Skip to content | Change text size
 

International Marketing Study Program 2006

London

11th - 15th January 2006

Day 1: Arrived at Heathrow 6am after a 15 hour plane flight, luckily the customs queue awaiting us was about an 8th of the size that seasoned travellers so often describe. Approximately 20 minutes later we were on the bus to our new home, Kensington Close Hotel. Pokey rooms, in comparison to the space we are all used to back home in Australia; but as they say “location, location, location”!

2 minutes walk and we were on the famed Kensington High Street shopping strip. Needless to say as soon as the shops opened we enjoyed a number of hours of serious retail therapy; Top Shop, Zara, H & M, Kookai, Marks & Spencer the list goes on. Realising that perhaps there was more to London than Kensington High Street one group decided to venture on the much feared tube to Fulham to meet a compatriot living there. The sounds of ‘mind the gap’ will forever ring in our ears and we will always remember to check whether we are heading North or Southbound! Needing some sustenance after our tremendous effort the quest was on to find a traditional British pub serving pints and plates of greasy food. Our appetite was satisfied at a place close to home which soon became a favourite due to the best burgers.

Day 2: Our reputation as organised early risers was destroyed on the morning of the Vodafone company visit with 50% of us being a little slow! After an hour bus ride we arrived in Voda-bury (see company summary for more details). After arriving back at the hotel we took the underground which we now considered ourselves experts at to Oxford Street for a much needed top-up of retail therapy. We were greeted by the most humungous Top-Shop in the world. Floors upon floors of clothing, accessories, shoes, make up, hair dressers one would think heaven, but after only 10 minutes apprehension set in, it was overwhelming, where to begin? Clearly the more seasoned shoppers among us were not daunted by the prospect eagerly handing over their pounds forgetting that purchases would need to be carried around all evening. Next stop food. We had heard that Marks & Spenser had great food imagine our confusion when we were greeted by a supermarket. To the golden arches we chimed in unison. The least adventurous of the team stuck to fries whilst the others indulged in Tikka burgers. With our stomachs lined with food we were eager to continue on the final leg of the journey… DRINKING. Alrighty then, the night is a little blurry here’s what is remembered: cowboy shots, snake bites, cute bartender, bar closing and moving on to next destination, paying 5 pounds to get in, new best friend – girl with tequila bottle and shot glasses strapped to her waist, podium dancing on table?, self appointed Australian D.J., some guy called Craig?, home – hour … late.

Day 3: Sore head. BP visit. Afternoon nap. Dinner in Covent Garden / bar hopping in Soho.

Those without sore heads used the afternoon to take in some of the sights of London; Shakespeare House, Saint Paul’s Cathedral and The Tower Bridge. They described the sights as old, classical and loved the entire experience. Sight seeing led to dinner at Angus Steak house and then they concluded the night clubbing at Metra.

Day 4: All feeling somewhat refreshed (at least better than day 3) we came to the conclusion that there had to be more to London than shopping and drinking. The morning was spent by some of us at Portobello Road markets in Notting Hill which evidently led to more shopping… antique jewellery and souvenir purchases were abundant. Back to the hotel, excitement was at peak level… we were going to the football, but first for some lunch. The Collingwood supporter among us was left in charge of organising a meal at a pub for the group, simple task one would think. Arriving in Fulham where Collingwood supporter had led us to believe we would be able to get a nice juicy counter meal we encountered many a pub, but they were filled to the brim with Newcastle and Fulham supporters indulging in refreshing pints! No juicy counter meal for us. It was a sad looking sausage sizzle in a cold park for us. 20 minutes to game time the park was filled with the chanting of football anthems and the herd was moving towards the gates. First half of game - no action on the ground however the antics of the supporters kept us well entertained; we are still to discover what flapping ones arms like a bird means. The second half of game gave us the opportunity to experience a once in a life time event: a goal was scored by Fulham. The crowd went crazy. There was extreme tension amongst the crowd until the end of the match. Our poor Collingwood supporter experienced the brunt of this after courteously asking a Newcastle supporter to sit down properly on his seat to enable those of us behind to see. On the way back to the station, adrenaline racing one of us forwardly asked a Policeman if she could wear his hat; believe it or not he obliged, fabulous photo opportunity! On the train ride a conversation with a Newcastle supporter redeemed our opinions of these football supporters, however it must be said that excluding that friendly gentleman the similarities between Newcastle supporters and Collingwood supporters extends far beyond having the same black and white team colours and magpie mascot! After arriving back in Kensington it was decided that we really must visit our “local” for one final juicy burger and a pint. Although we must admit that we did get a little lost in freezing air trying to find our “local” it was definitely worth the effort, freshly poured pints and juicy burgers with fat chips and relish, yummo!

Day 5: Awaking early at some time before 7 we’d decided that we really must participate in some form of sight seeing. Getting ready and eating breakfast in record time, we found ourselves on the top level of a red double decker bus, can you get any more London-y than that? Destination the famed Camden Markets. Our enthusiasm resulted in us arriving before many of the stalls had even set up. We did manage to find some stalls with neon coloured raver clothing which we believe were most likely still open from the night before. In order to pass some time while we waited for the rest of the stalls to set up we "caffeined" up our systems in London’s answer to Starbucks and asked for directions to the best areas of the market to tackle first. We found ourselves lost in stall after stall of funky jewellery, arts and crafts and our personal favourite vintage clothing and accessories. Burberry, Chanel and Manolo Blanick from the 50’s in perfect mint condition were among our favourite finds. After hours of scouring and realising we only had a few hours left in London we boarded our second red double decker bus objective being a token traditional sight seeing effort, Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square awaited us. Only one word can describe these two beautiful sights, breathtaking. 10 minutes of happy snaps including an extremely distant view of Big Ben relieved our guilt at not having yet appreciated the architectural magnificence of London. Racing back to the hotel we made it just in time to board the bus to the airport. Although there are many ‘must see’ sights that we didn’t take in, we are not overly concerned as we know that we will defiantly be returning. London has it all, culture, architectural beauty, amazing shopping and great food and drink.