Tag Archives: Embankment

#28 Photo with a Celebrity

23 Jun

Last year England hosted the Rugby World Cup, and I found myself wanting to get tickets,  because why not! But tickets were allocated by ballot and tickets on StubHub were extortionate. I couldn’t justify spending a week’s wages because I’m not enough of a fan.

So, when I saw a Facebook post from MasterCard with a chance to win tickets to Australia vs England I rushed home to enter straight away. I work in social media and run competitions regularly so I know what the judges are looking for in an entry. Long story short, I won and of course Nick was the recipient of the other ticket.

What is funny about this situation is that we thought it was two tickets to the match and it advertised that accommodation was included for three nights. We thought maybe the Holiday Inn Express in Twickenham? Maybe a small B&B walking distance to the ground. It would be cool to check out Twickenham’s local town and pubs or the weekend! When we were told it would be a five star hotel in central London, this prize suddenly got interesting. Ok, what cool things could we do in central London? Let’s be tourists in our own city for a weekend! A bus tour, sightseeing and nice restaurants! YAY! I was informed that I would shortly receive an email with more details. Refresh. Refresh. Refresh. Ping. “RSVP: Your Invitation to Join MasterCard at 2015 Rugby World Cup‏”

The prize absolutely blew us away. I remember logging into the microsite that they sent me a link to and needing to sit down. Royal Horseguards in Embankment for three nights! WOW! What country do you support? What is your shirt size or your country’s jersey which we’ll leave in your room?  What train station can the limousine pick you up from? Here is your itinerary for the next three days. Itinerary?! 

Day 1: Check in. Champagne on arrival. Dinner at the Royal Horseguards.

Day 2: Breakfast at hotel, bus tour of London, lunch at a 5 star restaurant, dinner at a 5 star restaurant.

Day 3 : Breakfast at hotel, London Eye – TWICE around with champagne and canapes, lunch at a 5 star hotel, private coach to Twickenham stadium, access to Mastercard hospitality suite, dinner served, free flowing champagne.

The below photo is us in the Mastercard hospitality suite, where we got to meet Martin Johnson and get a photo with the Rugby World Cup.

(For those of you who don’t know who the giant below is, he was the England captain when they won the RWC in 2003. His comment to me when we asked for a photo – “Only if you take off that Australia jersey” *feels two feet tall*)

#28 well and truly checked off in style!

MJ

#21 Ride Together on the London Eye

9 Jan

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We had both been to London a few times independently but neither of us had been on the London Eye, so it was nice to experience this with each other during our first trip to London together.

It takes 30 minutes for the London Eye to make the full circle, giving you plenty of time to take in the fantastic views and admire the great span of the city from above. Typically, it was raining, but visibility was still quite clear.

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The capsules are equipped with interactive screens which are extremely useful for information on what buildings you are looking at and their history as you move around the journey.

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Like any tourist attraction, there is an opportunity for a souvenir photo at the end of the journey. You are told to stand in a marked area and pose for the photo. Would you believe that when this photo was taken (below) we thought it had been taken about a minute beforehand. This wasn’t our intended pose for the photo!

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An absolutely amazing souvenir photo! Even the sales assistants in the shop were laughing at it. Probably the best £10 we have ever spent!

20 December 2012