» London - Simon Lau

Europe Trip 2008 Photo Collection

Here’s a handy little post with a list of all the photo albums I’ve uploaded for my 2008 Europe Trip.

Panoroama – Self Stitched
Panoroama – Adobe Photoshop Photomerge
London
Vence
Milan
Florence
Pisa
Rome
Paris

Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, London, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Venice

. 28 Jul 08 | Photography, Travel | Comments (2)

London Travel Pictures

I promised I would share some pictures of my Europe Grad Trip, so let’s finally begin. The journey begins in London so that’s where the pictures will start.

After arriving in London around 7PM we made it into town and wandered with our bags until we could check in. Our first stop was at Piccadilly Circus:

We then moved onto the Big Ben where I observed how the clock was a few minutes fast.

Wandering along the waterfront we were able to see what the London Eye looked like, we didn’t actually go up.

From here, we continued wandering through St. James Park and made our way to the front of Buckingham Palace where we watched the guards changed. This is an hour long event and not a 2 minute job that I thought it was!

By this point it was approaching noon and we had been up for most of our flight and walked around for a few hours with our bags. After a quick lunch at Cheers we checked into our Hotel – Hilton. Outside the hotel was this yellow Lotus so I took a picture.

The next day we went down to the Thames Rivers and checked our the Tower Bridge, Tower of London, looked at HMS Belfast and a random piece of artwork in the area.

We also walked to the Globe Theater which we went back to later in the evening to watch King Lear from the 5GBP standing area.

On our way to dinner we passed by the Court house.

Our on next day we went to Regents Park.

We also stopped by at Camden Market and picked up panoramas of London.

Here’s a view looking down one of two elevators required to get to the tube from our station.

The day after that we went to Hyde Park, the Orangerie (where I stole an orange off their tree) and the Science Museum.

Early the next day we made our way out to Stansted Airport and flew with Ryanair to Venice.

Tags: Buckingham Palace, Changing of the guards, Europe 2008, graduation trip, Hyde Park, London, London Eye, Lotus, Orangerie, photos, Ryanair, Shakespeare, St. James Park, Venice

. 03 Jul 08 | Photography, Travel | Comment (1)

Back in Toronto

After 36 days in Europe for my graduation trip where I covered London, Venice, Milan, Florence, Pisa, Rome and Paris, I came back to Toronto yesterday afternoon in one piece. The flight was smooth until the last 20 minutes when we hit some very choppy air. To make matters more interesting, they made us sit in the plane for another 20 minutes while Peel police escorted someone off the plane. Why? Who knows!

Over the coming weeks I will slowly upload a few of the photos I’ve taken. In total there are over 2200. I’ll likely break it down by city and share a few comments about why the photo is special.

Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, Grad Trip, Itinerary, London, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Venice

. 11 Jun 08 | Travel | Comments (0)

Final Itinerary for Europe Trip

Here’s our final itinerary for Europe. I’ll be back in Toronto in June!

Date	Depart	Arrive	Location
Wednesday, May 07, 2008	18:25		Depart Toronto
Thursday, May 08, 2008		6:25	Arrive in London
	7:15		Liverpool Finsbury Square
Monday, May 12, 2008	11:25		Depart London (Stansted)
Monday, May 12, 2008		14:20	Arrive in Venice
			Bus to Venice
		16:00	Arrive in Venice
Friday, May 16, 2008	10:30		Depart Venice
Friday, May 16, 2008		13:05	Arrive in Milan
Tuesday, May 20, 2008	11:50		Depart Milan
Tuesday, May 20, 2008		14:32	Arrive in Florence
Saturday, May 24, 2008	10:00		Depart Florence
Saturday, May 24, 2008		10:35	Arrive in Pisa
Sunday, May 25, 2008	8:55		Depart Pisa
Sunday, May 25, 2008		12:14	Arrive in Rome
Thursday, May 29, 2008	3:00		Bus to Airport
Thursday, May 29, 2008	6:45		Depart Rome
Thursday, May 29, 2008		8:50	Arrive in Paris
			Bus to City
	8:00		Train to CDG Terminal 2A
Tuesday, June 10, 2008	11:40		Depart Paris
Tuesday, June 10, 2008		14:05	Arrive in Toronto

