Novotel, the Green Initiative and a Free Staycation

So…sometimes, I do get lucky!  I subscribed to Novotel-Araneta Facebook page to watch out for their promos.  Sometime in May, they posted about their Green Star contest where they gave information about some of their Earth Day initiatives or programs to protect and conserve the resources of Mother Earth, and participants to the contest were to vote for the best one.  Participants will then post their answer the question “How can you get involved with Novotel Manila Araneta Center’s commitment towards positive hospitality?” in the comment section.  Novotel will then select qualified answers and raffle them off.  

Novotel-Araneta, Manila

I was impressed with and voted for their HealthyNSustainable initiative where Novotel’s own El Dorado Farm in San Mateo, Rizal grows organic fruits, vegetables and herbs which they serve in the hotel restaurant.  The scraps from the fruits, vegetables and herbs are also used for their cocktail infusions, which results to less wastage. Under this initiative, they also do knowledge sharing by conducting workshops in the community on sustainability, and they campaign to their guests through inspiration boards in their hotel, to make a conscious choice on sustainable food and drinks.

And I won :).  I got a message in FB messenger informing me that I won an overnight stay in a Superior Room. I booked myself, mom and brother for July 15.

The hotel is very nice- not because it is free :) but because it is very new and because of its cleanliness, modern design and coziness.  The room size is just right and the bed and small sofa very comfortable.  The toiletries are sugar-cane based and smell really good. 

By the pool side

Breakfast is buffet and though there were lesser selection compared to 5 star hotels, the food is still ample.  My favorite would be the mixed fresh fruit juice- very yummy and very healthy! I finished around 5 bottles.

Thank you, Novotel-Araneta and kudos to your HealthyNSustainable initiative!

Book your stay at the Novotel website .

Going Solo in Edinburgh

Vibrant, beautiful, historical, fun, culture, interesting, and stunning are some of the words many use to describe Edinburgh, according to surveys.  I could sum up how I see Edinburgh in one word: medieval (in a really good, nostalgic way).  And I was happy to have walked that way.  

After more than 4 hours of travel, the train finally reached Waverley Train Station, the main station serving Edinburgh. It is a big one, with 18 platforms.  I was excited to start with my solo DIY tour- but decided for a quick brunch at Costa inside the station, before heading out. 

I left the station through the Waverley Bridge Exit and was greeted by the view of the Old Town to my left, the New Town to my right and of the view of the Scott Monument, just across the bridge.  The awesome view of the Old Town and the Scott Monument  quickly transported me to the medieval period. 

I turned left to go inside the Old Town. I  walked towards Market Street, followed the road to the Museum on the Mound, walked up along N. Bank Street, and onward to St. Giles Street until I reached High Street (which is part of the Royal Mile).  And was greeted by too many umbrellas!  It was raining and tourists still poured in despite the weather! 

When the rain stopped.

After a few steps I found myself in the Parliament Square.  It is where the original Scottish parliament was.  In the center of the square is the St. Giles Cathedral.  Built in the1120s, it was formerly a Roman Catholic church turned protestant. It started to rain, and I did not bring any umbrella (despite reminders from friends), so I ran inside the cathedral.  The interior of the cathedral is exquisite! Guests are free to take a look around, but tickets are needed to be able to take photographs. 

Along the Royal Mile, Statue behind St. Giles Cathedral

Surrounding the Cathedral is the old Parliament House, built in 1642 and was used by Scottish parliament until 1707.  There is also the Signet Library, law courts the mercat cross and the statue of King Charles II.

When the rain stopped, I walked towards the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile is the main road that connects Edinburgh Castle on one end, and the Palace of Holyroodhouse on the other end.  It is said to be the oldest street in Scotland, where more than a mile long of old buildings stand.  It comprises 4 conjoined streets, including the High Street. This is where one find pubs, restaurants and shops selling souvenir items and Scottish kilts. 

Scottish Kilt on display

One of the pubs

I reached the Holyroodhouse, which was closed as the Queen was visiting and this is where the Royals stay when they visit Edinburgh.  Across the Holyroodhouse is the new Scottish Parliament.

The Holyroodhouse, from outside

I was there on a Royal Week!

Guests from inside the Holyrood house?

I walked back along the Royal Mile again, and was fascinated by the side alleys between the tall, old buildings. They call an alley, a close or a wind. A close is used for gated private property, while a wynd is a very narrow alleyway, wide enough for horse and cart.  

