35 Hours Exploring London

35 Hours Exploring London 

Hello all my lovely followers and new visitors to my blog.

Big Ben under maintenance 

I want to firstly let you all know what has been happening in my life recently, so this part is a bit of  side track from the topic of this post; but I'll be breif. Firstly, I have just finished my second year of A levels and therefore college, and I'm not going to lie I feel great :) I have been attending college for three years, doing a Btec when I was 16-17, and then A levels when I was 17-19 and it is finally over: making me feel ecstatic and sad at the same time.

Off to London

I recently had my exams, which to be completely honest drove me mad with stress. This is because the most stressful part, which I'm sure many others will understand, is that those in charge of higher education had decided to make all of us A level students take both our AS (first year) exams and A2 exams (second year exams) all together at the end of the second year; meaning I had to dig out revision resources that I forgot existed, and all whilst my brain was in melt down mode from the stress of it all.
    But after 7 written exams, one practical exam in February, and over 15 hours spent in exams, I finally walked out of that room I had spent 6 hours in on Friday the 23rd June, and prepared myself for an end-of-a-levels-celebration-trip-to-London with friends from college; which I just returned from Monday night (approximately at 9pm after 4 hours of travelling, sigh).

Waterloo Tube Line

So, without further ado, I will let you all know what I got up to in London within approximately 35hours, with loads of lovely pictures taken by myself to remember my experience and share it with you. Enjoy  😊


On Sunday the 25th June, we decided to visit London to celebrate and be London tourists, agreeing we would all meet in Oxford at a Weather spoons -the best place to go for us students with little money- for breakfast, and then get the bus to London from Gloucester Green Bus Station around the corner.  However, because I have been so preoccupied of late with exams and work, I forgot to prepare travel, and ended up driving on the motorway, for the first time-which I'm proud I survived from- to Oxford because the trains and buses were hardly running at all that day.

Buckingham Palace 

And that is where the journey began, starting with a 7am wake-up for me, driving for approx. 45 mins to Oxford, getting breakfast with my friends, getting the London Victoria bus for 2 1/2 hours, buying an Oyster card(a very handy little thing to help you save on tube journeys) and getting multiple tube trains: all six of  us finally walking out of the underground tired from our journey and getting to our hotel: a Premier Inn which has lush rooms at great prices in convenient locations in London .

The Shard

We then found our rooms, basked in our happiness as we realised how comfortable the beds were, and set off to buy lunch at the Tesco Express conveniently placed around the corner from the hotel, before sight seeing Big Ben, St. James' Park, Buckingham Palace, The Shard. We even saw a production crew and their caravans set up near Blenheim Palace for a Bollywood film-the security guard told us-which was amazing to see with their costumes out and makeup van open to see into at a distance. Lastly, we quickly went to Oxford Street and went into M&M world, probably the most colourful place I've ever been to, with the smell of M&M's all around you as you walk inside,
 

Red London Telephone Box

 After a day of picture taking and sight seeing, we all headed back to the hotel, to get ready for dinner at Pizza Express, a well deserved treat located just around the corner offering my favourite Archers lemonade beverage and margarita pizza  🍕 😍 🎆 This was followed by my what felt like eternity search for Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough Ice cream, a forever favourite of mine, and drinks in one of our rooms alongside a game of Cards Against Humanity: a highly outrageous game -a game recommended for those 17+-, that is bound to provoke multiple fights of laughter.


After a great day on Sunday, we set off once again to sight see on Monday the 26th June, but after getting breakfast of course. We took the underground to visit China Town, an amazing area bursting with culture, and then Soho, a place full of things to do and places to eat, such as at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen where we ate lunch.

Admiralty Arch, near Trafalgar Square, London

    We then headed off to visit Oxford Street, where we went shopping and I purchased black Harem trousers which are super comfy and light blue trainers in the sale in H&M; and two standing, open plastic picture frames from Muji; a cute little Japanese shop selling cool household and consumer items like stationery and picture frames.

Finally, we set off to the hotel to collect our luggage, carrying our multiple shopping bags with us, and continued to the underground to

The Bollywood Movie Caravans

get to the bus to take us back to Oxford. After a 3 hour journey, we wound up at Gloucester Green Bus Station in Oxford, where we parted and I head off for Oxford Train Station to get the next train home: arriving at 9pm back home at the station feeling exhausted but happy from the trip to London.  