Tags: Europe 2008, Florence, Grad Trip, Itinerary, London, Milan, Paris, Pisa, Rome, Venice

. 07 May 08 | Travel | Comments (0)

Europe Trip Planning – Where We’re Staying in London, UK (Part 2)

So the original plan was to stay at the London Islington Hilton for 3 nights and then hop on a cheap bus to Stansted and crash at a local hotel. This would alleviate some of the morning rush as the flight from London (Stansted) to Venice was at 11:25 AM.

The price we paid for the Hilton was about 83USD + tax per night, a steal. However, doing some more research lead me to discover that the Hilton can be had for 76USD + tax per night!. We could have saved about 15 bucks, a free meal. This set the limit for spending in Stansted, why spend more money on a lower end hotel when you can stay at the Hilton for 76. The options weren’t that great for Stansted, there was only a 2* Holiday Inn Express and a 3* Hilton. Unfortunately after a series of bids, we were rejected at both by Priceline.

We ended up re-bidding for the Hilton and, to conclude, we will now be staying at the London Islington Hilton from May 7th to May 12th. We’ll be checking out fairly early to catch our plane but it should be a great way to start off our trip. Let’s hope they don’t force us into changing rooms half way through our stay!

Tags: Europe 2008, Grad, London

. 24 Apr 08 | Travel | Comments (0)

Europe Trip Planning – Where We’re Staying in London, UK

The booksing for London are nearly done, of the four nights we’ll be in the city we have 3 taken care of. We’ll check-in to the Hilton London Islington Hotel on May 8th and check-out on May 11th. We made the booking through Priceline for 83USD/night + tax. A great deal considering the Hilton averages $304.09 per night for a double room and the total we’re paying including tax is $305.31! The hotel is located near the city’s financial district, not too far from the major attractions and very close to the Tube. Click here for a google map.

Here is a picture of what there rooms might look like:

hilton

The hotel offers a terrace with a great city view. We’ll definitely be grabbing a drink there one night! The dress code is smart casual, which won’t be a problem.

For the final night in London, we’re hoping to find a cheap place closer to Stanstead, Essex. We’re catching a Ryanair flight out of the city to Venice. Departure time is 11:25AM and that means we’ll need to be at the airport by 9AM or so. The Hilton and Holiday Inn by Stanstead can be had for about 110-140 but we’re obviously looking for to do better.

Tags: Europe 2008, Grad, London, Priceline, Ryanair

. 19 Apr 08 | Travel | Comment (1)

Europe Trip Planning – The Schedule & Budget v1

I promised to deliver and update on the schedule and budget planning of my 2008 Europe trip for 2. With the long weekend approaching, I decided to take the entire night off and work on this instead. Whether or not this is a good idea has yet to be determined. There’s still a fair bit of work to do for school but this is far more enjoyable and relaxing!

The planned departure date is 8:35PM from Toronto on May 7, 2008. We’ll take an evening flight that will allow us to sleep through most of it. The estimated arrival time in London is 8:35 AM, giving us a whole day to recuperate, relax and enjoy the city. From London, the plan is to travel to Rome by plane and then visit Venice, Milan, Florence and Pisa by train. From Pisa, we’ll return to Rome and fly out to Paris the next day. We’ll stay in Paris for 10 days and then return back to Toronto on the June 10, 2008.

The budget is still 9K for planning + 1K for any unforeseeable costs. I’ve guessed some food and living costs and I’ve more or less exhausted the budget. If I hope to find some great deals through priceline, apartment rentals or just browsing the net to save a few extra bucks.

Here’s a more detailed look at the itinerary. It’s subject to many changes. I’m still looking for suggestions as to places I must visit, so ping me back with a comment or email!