Being on holiday is exhausting! That’s why we take a break today. Not from the holidays but from doing lots of stuff. We only drive over to Guildford for some relaxed shopping. We have a chicken and mushroom pasty for lunch. That’s a convenient invention and food to take away is one of the greatest British inventions. Workers used to take pasties with them and [Weiterlesen]

Today, we’re running wild at Legoland Windsor. It’s open until today only before closing down for Winter. Gladly, the Halloween activities are still there. ‘Brick or treat’ for instance, where you can build your own Lego pumpkin for the pumpkin patch. Jack is eager to do it again (they have an annual pass and are here regularly) and I’m up for it as well. And [Weiterlesen]

In the afternoon, we’re driving over to nearby Oxford. This old university town really is… old and mostly consisting of a huge university. In the old town, there’s a pedestrian zone with lots of shops for students – stationary, express binding services for thesis, cafes to hang around and much more. We walk around a bit, right across the huge campus with its old buildings [Weiterlesen]

Today, we’re visiting Bicester Village, a collection of outlet stores of big clothes brands. This means: nice rebates but maybe not the latest or most popular pieces of their collections. It’s really beautiful here and the place is well looked after. It reminds us of Disney Village with the little fake houses and huts. I buy nice shoes for the office for 40 pounds while [Weiterlesen]

Today, we’re heading for Bluewater, one of the largest shopping centres in Europe. Situated in a triangle, there are countless shops and restaurants… and again on a second level. We meet Peter, Caroline and Jack for lunch at Wahaca, our favourite Mexican restaurant. We order several small plates to share – this is how you do it in here. It’s tasty as always. Then, we’re [Weiterlesen]

After a quick visit to Guildford and a delicious burger at Five Guys, we’re off to a secret location just east of the village of Dunsfold, Surrey. To the sacred grounds of each and every car fanatic: The Top Gear Studio and Top Gear Test Track. Top Gear is the best car TV show ever with up to 350 million viewers worldwide. During the episodes, [Weiterlesen]

After a very relaxing night at the hotel, yesterday’s long journey is almost forgotten. We start our holidays slowly with some shopping. Together with Caroline and Jack, we’re visiting Festival Place shopping centre in Basingstoke. We buy first things for Christmas, resist the urge to buy lots of things no-one needs, but for a brain mould for next Halloween before having lunch at Giraffe. After [Weiterlesen]

Two and a half weeks Great Britain! Usually, we don’t spend that much time over here. We’re excited and looking forward to our holidays. After last preparations, we leave home at 9.40am. Despite lots of traffic, we make good progress. One hour after departure, we cross the border with France. Oops: hidden speed trap. Besides that, our journey goes on without problems. We listen to [Weiterlesen]

Am Schluss jeder England-Reise folgt das rituelle Verspeisen der mitgebrachten Donuts. Am Morgen war ich mit zwei Schachteln im Büro und nur wenig später war fast nichts mehr übrig. Am Nachmittag waren wir nochmals im Inselspital zur Nachkontrolle von Gabis Auge. Die Assistenzärztin war sehr beunruhigt und hat uns in Angst und Schrecken versetzt. Der richtige Doktor hat sie dann aber zurecht gewiesen und meinte, [Weiterlesen]

Das fängt ja gut an: Regen und Stau auf der Autobahn, noch bevor wir überhaupt im nahen Guildford eintreffen. Wir streichen den Abstecher zu Pret-à-Manger für ein Sandwich für unterwegs und zu Krispy Kreme für die Donuts – wenigstens bekommen wir beides auch an der Autobahnraststätte. Schlussendlich treffen wir eine Viertelstunde vor Ablauf der Anreisefrist den Eurotunnel-Bahnhof. Immerhin geht es hier rasch vorwärts und so [Weiterlesen]