Chinatown Arch

In summary, I had an amazing time with my friends on my first ever visit to London, and I honestly don't think I stopped laughing once the whole time. From the hilarious moment I nearly fell over my suitcase on the escalator in the underground (trust me to have a suitcase whilst everyone had travel bags), and nearly fell onto a strangers lap when the tube train stopped suddenly😌, being swarmed by pigeons scurrying around our feet as we ate lunch in St James' Park, and to playing Cards Against Humanity until 1am Monday: I have enjoyed myself so much and will miss not seeing everyone each day at college as I drag myself into lessons.
     I can honestly say the excitement I felt as I looked forward to London was one of the only things that kept me going when revising and maintained my drive to finish A levels. It's memories like these that make you grateful for those in your life and the opportunities life gives us.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed my post and the pictures. If so, don't forget to subscribe to email notifications of when I post on my blog, follow me on Bloglovin, and share my post with friends  😃


Yours truly,

Caris 😊

My 2015 Holiday | Day 3 Alone With The Dogs

My 2015 Holiday | Day 3 Alone With The Dogs 

Ringstead Bay and it's Beach when
we arrived at the beach.
(Photograph taken by me Caris)

After spending our first day at Ringstead Bay Beach and our second day at Charmouth, on the third day I was left to look after Skye and Gem. My family had gone out for the day and I had decided to stay and go to the Beach with Skye. Being only 10 weeks old, the large pebbles on the beach could be a task for Gem to walk on, so she stayed in her bed nice and comfortable with all her favourite toys. When I was ready to go, I put a lead on Skye and checked on Gem. She had already fallen asleep. Taking hold of Skye's lead firmly, I went out the door, locked it and set off.

Steps leading to the second of the two beaches.
(Photograph taken by me Caris)

The sky was clear blue and the clouds were white, looking as though they had been perfectly moulded to their fluffy shape before being placed into the sky. A gentle breeze accompanied the warm air, making it the perfect weather for the beach. Walking down the drive with Skye panting with excitement beside me; I came to the gate at the bottom of the cottages drive. Reaching over the wooden structure, I attempted to lift the latch which wouldn't budge. I pushed against the gate as I lifted the latch, still no movement. In the end I had to send Skye underneath the gate and climb over, typical. Once over, I set off along the shining, smooth gravel track towards the field. Letting Skye off lead resulting in her racing into the distance, returning seconds later making multiple laps around me. The grass was long and soft and the smell of pollen was in the air. Listening carefully, I could hear the sea and people on the beach.

The second of the two beaches at Ringstead.
(Photograph taken by me Caris)

Once at the bottom of the field, I cut through a open gate into the second field. Skye lead the way until we reached a gate built into the fencing, sending Skye through we reached a small single track road. The road leading to the beach. Whilst walking I could feel the sun's rays behind me as they hit my legs and arms. I just love the warmth of summer. After walking for some time, avoiding walking into people and their dogs and cars, we reached the walkway leading down towards the beach. Skye started to whine with excitement. Once on the beach we set off towards the second beach on the left of the area. When we reached the steps leading to the beach, I let Skye free. Watching this white and brown figure vanish into the distance directly towards the sea made me smile. She has to be one of the craziest and most joyful dogs I have ever had I thought to myself. Returning with a large grin spread across her face, I placed a lead back onto Skye's collar. Her fur was soft but her legs were dripping with salty sea water and dotted with sand from the beach. Once we reached the middle of the second beach, I sat onto the ground. A mixture of sand and small pebbles covered the

Skye settled on the beach.
(Photograph taken by me Caris)

surface. Removing the lead from her collar, I threw a toy into the soft, gentle gleaming water which Skye retrieved in seconds. Watching her run up to the water and dive far into the sea, she moved like an Olympic swimmer. Drawing closer to the toy floating on the surface, she picked it up and ran back to me in a matter of seconds with a wide grin on her face.

Skye on Ringstead Bay Beach.
(Photograph taken by me Caris)

After being at the beach for about an hour and a half to two hours, I decided it was time for me and Skye to go back to the holiday cottage. The grin that had first appeared on Skye's face hadn't budged since. The two of us were happy. Skye still grinning, covered in salty sea water from the calm and gentle waves, head to toe and me covered in sand; we both finally arrived back at the cottage's gate to the drive. Climbing over the gate-which still would not move, Skye followed me underneath, trotting towards the cottage door. The sunlight was less intense and there was a breeze still blowing through the air, past me across to the trees in the wood to my right. Trees rustled as the breeze hit them, as though they were speaking to each other with their vibrant, green leaves. Once inside the cottage, I let Gem out, who cheerfully let out a greeting howl; sounding as if she was saying hello in English. Running up to Skye, she launched herself into the mad Spaniel, before flying back from the force she herself, a little 10 week old puppy could create.

Eventually the dogs came back inside, resting together in Skye's cage sleeping peacefully for the next few hours; until my family came back from the dog competition Quest had competed in. Happy I couldn't wait for my next day on holiday, wondering, where will I go next? With that thought, I smiled and turned on the TV; because hey everyone needs a television on holiday. Right?

Yours truly,
xChatty Blondex