More old buildings in one of the alleys

I passed by some more attractions such as the Camera Obscura and the Whisky Centre before reaching the Edinburgh Castle.  I could only wish that they did not build the Esplanade at the entry way of the castle- the bleachers did ruin the view.   

View of Edinburgh Castle from Johnston Terrace street

I walked back and at the roundabout, I turned to Johnston terrace, which gives a good view of the other side of Edinburgh.  After a quick stroll, I headed back to the High Street. I traced my steps back to the Museum on the Mound, crossed the street to the Scottish National Gallery.

A signage in one of the buildings along Johnston terrace

View of the Scot Monument on the way to the Scottish National Gallery

The road led me to the new town, where I did some quick souvenir shopping along Princes St.  And before I knew it, it was time for me to go back to Waverley station to catch my 5:30 train.

Behind the Waverley station

So, what did I love most about Edinburgh?  For one it is very picturesque.  I love the slopes (Edinburgh is a hilly city) ,  I love the cobblestone pavements, I love the old buildings and the statues.  I loved the medieval feel.  I even loved the rain in Edinburgh!  I also loved the way it made me feel like I was part of the fiction books I have been reading: I imagined lining up the Royal Mile and bowing down as kings and queens pass by, I imagined watching knights during duels, I imagined seeing drunks coming out of ale taverns at night, and of course I imagined dragons flying above the city! 

Whisky everywhere!

Should have tried the Scottish ale!

Time to go home!

And yes, I am definitely coming back, as I have missed the other attractions. 6 hours is simply not enough!

Taking the Virgin Train to Scotland

Three weeks before my travel, I purchased my ticket to Scotland through the Virgin Train website, and got a pretty good fare: GBP 80 for return tickets. 

Browsing online, there were several options for purchasing ticket to Edinburgh but I’ve always thought it better to book direct. I booked through the Virgin Train website, which offers some advantages:

• It allows you to select the Quiet Coach (which is Coach B), if you don’t want be in the regular coach(which can be quite noisy, as per the reviews I have read).  They cost the same, by the way. 

• It also allows you to choose not only window or aisle seats, but also seats by the table, or seats with electrical socket (which are usually window seats). 

• You will be given complimentary wifi for the whole trip duration.  Tickets purchased through other mediums only get 1 hour complimentary wifi.

• If you’re lucky you get to receive an email a week before the trip, saying you can upgrade to Business Class for only 20 GBP (I received one!) which would come with lounge access, food, reclining seats, more legroom and morning paper.

So, I opted for the Quiet Coach, and window seat, and thought about upgrading to business class.

I was excited for this tour well, because finally…alone time, and my first time in Scotland!  I woke up early, and left excitedly to Paddington station.  From Paddington , I took the Circle Line to get to King’s Cross station, which is the terminal for Virgin Train.  King’s Cross is a big station, so my friend advised me to leave before 6 AM to catch my 7 AM trip. From the underground platform, I had to get out of the Kings Cross St. Pancrass underground station and followed the sign to the King’s Cross station. At the station, there are terminals where you can print your boarding pass, if you haven't had them printed yet. 

I waited for 10 minutes and then it was boarding time. I was looking for the staff as I wanted to avail of upgrade to business class however, there was no one- which was a good thing because I found that there were not that many passengers.  I had all 3 seats to myself.  On another thought, going business class would have been an experience in itself…oh, well…

Ready for the 4.5 hour ride!

Scotland, here I come!

PS: You may book your tickets here.

Finding My Way To Paddington, and a Little Bit More of London

It was a Monday, and I was so looking forward to Scotland the next day. But first things first, I had to do some last minute shopping in Portsmouth, of course.  At 60% price off, I got a really nice dress for my brother’s wedding in October at Dorothy Perkins- good job!

Louie and I had brunch at Costa, then I went on to stuff back my things in my luggage, and then she dropped me off the train station.  The SouthWest Train operates the Portsmouth-Central London line. I got the direct train to London Waterloo, which took close to 2 hours, and the train fare was around GBP13.

I did some research the night before so I could easily find my way to Paddington station, where my hotel is (I chose the Paddington area because it is where Heathrow Express is and it will be very easy for me to go to the airport).  One useful tool for me is londondrum.com , which gives information of the tube line to take, the tube route, journey time, and fare zone.  From Waterloo, Bakerloo line will take me to Paddington, I will get off at the 9th stop, which is the Paddington station, journey time is approximately 16 minutes and my fare zone is in zone 1 which means GBP2.40 will be deducted from my oyster card credit.

