On June 3rd, 2019, I left America for the first time ever! Having never been out of the country before I was somewhat nervous for this 9+ hour flight to London Heathrow. I was invited on this incredible trip by my boyfriend’s parents; they are originally from there, and travel to London and Spain often. And no, my boyfriend does not have an accent (lol). We arrived in London I believe June 4th sometime in the morning, we quickly (oh wait, I forgot I had to wait in immigration for an hour, while my boyfriend and his parents have their British passports so they do not have to wait) made our way to the tube where we spent the next almost 2 hours!! We went from London Heathrow to Woolwich, where we were staying the next 4 days. It took 3 tube transfers before we arrived at Woolwich arsenal where we then walked to the hotel a few blocks away. I was very eager to start exploring right away but, my boyfriend had other plans a nap and shower. Later that evening, we met up with my boyfriend’s (Will) half-brother Andrew, who lives in London with his fiancé Paula. These next 4 days in London consisted of taking the Emirates sky line to see London from a ski lift, Buckingham palace, Natural History Museum, Camden Market, Borough Market, ice cream at Harrods, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge, and so much eating!! London was definitely not my favorite place we visited as I tend to get anxious in busy areas, which is everywhere in London. However, I would love to explore so much more one day. A few of my favorite excursions where Tower Bridge where Will’s dad and I got tickets into the actual bridge to go to the top to walk across a glass floor that is above the bridge and river. There was so much history about this bridge; apparently the bridge opens up roughly 800 times per year for cruise ships and other cargo ships. Camden Market was one of the coolest places I have ever been, consisting of tiny shops similar to a flea market. Will and I bought a couple art prints for our new apartment. Here in Camden Market we ate a Poppy’s Fish and Chips-very delicious as it was my first-time eating fish and chips- and more importantly the decor of the restaurant was set to be in the 1950s, which was awesome. One of our excursions was to Buckingham Palace where the Queen lives. Andrew use to be a guard for the queen in his younger years. For some reason the Queen did not want to meet me that day (such a shame). Andrew had joined us on most of our London outings as he asked off from work in advance, however, his fiancé is a school teacher, so she mostly just joined us for dinners. One day was dedicated to the Natural History Museum, Hyde Park, the Victoria Albert Museum, and ice cream at Harrods. The Natural History Museum was absolutely breathtaking, the architecture of the building especially. With over 4 floors, restaurants, and gift shops everywhere we only made it around 1-2 floors. We next headed across the street to the Victoria Albert Museum which is a museum dedicated mostly to fashion over the years but there was also sculptures, old furniture, porcelain, and more (really more of a mixture of things). We then made our way to Harrods- the famous shop! Housed to Gucci, Balancaga, Versace, Hermes, and so much more!! They also have a food court and an amazing ice cream parlor. All four of us ordered our own dessert ranging from an Oreo shake, Chocolate sundae, affogato sundae and another sundae. Getting our own was a very bad mistake right after we headed to Hype park where we took a nap in a field next to the lake, which is home to hundreds of geese and swans. Fun fact: all swans in the United Kingdom are owned by the Queen. This park was very pretty. While ending our four days in London we convinced Andrew to get Paula a kitten. We went over to their place on our last night to meet little Dave. Turns out he is a girl though, so the name has changed. Overall, London was a world wind and I cannot wait to explore more of that city.
On Friday, Will’s dad rented a car and we set off to Leicestershire where Will’s grandparents live. We stayed with them for 2-3 nights. Their house was my dream home out in the middle of nowhere with green fields everywhere. A few minutes after we arrived, we took the dogs out for a walk. Sidenote- his grandparents own guide dogs, which have puppies. When they are old enough, those puppies start guide dog training right away before they can be matched with someone. When I tell you, this was the most beautiful walk I have ever been on, I am not exaggerating. We walked through a field with sheep in it and my heart was exploding from the cuteness. I got to meet Will’s uncle and wife and their 3 kids, as well when I was here, might I add the 3 most intelligent kids I have ever met in my life. We also visited Market Harborough, which was a few miles away from their house. Here I discovered that clothing stores in England are 10x better than America. From Leicestershire, we drove 5 hours to Bideford where Will’s nephew Finley lives. We had a BBQ with his family. The next day we drove to Plymouth where Will’s mom is from, and we stayed at the Boringdon Hall, a castle when Sir Francis Drake was around. Some of the well-known people that have stayed there are Lady Jane Grey, King Charles, Henry VIII and many more… This place has had many face lifts in the past but now is a 5-star hotel and spa. The spa consists of multiple steaming rooms and saunas, two pools, unique shower experiences (my favorite the bucket of ice-cold water to wake you up) and hot tubs outside. While in Plymouth for 3 days, we visited many people including Will’s Aunt (love you Denise). We also took the ferry to get to the town of Looe, my favorite town in England! All the houses here are built on cliffs overlooking the ocean it is the most amazing view ever. Just a few miles away there is a secret gem called Whitsand Bay where we stopped to look at the wonderful view. In Plymouth we saw the port where the Mayflower left England from (sadly under construction though). Let me take a minute to tell you about the most amazing ice cream on planet earth. It is plain vanilla ice cream from an ice cream truck topped with clotted cream and a Cadbury flake bar. I want this ice cream every day of my life. After leaving Plymouth, we stopped at Stonehenge on our way back to London. Stonehenge is definitely a one and done type thing. Not saying it wasn’t pretty, but for the price you get to walk around in a circle around the stones. Back when Will’s mom was a teenager, she got to climb all over the rocks at Stonehenge! We finally found ourselves near South-end airport where we would take a flight to Spain the next day.
Thank you all so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed my travels from England, up next we headed to Spain.