We stayed over at the premier inn doncaster the night before and had to get up at about half 5 to get ready for the train at 7am, we had trouble finding the platform as the orient express isn't listed with the other routes, when we finally got there we still had plenty of time as the train wasn't in yet, there was a few people waiting already, none of them looked very posh to say the least.
When the train arrived it looked very nice, all brown and cream with the words ' northern belle' written on it, there was several carriages and each looked slightly different.
We found our way near the front carriages of the train to our carriage which was called alnwick, there was a short red carpet in front of the entrance of each carriage which was a lovely touch, we was then showed to our seats which was a table of four, we were sitting opposite two women.
The actual seats there self were nice and comfy although quite a squeeze to get in and out!
The table in front was all set up with silver and porcelain plates featuring the logo of the orient express, the whole carriage was beautifully decorated you felt like you had gone back in time.
Not long after we had sat down we was greeted by our stewards for the day, there were three stewards per cabin and the train manager also came to say hello.
We was shown the menu and asked if we had any requirements in regards to it,
Not long after departing we was brought out porridge with fruit coulis, which was delicious, then not long after we were presented with a glass of orient express Bellini - champagne with fruit then we had fruit cocktail and later on we had a dish that was scrambled eggs on a crumpet wrapped with smoked salmon with crab and caviar, it was delicious. Then we had some pastries and was provided with endless cups of tea and coffee.
The journey did take along time - about 5 hours but it didn't seem that long with all the endless food and drink.
The stewards on board were lovely and down to earth and would chat to people throughout the journey, they was constantly busy and everything ran smoothly.
We arrived at kensington olympia at about 12.00 and was shown to a coach, on the coach there was a man talking about the various sights in the area we was passing through, which was interesting.
We arrived at knightsbridge shortly after and had all day to explore.
We firstly went to harrods which was beautifully decorated for the festive season, the prices in the store were out of this world, shoes for 8000 pounds i found a little extreme!
The food hall was amazing, there were people casually sat eating lobster at a bar stool, how the other half live!
we then headed to harvey nichols which is very similar to harrods but not quite as pricey but still had nothing in my price range,
after we went to look at sloane street which is famous for having some of the most expensive shops on the planet, stores such as dkny, chanel, gucci, jimmy choo, there was not a soul to be seen in any of those shops.
Later on we walked about and found ourselves at south kensington, a very high end area which features houses for millions of pounds, we saw a car with the number plate jbond and every other number plate was a private one, the most common car there is a mercedes and every car has blacked out windows, south kensington is a really lovely area, i would love to live there!
we then headed off to the victoria and albert musuem, it was full of exhibits that would take you all day to look around.
soon it was time to head back so we headed back to the coach waiting area where there was several people taking pictures of harrods now it was dark it stood out even more with all its sparkly lights.
It was soon time to go back to the train and after a short journey on the coach we was back at the train station, but we had to wait ages for the train to arrive, when it finally arrived all the stewards had their heads out of the windows as it went past which was a nice touch.
We got back on the train very tired already from a long day and not a lot of sleep, the table had been made up again, this time with many crystal glasses and wine on the table, we were then given a glass of champagne to start the journey back.
Not long after setting off we was asked by the stewards if we had a good time, they was very friendly. We was then offered a choice of bread to go with the starter off brown windsor soup, next we had the main course of chicken wrapped in parma ham and mushroom and shallots, next it was a cheeseboard, there was about 10 different cheeses to choose from plus biscuits, crackers and pickle, by this point everyone was very full!
when we was about an hour away from home we had dessert which was trifle complete with cream and popping candy.
The people we met on the way were all very lovely and no one was posh at all much to my surprise, all in all it was a wonderful trip!
