Asal Mula Kata Picnic dalam Tradisi dan Sejarah Inggris-UK

The word picnic is also derived from a French term. According to Alan Davidson's magisterial Oxford Companion to Food, the word can first be found in a 17th-century French text (as piquenique), where it refers not to an outdoor feast but to people who have brought their own wine to a restaurant. The term is a combination of the verb piquer (meaning to pick) and the word nique (meaning a small delicacy, treat or trifle).

The word picnic first appears in English texts during the 18th century. The earliest use of the term refers not to an outdoor meal but instead, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), to "a fashionable social entertainment in which each person present contributed a share of the provisions". The sense of informality and sharing was there but the great outdoors was not.

By the 1860s, the transformation of the meaning of the word to what we understand a picnic to be was complete - as the OED describes it: "a pleasure party including an excursion to some spot in the country where all partake of a repast out of doors".

The tradition of picnics, if not the word itself, can be traced back to medieval hunting feasts and Renaissance-era country banquets. There was always a grand feast enjoyed outdoors before the hunt began, where pastries, hams and baked meats would have been informally enjoyed al fresco.

The English aristocracy later converted this rustic feast into an elegant, luxurious occasion staged - rather than held impromptu - in a natural setting. Servants loaded up fine china, crystal goblets, delicate linens, fur rugs, tables and chairs on to carriages and journeyed to a forest or meadow. Foods were sumptuous, elaborate affairs prepared by skilled chefs and a great number of kitchen staff. The events could last for days.

Eventually, this tradition passed through the classes and became the picnics of today.

Read More

Berkunjung ke Madame Tussauds London

Mau berphoto di meja kerjanya Barak Obama?
Atau mau berphoto dengan keluarga Royal Family serta Ratu Elizabeth? atau dengan PM Inggris Mr. David Cameron?

Madame Tussauds was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud. It used to be known as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer used. Madame Tussauds is a major tourist attraction in London, displaying famous waxworks.

Datang saja ke Madame Tussauds London. Kalau di Madame Tussauds Bangkok, kita malah bisa berfoto dengan Ir. Soekarno, Presiden pertama RI.

Madame Tussauds London, tiket masuknya bisa dilihat di https://www.madametussauds.co.uk/london/en/tickets. Kita sebaiknya beli tiket secara online, karena harga tiketnya akan jauh lebih murah dari harga tiket kalo beli langsung di tempatnya, pilih family tickets untuk 1 keluarga (lebih murah lagi jatuhnya).Oya, bisa juga kita gabung dengan beli tiket untuk tempat lainnya seperti London eye misalnya, sebab harga gabungan juga akan lebih murah dan kita juga tidak harus menggunakan tiket untuk 2 tempat tersebut dalam 1 hari yang sama (biasanya diberi waktu sampai 30 hari untuk menggunakan tiket yang kedua).

Untuk lebih hemat lagi beli tiketnya, baca caranya di Trik Belanja hemat di UK.

Madame Tussauds London, terletak di sebelah Baker Street Station, Marylebone Rd, London NW1 5LR.
Jadi kalo dari Colchester Town, kita bisa menggunakan kereta sampai dengan Liverpool Street Station (London) dan dilanjutkan dengan naik Underground sampai Baker Street station. Bisa juga menggunakan mobil pribadi tapi kami malas kalo sudah mau masuk London, pasti macet, bayar parkirnya mahal, dan harus bayar bea masuk kota London (Congestion Charge) per kendaraan.

We visited madame tussauds a short while ago when we were in london.The building itself was amazing and unique!

Abram dan Kak Deka di kereta api dari Colchester

Ok, kembali ke Madame Tussauds, sebaiknya kita datang saat pagi, sebab antriannya pasti sangat panjang, dan di dalamnya ada banyak tempat/orang yang perlu kita kunjungi satu-satu, termasuk nonton 4D Movie. Jadi biar enak dan nyaman disananya, sekali lagi datanglah pagi-pagi.

