to things you didn´t even think existed. I’m going there by tube and I´m staying till around dinner time.

The tube took me about one and a half hour because they had some problems with the electricity on the wagons, but it didn´t bother me at all. When I arrived I saw a stall selling candy. It was very cheap so I bought a bag with candy. I tasted one and it looked like a boat, it was not bad but it couldn’t compete to the candy at home. As I said before it is a big and famous market so it was lots of people there and therefor I could barely walk. I hate when there is so much people because you always needs to push people away too look at the stuff hanging at the stalls, so that was a minus. But over all a think it was a good market and I had fun there.

I bought a par of sandals to match my new dress. They were very simple and with some studs at the front. They cost me 200 crowns.

It was a snack stall in the end of the road and it smelled really good so a bought some chips. I looked at my wrist watch and it was 6 o´clock in the afternoon and I wanted to go to bed early this night so I decided to go home. The tube was in time this time so a didn´t have to wait an hour again.

The hotel had recommended a French restaurant and it only took 10 minutes to walk there. At the restaurant I ordered a French toast with jam and bacon, it was cheap and very tasty. When I was done with my meal I took cab to the hotel (I know I´m lazy). Then I went to my hotel room, put myself to bed and fell asleep.

The next day I ate breakfast at Starbucks. I ate a tuna sandwich with tomatoes and a smoothie. The smoothie was really good but sadly the sandwich was a bit dry. After my breakfast I took the tube to London Eye, I have never been there before so I’m very excited. The tube took me about ten minutes. Outside London Eye was a long cue as I expected, therefor I had bought a "pass throw ticket" so I was allowed to walk beside the whole cue and put myself first. When the wagon arrived I went in and I sat down at a place in the middle of the wagon. They filled the wagon with people and they were blocking my view so I decided to take a place near the window. When the wagon started moving I got a bit nervous because I´m I a little bit scared if heights but I got over it as soon as I saw the magical view. It really was a memory for life. I saw The British parliament and the beautiful building big ben. All the money I spent on this little trip was absolutely worth every single crown.

Suddenly the wagon stopped and I wondered what was going on. Then I started to realize that the ride was over. If I ever would travel to England again I would definitely go to London Eye.

When the sky began to darken, I felt very hungry. Luckily I saw a restaurant near London Eye which was called Tornado. The restaurant was inspired by the popular artist Madonna. The walls were covered by pictures of her and some autographs. I sat down at a table near the window. I ordered fish and potato by a lady all dressed in black .She was very kind and friendly. The meal came about a half hour later and it was very tasty. When I finished my meal I took the tube to my hotel and went to bed.

Bye

Josefin

England Blog 3

I woke up at 8 o´clock on Saturday morning. It was fantastic weather outside. I got dressed and went down to the Hotels reception to pay for today’s breakfast. I think the hotels breakfast was the best I´ve tried this far. The breakfast closed at 9 o´clock so I didn’t have so much time to eat, but the staff told me not to worry.

This day was a perfect shopping day so I went to Oxford Street again but this time I was going to visit the big shopping mall Harrods. My friends at home told me about all the brands and the famous and beautiful decorations and that’s why I was really excited to go. I took the tube to Harrods and arrived just in time for the opening. I went in and looked around in a room filled with people, clothes and accessories. I went looking for a handbag because the one I had right now was a real mess. There were a lot of handbags hanging everywhere, but either way weren’t the right color, and else they were too small or too big. I wanted a black very classic handbag to match everything. I found one bag from the brand Chanel. It was classy and black, all the things that I was looking for. The only thing was that it was a bit expensive for the bags size and material. But it didn´t stop me from buying it. I was very pleased with my purchase.

I always wanted a scarf, so when I saw one from Louis Vuitton I couldn’t resist buying it. It cost me 2999. It was brown with some black flowers on it, and the letters LV stood in the left corner of the scarf. The color was wonderful and the material was soft and shiny. I took the scarf and walked to the cashier. The man in the cashier was very rude and unfriendly. When I asked if he knew were the toilets were he told me that I should look after it by myself and that I shouldn’t be so lazy, and ask for help without even looking first. I got a bit mad so I took my scarf and walked away. I asked a man in another shop and he told me that it was straight forward and then to the left. It´s very hard to find rude people in England, everybody is always kind and helpful.

I had a dinner reservation at 7 o´clock. The restaurant is named Nobu. It´s was a very famous for their good food. I took the tube to my hotel and got dressed. I called for a cab at my hotel, to take me to the restaurant. The restaurant was inspired by japan, and so was the food. I stood and waited for the waiter so he would take me to my reserved table. I ordered a “Black Cod with Miso” and a glass of white wine. The food was delicious, beautiful and full of flavors that I had never tasted. The food was quite expensive but worth the money.

The long day started to catch up with me so when I got home I went to sleep.

The day started with a great breakfast at a cute little restaurant, near the hotel. And after that I was once again going shopping on Oxford Street. This time I was looking for a jacket. I walked to a shop called Random. They had all sorts of brands and jackets. I took a look on the Parajumper jackets, I like the brand a lot. My brother owns a shop with only Parajumpers, and he told me that they are warm, windproof and very stylish. The most jackets were in black, and good for me that was the color I wanted. It was a big range with different models and styles. But it was only one I really laid my eyes on. It was very simple and classic but still very cool. I tried it on in the changing room, and it fit me perfectly. It cost me 5495 crowns and I also bought a cap for 925. I was very happy with my purchase and walked out of the shop.

In the afternoon I meet an old friend, I haven´t seen her in years. We went to Browns, it a place you can drink afternoon tea and have a cookie. She had been there twice before and it was her favorite café. We took the tube to browns and arrived at 2 pm. It was a big building with many windows in different sizes. We took a table near the fireplace. It was very cozy and warm. We ordered coffee, milkshakes, muffins and cookies. The cookies were very sweet and pretty, one of them looked like Big ben and was filled with chocolate cream. It was my favorite. The milkshake was fresh and only made on fruits and berries.

The last day in London was coming to its end so I was I bit sad when I packed in the last couple of thing into my suitcase. The plane departure at 7 am the next morning.

I can’t describe the trip in words because I have had so much experience and so much fun. The trip was over my very high expectations and worth every crown I spend on it. When I got home I told all my friends and family about the trip and they were all very jealous. Some people think that it was worthless spending all the 50 000 crown on shopping and fancy dinners and I understand them. I also feel very sorry for them because they haven´t had the opportunity or chance to experience what I´ve experienced, so they haven’t got I clue what they are talking about. But the trips highlight was the London eye so if you ever go to London I recommend you to try London eye. London is a very lovely city, I would like to go back there sometime in the future.

Bye

Josefin


 * __ Budget: __**
 * Flight: 4 568**
 * Hotel: 10 000**
 * Mug: 45**
 * Dress: 1 000**
 * Konsert: 576**
 * Starbucks: 60**
 * Macdonalds: 70**
 * Chips: 10**
 * Soda: 20**
 * Sandals: 200**
 * London Eye: 187+299**
 * Dubble Decker: 260**
 * Tube: 250**
 * Handbag: 10 000**
 * Browns: 2 500**
 * Nobu: 405**
 * Breakfast: 2 000**
 * Lunch: 2 000**
 * Cafe: 400**
 * Dinners: 5 000**
 * Candy: 21**
 * Cab: 710**
 * Lois Vuitton: 2999**
 * Parajumper: 5495+ cap: 925**
 * = 50 000 kr**