Comparing 'Japanese' Food

We went to Wakaze in Leicester after we went to Misato.  I ordered the same thing while my memory was fresh to compare.  I would say Wakaze is nicer than Misato, at a similar cost.  But obviously in London, less than a tenner per head is very cheap.  Except this time Wakaze managed to serve the starters after the mains.

Kew Gardens

We finally went to Kew for the first time.  It is now very accessible with the tube.  The facilities were very good, lockers and scooters were available.  The flowers were beautiful!

I sent everyone to play while I marched behind my mom's scooter on full speed!  I must return to see the areas that I missed!

London China Town

 I was never that drawn to China Towns. Apparently London China Town is quite large in scale. After some deliberations, we settled at Misato for it is the cheapest Japanese food in London... The portion was smaller than before, and the quality was acceptable, I am growing out of it.

Jellied Eels

I didn't fancy anything from the Greenwich Market, so I thought I just get some London pie.  My sister asked for a second one to share, so I got two pies.

Just when I was heading out, I saw jellies eels, I thought it would be perfect for my sister!  So I got a portion of jellied eels.  All the kids were screaming, and my sister ate the lot, after no one volunteered to try!

The pie was acceptable, was I expecting too much from the poor man's pies?

Wrest Park

After some terrible diversion, we arrived at Wrest Park.  It was massive, and we had a quick walk around.  I must return with a nice picnic!

Bolsover Castle

We stopped at Bolsover enroute to London.  The parking was small, but we managed.  It exceeded my expectation.  It was interesting to learn how Bolsover ties with Hardwick and Chatsworth.  It would be good to return on a horse show day.

Toby's Pork Scratching

I took everyone to Toby on their last day in Yorkshire.  Everyone filled up, and we were surprised to see unlimited pork scratching, I had not seen them before!  My sister and my mom were helping themselves, a lot of it!

Chinese Curry

We finally broke open the Chinese curry pack.  My sister insisted it was Japanese curry.  It went down quite well.  I am quite happy with the one I got, but I am not sure I will pay full price for it.

Missing Paella and Tortilla

I was showing my sister Spanish tapas, but I can't believe they ran out of paella and tortilla!

Auntie's Dayoff

I sold my sister to Whitby and I stayed home.  As soon as they were gone, I was happy to have my house back.  I mowed the lawn, sorted out the bills, went into town for shopping, just an accomplished day in general!  Having children is definitely a full time job, and I am glad I am not having any!

Dry Roasted in Beamish

On the hottest April day since 1949, we were roasted in Beamish.  We went everywhere except the 1940s Farm, we expected to have seen everything there already.  They had a mine and they has a steam wagon, I am not sure the mining museum and railway museum has much more to offer.

They are still burning a lot of coal, including their chip shops.  The staffs are quite knowledgeable with their history.  I didn't take a single picture, I supposed I am never that interested in the image of the history, rather just the content.  I am glad I went.

Knaresborough Town Cryer

I took them to Knareborough to see the town cryer.  It is cute, but obviously there isn't much to cry about these days. 

Razor Clams

My sister insisted in trying razor clams.  We got some in the market and they were very extremely fresh.  They thought it was amusing to keep poking at them.  The meat was sweet, but I threw the rest of the guts away, which equates to half of it, the same reason why I don't eat clams in general.  I won't be having them in a hurry.

Garforth Garden Centre

I got a leaflet in the post and took the opportunity to check it out.  The centre is very new and very well stocked.  The kitchen is good, the portion is big but they are not my favourite offerings.  I might just stick with something nearer.

Warwick but not Castle

We went to Warwick and wondering what to do with my time.  We went to the Yeomanry Museum.  The guide double checked if I was actually wanting to go to the museum, and I confirmed.  This is a museum off beaten track, so most Chinese tourists will not go.

He was knowledgeable and the museum was good.  Highly recommended.

Then I popped into the St Mary Church where Robert Dudley rests.  I learned that the Dudley family crest has a two tail lion, how weird!  The church is closely related to the Warwick Castle, I am glad to tie all the information together.

Bristol

I never thought much of Bristol but since I was in the area, I did my research and I thought I would check out Brunel's works.

SS Great Britain was good.

Clifton Suspension was good.
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As a bonus, we went to M Shed and the Matthew.  Great trip.

Bath

I have not been to Bath since I last went with Carol in 2008.  The time I gave the museum a pass, but the Abbey was good.

Heathrow Terminal Transfer Trains

I has to go between the different terminals and I went to catch the transfer trains.  They were quite good!

Understaffed Call Centre

My cheap insurance is due renewal, but it is almost impossible to get to them on the phone.  This is what happen when we pay for cheap insurance, ie not paying to staff customer service...

Aldi Chocolate

We got a discounted Aldi chocolate egg.  We are used to the Aldi chocolate before, but this seems to be more aromatic!

Gym Promotion

I caught the gym promotion to go back to gym, even thought I am forfeiting 3 full weeks of gym immediately after I join.  Can't win everything.

English Heritage Look at Ashby

Similar to other English Heritage properties, this is the first time I went inside Ashby de la Zouch Castle.  It is a nice place.  We missed out on the tunnel due to flooding, we need to go back for that next time.

 Wooden lintel...

Scottish Isles Tour Outline

We have finally finished outlining the trip to the Scottish Isles.  It has been a difficult travelling saleperson puzzle!  I even called to enquire about hostels, and I was struggling to understand their accent over the phone!  We probably won't mess with the plan until nearer time, ie confirmation time!

Lunch Detour

I got a Royal Mail delivery slip and I really needed to pick up the item before my long absence, so I made a lunch detour.  I managed to get everything done, popped home and picked up food within 1 hours, efficient!

Speedy Mowing

We finally assembled the lawn mower.  Sarah insisted I should wait for a dry day to try it out and a dry day finally came.  The mower is very loud, but when I don't have to pick up the clippings, it took only 30 minutes to mow my lawn, yay!

Propagator is not Propagating

I put the seeds in for about a week, and nothing sprouted yet!  It better hurry up before I give up on this year's growing enterprise.

Easter English Heritage Marathon II

The rain has discouraged us to stop for Scarborough Castle.  It was still too wet for Wharram Percy.  We stopped at Kirkham Priory wanting to have a walk around, but they decided to stay close for the rainy day even when their website explicitly stating they would be open for Easter Monday.  Then we went to York Clifford Tower, again, I am glad I can look at it from the inside.  The tower does give a good view of York.

Nightmare A64

I knew A64 on the last day of holiday will be bad, and since I was usually on a motorcycle, it was not too big a problem.  I thought we made an early start on A64, but we still did not escape the horrendousness of A64!  It took 3 hours from Scarborough before we reached York.  I must remember to avoid A64 at all cost!  I should have bite the bullet and stayed on A170!

Easter English Heritage Marathon

I signed up to English Heritage this year.  I have planned to visit some English Heritage locations this Easter break, and I made good progress.  I went to the Cold War Bunker, Helmsley Castle, Pickering Castle and Whitby Abbey all in one day.  Some of these locations I have previously visited 'English Heritage Style', I am quite happy I have seen them from the inside.

Hotpot at Home

After much convincing, we tried out the hot pot on camping butane stove in my house.  We got a tiny bit of seafood from the market for the occasion.


It worked well, and we did not perish from carbon monoxide poisoning.  I went to the shop to get extra butane, I can't wait till the next one!