I have never embarked outside of the European mainland let alone outside of the Iberian Peninsula all my life. Of course, I’ve been to Portugal and France but going to a place such as England has always been sort of an elusive dream. That is until this Christmas when my dream will come true. I am currently a student at the Universidad de Madrid taking up a degree in international relations and I’m in my senior year. And I have applied for a student exchange program for two weeks only but it will surely be a week full of fun because it will be spent in the United Kingdom. I am already excited to mingle with people who speak English as their first language. I know English only because I have acquired it in college three years ago with some few glimpses in my high school days back in Torremolinos down south.

Another thing that I’m looking forward to is touching down at London’s Heathrow Airport. They say London has lots of airports. I guess it is one of the busiest cities in Europe that rivals that of Paris. If Paris is the busiest city in mainland Europe, I guess London is the busiest city in the Island of Great Britain. I may have to bring tons of clothes too so I don’t have to buy in London. Even at the duty-free shops at Heathrow, people say they tend to still to be pricey. It will definitely be cold there during the Christmas season and my research tells me that temperatures can go down to as much as -3 degrees Celsius. That’s really cold, me coming from a place hugging the Mediterranean where the climate is temperamental throughout the year. But I must not forget that I won’t pack clothes which have cottony fiber since cotton tends to absorb moisture.

Other airports in London aside from Heathrow are Gatwick, Luton and the London airport outside the city. But my RyanAir flight I was told by the people at Expedia must land at Heathrow, unarguably the busiest of them all. I can already imagine myself seeing the airport terminal blanketed in Christmas lights with snow falling on the foreground. I can imagine myself strolling around the city at the London Eye and in front of the Buckingham and Westminster Palaces.

Part of the study tour-cum-holiday break that I have acquired was to watch a concert at Hyde Park featuring Paramore, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and My Chemical Romance. I have never been to an emo concert before, let alone a rock one. My musical inclination is only with flamenco, our national Spanish music. It’s nice to hear of another genre. But I must be prepared there because they say the girls in the crowd are a little wilder. It beats the nudist beaches here in Spain.

I was also told during my orientation that the United Kingdom is the melting pot of other cultures throughout the world. Thus, majority of the people here are not Christians, not even the Anglicans. There’s simply no majority here. Every body is treated fair.

The Northern Ireland and United Kingdom of Great Britain is so known as UK or Britain. And now, its widely known as UK. This comprises the four component countries- England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Whales. Thus, that has different languages use then. But the officially used one is English. And obviously, if languages in UK are varying, its beautiful spots too are in the same way.

There are various places,sites, and locations wherein, tourists could enjoy their stay in UK. Need it now? Here they are: the Dale head Tarn, Old coastguard hotel,British Harvest, Minard Castle Argyll,The Felin Fach Griffin, Cressbrook Hall & Cottages,Lundy Island, UK Castle,Movie set, and some other places where they could stroll and enjoy their stay.

People are choosy,that’s why, UK does prepare something interesting and adequate places and spots for them; from which they could hardly sat no to any of those. The places and things above found in the the said country are enough for their stay to be more meaningful, enjoyable and for them to long for another vacation or time to stay in United Kingdom.

Also, the country is incline with much entertainments such as, live shows, movie show and even puppet shows. The latter could could make the tourist have fun while gallivanting around the place and do see much humorous theme of the shows. In this field, UK is having an edge than United State of America. Historically speaking, they are practicing it centuries ago. Not only that, UK is more of available sites and amenities wherein, tourists will hardly say, ‘no ‘ to either of them. It has prepared the living areas and things for any one who wants to come for a visit or rather stay for long in the country.

Among of the comforting and relaxing places and areas here are the hotel, Inn, rooms for renting and even lots for those people planning to buy a place for lifetime stay. It’s quite admirable to think that UK is capable of dealing people foreign for them, and yet, prefer to choose it’s products and belonging commercially.

United Kingdom is not only mysterious due of those places mentioned above, also, it has a reputable stand in economy. Thus, it is the fifth largest economy in the world in terms of market exchange rate. No wonder why it becomes the most industrialized country worldwide. With this kind of stand, surely, people also here are more advance in terms of mechanical, technological and more other commercial things which would lead them to the peak of interest in all tourists and even their own fellow country men. Now, U K’s secrecy of wealth, property and its sources ,why people tend to venture here, is already known. It’s just and well quality belongings for any one to partake,are that desirable and do convince them to stay and spend their time with their love ones in the place of wealth and longing- UK.

TO come here in the United Kingdom means to be in any of the four territories that make it – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The capital territory is of course England which comprises parts of the British island. The capital of England is London and it is where one finds the London Eye. This is also where you’ll eventually land if you come here. You may be finding yourself landing at Heathrow or at Gatwick or even at the smaller airports of Luton and London City Airport.

Since the United Kingdom is isolated from the European mainland, it is definitely not covered with the Schengen agreement and there is tighter Customs security policy here. So you better prepare your documents ahead of time before even thinking of boarding that flight. The flight itself can be a hassle if you’re not prepared. So better reserve that flight early. The one thing that makes the system work is the existence of travel agencies.

Online travel agencies such as Travelocity or Expedia do have customer desks around the clock that will help you facilitate your trip. They will not only reserve flights going to London, they will also give you package deals of booking hotel billets and flights in round trips all in one. They may even organize tours for you around London and the accompanying suburbs such as Hyde Park where rock concerts are held or around the famous Notting Hill, considered as Europe’s answer to Hollywood’s Beverly Hills.

Once you’re here in the country, and then choose which way to go if you’re a tourist. If you are the political kind, you may be amazed at the sight of the Buckingham and the Westminster Palaces as well as 10 Downing Street. Of course, you cannot really go to a tour at 10 Downing Street because unlike in the United States across the Atlantic where tours are open at certain parts of the White House, 10 Downing Street is located in a more remote location and only government dignitaries, guests and anybody who has business at the seat of government is permitted.

Although there are no official releases at what Prime Minister Gordon Brown likes to eat, we can surmise by the number of restaurants surrounding 10 Downing Street. Tourists troop there especially those who are fond and curious on what the prime minister eats. Of course, these restaurants do not offer the official prime minister’s food but we can safely deduce that they are offering authentic English cuisine.

A typical full English breakfast consists of toast, sausage, grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, chips, pudding, baked beans, hash browns and a cup of cocoa. Grilled tomatoes and baked beans are yummy although some variance of mash potatoes may exist in other restaurants or depending on the breakfast in bed that you order in hotels here if you’re billeted.

Speaking of a hotel suite, there are lots of amenities in a typical three- or two-star hotel here in the United Kingdom. Aside from the breakfast in bed feature, there is also that 24 hour in-room massage service as well as a 24 hour nursery for your kids to be safe if you’re conducting business or other adult activities outside the hotel premises.