Where have you been?

What have you been up to?

Do you still think of me?

Well, so far, we haven’t seen the one yet.

Actually, we haven’t even seen a place we like yet.

Either our budget is too low, or our expectations are too high.

Still wandering, and wondering.

I’ve always known there is nothing in Singapore worth coming back for, but he just had to be here.  And he’s definitely more than worth it.

And that’s why he has been promoted, from the boyfriend, to the husband-to-be.

But still, I can’t stop thinking about London.

 The husband-to-be keeps telling me that we’ll be back for good, some day, but I know, realistically, the some day might just be tomorrow, forever.

It is now a very charming historic old town; quaint, mediaval, tranquil. It has cobbled streets, houses with nice white picket fences, lovely gardens, castle ruins; perfect to spend a day in.

We saw what remains of the Wolvesey Castle, which had a warning sign prominently placed at the entrance gates “Please take care. Ancient monuments can be dangerous.” Perfect, as I made my way right through the arched entrance.

We also visited Winchester Cathedral, which was surrounded by a garden filled with tombstones, and this just shows you what the Brits would do as long as they got a place on the lawn in the sun…

(Yes, those are graves.)

Ancient buildings have been conserved and transformed into schools, like Winchester College.

And that’s the entrance to the Headmaster’s Office.

The ATMs here are called “Holes-in-the-Wall”, but I think you can safely call post boxes that too…

Beautiful gardens surrounded by ancient walls that run throughout the charming town.

And for the shopaholic Singaporeans, Winchester has its very own High Street.

Although the quirky ancient statues are not forgotten; just built around.

Oh and this is the local hospital. Lovely!

All pictures copyright 8 June 2008 by Little Mint. Please do not use without permission.

No excuse really, because Southampton is just a 2-hour train ride from London, is one of the UK’s busiest and most important port, houses the beautiful Southampton University, is near to the sea, and is amazingly historic yet modern.

Of course, it’s also the place that I spent quite some time in when I was just a little bit.

The city centre has, on one hand, huge fanciful modern shopping malls looking just like ours on Orchard Road, but also has a semi-conserved wall running all around it. Semi-conserved, because it’s crumbling at some bits!

It all starts at “Bargate“, the “entrance”, which now leads to the “High Street” – the main shopping street.

 At the right-hand corner, you can see parts of the crumbling bits.

And below are the bits still left standing.

They’ve also managed to build a bridge against the wall, so you can “walk” on the wall, which you can imagine is kinda thrilling for a tourist…

The modern shopping malls.

If only our parliament was as pretty as this huh? And yeah, it’s their court house.

There are tons of docks and harbours in Southampton, from where you can take one of the many ferries to a nearby island. This “Red Funnel” brings you to the Isle of Wight.

And oh, this city is where the Titanic sailed from too.
 
Notice the weird green thing that came with our Fish & Chips? It’s “mushy peas” (dried marrowfat peas soaked overnight in water and bicarbonate of soda and simmered with sugar and salt )! And yes, it tastes as bad as it sounds…

I still remember the playgrounds scattered across Southampton that I loved as a kid

This is where I used to live. The strangest thing is, I have zero impression of the building itself, but I distinctively remember the garage where we used to park our car. I still remember how squishy the apartment was though.

There were 2 bedrooms, both of which were only big enough to fit exactly 1 queen-sized bed. There was no walking space on 3 sides of the room, and only a tiny 1-person-walking-space-strip on the side of the room with the door.

School! The only thing I distinctively remember is how miniature everything was; the toilets had doors that started barely above my shoulders.

Southampton University, where everyone loves the sun.

And no one sits in the shade.

Thoughtful bicycle tracks.

I still can’t get over how cheap everything is in Southampton! I was told rooms in a lovely housing stretch right beside the university cost only about £60 (or about S$ 180) a week! And a room in a real house! With a real bath, a real garden, a real kitchen, a real living room, a TV (!!), and a very-British white picket fence!

And here I am stuck in some shady part of London (not even Central) paying £110 a week for a very miniature room?!

I’d have chosen Southampton over London anytime!

All pictures copyright 7 June 2008 by Little Mint. Please do not use without permission.