Gedung Madame Tussauds London

Alhamdulillah, meskipun antrian di depan pintu masuk Madame Tussauds sangat panjang, tapi karena waktu itu Abram masih kecil dan menggunakan buggy (kursi dorong), ternyata ada pintu khusus bagi keluarga yang mengajak anak-anak dengan buggy, dan disediakan juga tempat penitipan buggy.
Di UK, anak-anak dan orang tua (60-an keatas) diutamakan dan akan didahulukan kalau ada antrian.

Antrian masuk Madame Tussauds yg sangat panjang

Setelah masuk ke dalam gedung, ada antrian kecil lagi di dalamnya sebelum masuk ke ruang utama. Ada banyak tokoh/olahragawan/selebriti yang bisa "diajak" berfoto bersama. Saya tampilkan beberapa saja ya, nggak lucu kalo semua foto ditampilkan di sini.

bersama Lady Diana, mirip aslinya banget ya

Yang tak terlupakan adalah bergaya di meja kerjanya Mr. Obama, karena desainnya benar-benar mirip dengan suasana di Gedung Putih. Sebenarnya ada photographer yang khusus memotret para pengunjung berpose di meja tersebut, dan hasil fotonya bisa dibeli di konter yang disediakan.

Bergaya di meja kerjanya Mr. Obama dgn background khas White house

Bersama Queen Elizabeth II di Istana-nya

Dan serunya lagi, kita bisa menikmati film 4 dimensi (4D movie) dari Marvel Superheroes. Mungkin sewaktu kita melihat film 4D ini, di Indonesia belum ada ya (waktu itu). Karena film ini bercerita tentang Superheroes-nya Marvel, maka 1 dimensi tambahan dari film 3D-nya adalah misalnya sebagai contoh kursi terasa terangkat dan ada asap di seputaran kaki ketika Ironman terbang, ada juga perasaan tertusuk pada bagian punggung kita ketika Wolverine menancapkan jari2 besinya ke badan sang penjahat, dan yang menggelikan disemprot air (sedikit) ketika si Hulk meludah, jadi rasanya seperti di ludahi (3D plus disembur air).

plus menikmati Film Marvel superheroes 4D

Toloong, Adel ketangkep si Raksasa Hijau, Hulk

Kita juga beraksi seperti Spideman yang menempel di langit-langit gedung, sambil mengawasi pergerakan para koruptor (halah !)

Siap beraksi bareng si Spiderman

Puas rasanya seharian di dalam Madame Tussauds London, dan yang penting anak-anak juga senang, bisa buat kenang-kenangan mereka kalau sudah besar nanti.

Read More

Attractions around Tower of London, The United Kingdom

The Tower of London is not only the most important building in Britain, it's the most visited of the city's many tourist attractions. This remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site served as a stronghold (many times besieged, never taken) as well as a royal palace, a prison and place of execution, a royal mint and treasure vault, an observatory and, for five centuries, a private zoo.

Built by William the Conqueror to protect London and to keep an eye on the city's citizens, as well as boat traffic on the River Thames, the original Tower - the White Tower - was built about 1078. Covering some 18 acres, the Tower complex today consists of the Outer Ward surrounded by a wall with six towers and two bastions, and the Inner Ward with its 13 towers.

The Tower was long a place of confinement, among its many prisoners King David II of Scotland, Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I), Sir Walter Raleigh and William Penn. Many famous people were also executed or murdered within its walls, including Henry VI, as well as two of Henry VIII's wives. The last executions carried out in the Tower took place during WWII when a number of spies were shot here

1 The White Tower and the Line of Kings
2 The Jewel House: Home of the Crown Jewels
3 Coins and Kings: The Royal Mint
4 The Medieval Palace
5 The Bloody Tower
6 Terror on Tower Green
7 The Beefeaters and the Ceremony of the Keys

Read More