Knowing that Waterloo is the biggest and busiest station in UK, I also researched about where to find the platform for Bakerloo line: 

• The first step would be to find out which direction to go by going to the london-tube-map.infolondon-tube-map.info : the northern terminus of Bakerloo is Harrow and Wealdston, and the southern terminus would be Elephant and Castle. From Waterloo, I were to go to the southbound platform to Harrow and Wealdstone direction and get off at the 9th stop, which is Paddington.

Image from Metrolodes.es

• The second step was to find out the platform number of Bakerloo line in Waterloo station.  I used describe-online.comdescribe-online.com to find out the platform number of southbound Bakerloo line.  Platform 4 it is! (Tip. Describe-online.com is a good tool for directions on transfer from one platform to another.Try it here) 

I was glad I did my research ahead of time-it was difficult enough having to carry around a luggage and a laptop backpack!

From Paddington station, the hotel was a few blocks away (2 blocks, taking the London Street).  It, however took awhile for me to get oriented with the place (my first time there!) and I walked a few blocks further.  I went back, saw a map on one of the posts, and found my way to Days Inn Hotel.

Days Inn Hyde Park Hotel is in Sussex Gardens street, which is a pretty nice and tranquil place , as opposed to the streets surrounding it, which I found chaotic.  There are several hotels in the same building as Days Inn.  The room size is typical of London (small) and it is expensive, but the room is clean and it is in a very good location. 

The building along Sussex Gardens where Days Inn and other similar hotels are housed.

After settling down and freshening up, I went for a walk at the nearby Kensington Gardens.  It is a free park and a huge one.  I went up to that area where I got a view of the Kensington Palace.

The Italian Garden at Kensington Gardens

One of the water fountains at Kensington Gardens

I went back to the hotel before 6:30, just in time for my reunion with my long lost friend, Herbie, who took me to a Persian restaurant , for some reason.(I kind of expected the fish-and-chips dinner haha!).  It did felt good to catch up, though. And one thing about friendship is: no matter how long you have been apart, you’re still able to pick up where you have left off, even if it was decades ago.

2 decades worth of catching up in London!

Osborne House: The Prettiest Spot

Yesterday, we were in Oxford and Bath.  I spent the night at my friend’s house in Portsmouth.  The next day , we had buffet breakfast at the restaurant in Travelodge, attended the mass, and drove to South Hampton to take the ferry to our next destination:  The Isle of Wight.

We boarded the car ferry of Red Funnel, which took us to Isle of Wight within an hour.  From the port, we drove for 5 minutes for the Osborne House.

Boarding time!

Built between 1845 and 1851, the Osborne House was the holiday home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and was redesigned by Prince Albert himself.  Said to be the one of the Queen’s favorite home, it is also where she died. 

Entrance to the Osborne House.  

The Osborne House and the Terrace Garden

What I particularly liked about the house is that it was more of a home, and not a palace- except for its size, it has a more “normal” feel, specially the nursery rooms,  family rooms and private rooms (it was said that the personal possessions in Prince Albert’s private room are as they are when he was still alive). Of course, the place is still royal and it has many mementos on display in the rooms and along the corridors, including gifts from other European royal families. There is also the Queen’s Dining Room, the Drawing Room, Queen’s Sitting Room and Queen’s Bedroom (where she died).

I was surprised to find many Indian decorations, and paintings of Indian persons and scenes. I found later that Queen Victoria also had the title of Empress of India back then. There is also the Durbar room, with the most ornate ceiling I have ever laid eyes on (the ceiling was said to be designed by the father of Rudyard Kipling, a famous author).Durbar came from the Hindi word which means court , and the Durbar room was built for state functions. 

The South Asian-ish Durbar Room

The house sits on a big estate  and is a lovely place for family picnic, which are allowed on grass anywhere in the grounds. My friends kids had fun climbing trees and running around the area.

Where to go?

One of my favorite areas would be the Terrace Garden, which gives a good view of the Solent. 

Terrace Garden

20 minutes walk from the house would take you to The Swiss Cottage, which was built by Prince Albert as play area for their 9 children.  Infront of the cottage are the royal children’s garden plots, with each of them given a patch of garden to grow vegetables.  A few steps further  is their mini fort and barracks, which I suppose was also meant as play area. A small museum can be found, also close to The Swiss Cottage.

