London, 28-30 Mar 2003
| The UP
Aguman Alumni had a 30th Anniversary Grand Reunion in Manila on
04 Jan 03. In preparation for this gathering, the organizers
created an e-group for the alumni. Thru this e-group, I was able to get
in touch with long-lost friends, most of whom I haven't seen since we
graduated from UP in the mid-80s. It was also thru this e-group that we were
able to organize our mini-reunion in London.
They then invited me to join them, since I had previously made known my intentions to visit London quite soon. Rommel "Mel" Lao also lives in the UK (in Leeds, which is two and a half hours away by train from London) so he planned to meet up with us. Nola and Lizette were my batchmates in Aguman - Batch 80A. Mon is a year older (79A) and he was once my roommate. Mel and Cecil were both from Batch 77A. I haven't seen Mon and Nola since we graduated from UP, except for one time in Minneapolis in 1996. They now live in Alabama where Mon has his private practice as a cardiovascular specialist and Nola takes care of their home and their three boys, Jerome (14), TJ (12) and Jamie (7) I haven't seen Cecil since she graduated in the early 80's. She's now working for UNECE in Geneva, Switzerland. I just met Lizette and her family - husband Ashley and their two sons Ryon (7) and Liam (2) - recently, during Aguman's mini-reunion in LA last year, though I haven't seen her before that since we graduated from UP. This is the first time that I'm meeting Mel. Then the Gulf War II started! I almost cancelled my trip due to the current security alerts in NYC and UK being part of the alliance. I then got a message from Nola that they decided to push thru with their vacation. Realizing that it's actually a lot safer in London than in NYC nowadays, I decided to join them anyway. Mon and family left for Paris on Friday, 03/21. They took the Eurostar train from Paris on Thursday, 03/27 and were staying at the Hilton Kensington in London. Cecil flew in to London on Thursday (03/27) evening and stayed with Lizette. |
26Mar03 ~ WEDNESDAY
|
27Mar03 ~ THURSDAY
With Pachot, took a BritRail train to London-Victoria and transferred to a London Underground "tube" train to Piccadilly Circus... walked to Trafalgar Square ... passed by the National Gallery and the London Trocadero ... Took the tube to the Science Museum, to view the "Bond, James Bond" special exhibition ... tube to Harrod's in Knightbridge ... and another tube to Sloane Square for dinner at Buena Sera with Yuen and Sharon. After dinner, we all took the tube to Wimbledon, where Yuen and Sharon live, and then Pachot and I transferred to a BritRail train back to Epsom. |
28Mar03 ~ FRIDAY
Met Cecil at Epsom station and took the BritRail
to Victoria and transferred to the Tube to Tower Hill... met Mon & Nola and their boys at the
Tower of London ...
Tube to Westminster ... Houses of Parliament, with Big Ben ... went inside the Westminster Abbey... took the bus to Piccadilly Circus and then another bus to Fernandez family's hotel in Holland Park...passed by Notting Hill. In the evening, we took the Tube to Victoria and a BritRail train to Carshalton Beeches for dinner at Lizette's house. Cecil and I slept over while Mon and family went back to their hotel. |
29Mar03 ~ SATURDAYPachot, Cecil and I then took the BritRail to Victoria from Epsom, where we met Mel Lao and Mon and his family... took the tourist sightseeing bus called the Big Bus to go around the city. We got off near the Buckingham Palace, to watch the Changing of the Guards Ceremony ... went to the shops of the Queen's Gallery and the Royal Mews (Queens' horses) to buy some souvenirs... took the Big Bus to Piccadilly Circus ... walked over to Chinatown for lunch. After lunch, Mel has to go, Mon and family went back to their hotel, and Pachot, Cecil and I took a cruise down the River Thames, from Tower Hill to Westminster.
|
30Mar03 ~ SUNDAYPicked up by Ate Gay ... drove back to their place in Thornton Heath, also in Surrey, to meet her kids, Guy (15) and Katrina (12) ... her husband, Kuya Jessie, had to work that day.
... drove back to their house to drop off the kids and then Ate Gay took me to the Heathrow Intl Airport... picked up by Alfie. |
I feel that I really didn't see
enough of London as yet, so I'm planning to go back real soon, specially since
the airfare and the flying time is almost the same as going to
California from NYC, which I do a lot.
I still have to see St Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, the Albert and Victoria Museum and the original Madame Tussaud's. I also want to visit the Stonehenge and to shop along Portobello Road in Notting Hill and around Greenwich. Well, I guess I have to wait until this war is really over ... |
After work on Wednesday, my ever-dependable
co-worker and neighbor Myrtle and her husband Edwin dropped me off at
the Newark International Airport. As we expected, the airport is not
that crowded. But
surprisingly, the security is not as tight as I expected and I breezed
thru security, though they thoroughly checked all my stuff, including my
shoes. My
flight left on time at 6:30pm.
Arrived at the Gatwick
International Airport in London at 6am the next morning and took a
National Rail train to Pachot's place in Epsom, Surrey. 
From Westminster, took the Big Bus to
West End, near the Trafalgar Square... dropped off Cecil at the Lyceum
Theater, where she's watching "The Lion King"
with the Fernandez family and Lizette and her two sons... Pachot and I
walked over to the Cambridge Theater to watch "Our House"
...
... went to a church nearby to hear mass ... drove to Greenwich...lunch at a Chinese buffet
restaurant... Mum's Day... went to
the Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum,
saw the Greenwich Meridian Line.