Category Archives: England

Getting a ‘Peek’ at New Mobile Travel App

As there is an app for just about any need or interest, the travel sector surely is getting its fair share. The latest one to travelers as well as the general public comes from Peek.com, a one-stop web resource for booking activities in 17 U.S. cities, London and Paris.

iphone-home-10085c336cf6aa025177347f91392af6Called Peek Mobile, this free app brings Peek.com’s services from the web to your smartphone, with some additional functions. It’s said to have geo-location technology, which in plain speak means users can book their activities on the go. Options extend to family, food and wine, arts and culture, adventurous and walking and sightseeing tours and day trips.

For example, if you wanted to book a guided walking tour of the Lower East Side while visiting New York City, you can do so through Peek Mobile app. Or while staying in Paris, explore the city’s different arrondissements  (city districts) or go ahead and jaunt out to Champagne, the vineyard region where this bubbly beverage is produced.

peek_logo-78d7643b983ca8d3712ddc3e4ac26e48Booking through your phone is designed with ease in mind. It’s designed to provide information about your potential activity in real time, with essentials like pricing and available slots. And feedback from others who did what you want to do – or just to help you confirm your decision – is also at your fingertips.

Plus, the fact that the Peek Mobile app is free is also a good reason for giving it a try. It is available for iPhone and iPod Touch and can be downloaded through Apple’s App Store.

So what travel apps do you like to use? Let me know in the comments section!

Staying in a London GoWithOh Flat

When I talk to other people about my travels, sometimes I get the question, “Is there any place you think you would go back to?” Without a doubt, one place that automatically comes to mind is England. Particularly, I would head to London.

I went to London almost a decade ago – wow, now a decade ago – with my cousin and split about a week’s time in the city and then out to Oxford, Windsor, Stratford upon Avon and Burford. But, like many destinations, London can take up a whole week stay or even more than week to catch as many as attractions in and outside of this major city as I could.

This time around, if I could back go to see London, there are a few things I would want to do differently. One of them is to stay in a place other than a hotel.

Through fellow travelers, I have heard about GoWithOh, an apartment rental service with more than 2,000 accommodations in 17 major European cities. Locations include Rome, Berlin, Paris, Barcelona, Dublin, Florence, Madrid, Vienna, and Prague. And London, of course. Recent additions to this list are Pisa, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Nice, and Milan.

Browsing through GoWithOh’s listings in London, I came across this lovely two-bedroom apartment — or perhaps I say flat — in Waterloo. Based in Central London, located on the Sound Bank, this flat is described as being just a 10-minute walk from Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. As I like to walk, this option is great!

GWo1Also, if I was to stay here, I would want to take my younger sister with me because I think she would like London as much as I did. In addition to its location, another reason for going with this two bedroom flat was that after a long day of exploring London, we would probably like some alone time. And being able to unwind and get good night’s sleep after a fun and long day out will help keep our time together balanced.

GWO3  GWO 4

In addition to two bedrooms, the layout for this flat is pretty cool. The living room appears to be spacious, and the open-plan kitchen has everything we would need for storing groceries or takeaways (British speak for takeout) and handling a laundry emergency. There is also a good-sized dinner table and a full-bath, which will help my sis and I feel like we are at home. Free Wi-Fi is also a bonus, since we would otherwise have to find, and most likely pay for it, in public places.

GWO 4

Regularly GoWithOh holds a guest tester competition that invites travel writers, bloggers and vloggers (video bloggers) to submit entries for a chance at staying in a GoWithOh apartment of their choosing. So, this post is my submission. Let me stop here before I get further carried away over this dream flat. I definitely would want to give GoWithOh a try. As a GoWithOh guest tester, or even as a paying guest. Sister included.