The royal play house :)

On another route, also 20 minutes walk from the house would be the Queen Victoria’s private beach and her wooden bathing machine. 

How to get there:

We booked the car ferry and the entrance to Osborne through RedFunnel, which operates 24 hours a day, through this link.

Ticket prices and opening time:

Click here.

The Aquae Sulis

The Aquae Sulis or the town of Bath  in Somerset, England is one unique destination. Known as the “spa town”, the city has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Romans in 1 AD and is well known particularly for the ancient Roman baths. 

Welcome to Bath City!

The Roman bath complex or its remains is extensive. It gave me a glimpse of how the Romans relax and enjoy (or how the slaves cannot relax in the same way).  Guests have to descend 20 feet below street level to explore the complex. 

Entrance to the Roman Bath

The Terrace is the first view of the visitor, right after the ticket booths and in itself as instagram-worthy as the bath itself. It is adorned with statues of Roman emperors and governors. Here, guests will get a full view of The Great Bath.

Statues at The Terrace

The Great Bath was built for bathing and socializing.  It is a thermal spa which makes use of the natural hot springs in the area.  By The Great Bath, guests may socialize with costumed Roman characters who can tell guests about the real stories of the characters they represent.  We met a slave girl, the stone mason, and another Roman who could possibly be a traveling merchant.

View of The Great Bath from The Terrace

Meet the "Romans"

The other chambers include the plunge pools and the tepid pools.  There are also the changing rooms and the heated rooms or sauna.  An interactive museum is also available where Roman artifacts are also on display, including the bronze head of the Goddess Sulis Minerva, to whom the baths were dedicated.

Below the heating room.

Going down to the Roman Bath complex made me feel like I have stepped in the Roman time.   It felt surreal walking down those ancient pavements and ruins.I regretted not having a sip of the spa water though, as it is said to have healing powers (despite the “unpleasant” smell and taste).

Please click here for information on opening hours and ticket prices of the Roman Bath.

Oxford University: A Look At My Nephew’s Dream School

My short vacation after my graduation started with a visit to Oxford.  My friend and her family picked me up from Hyatt Heathrow at around 11 in the morning-it was really nice to see her and her family again after 3 years or so! The kids have grown up real fast and the eldest is taller than me now.

The Bridge of Sights at Oxford

The drive to Oxford took more than an hour. It is one beautiful place which made me wish I was still a college student , riding my bike to catch my classs. I would have earned money for my allowance by being a tour guide, as what many students do. But who knows, maybe my nephew would have the chance to experience studying in Oxford University, his dream school.

Aside from Oxford being a center of learning, I fell in love with its cobbled steets, the old, “honey-toned buildings”, and the university and college courtyards. Very Harry Potter-ish (well some scenes were shot here).

The Clarendon Building - Broad Street corner Catte Street

We parked  at the Parks Road near the Broad Street, one of the major roads.  It is very near the Bodleian Library of Oxford University, which is naturally our first stop. The  Bodleian Libary, which was founded in 1598 and one of the locations for the Harry Potter movie.  There is a tour of the library which costs 6 pounds and run for 30 minutes. 

Entrance to the Library

A few steps from the Library is the Radcliffe Square where the Radcliffe Camera is. Radcliffe Camera is a beautiful building inside the university built in 1737 and was once the Science Library.  This is the image normally seen in Oxford postcards or travel books. 

We headed to the Oxford University Museum of History of Science along Broad Street.  The collection of early scientific instruments can be viewed for free. We did a stroll around the city, a little shopping (of course I had to buy my nephew the Oxford University shirt) and had a buffet lunch. 

Along Cornmarket Street, on the way to ChristChurch

After lunch, we we also went to Christchurch Cathedral and Christchurch College, which I find to be the most beautiful of Oxford University’s colleges. Unfortunately, we were not able to enter because there was an on going event at the time of our visit.  I had to be contented with the view of the courtyard from the outside. The cathedral is said to have been built in the 12th century. Christchurch College was built by Cardinal Wolsey, the same person who originally owned the Hampton Court Palace in London. Founded in 1525, it is said to be the largest college in Oxford.

View of the Christchurch Cathedral

Facade of the Christchurch College

We were done before 5 PM and decided that we still have time to visit another famous place, The Bath.

And so off to Bath we go.