[I’m still out traveling, but I have a new mini series to share! Believe it or not, I did a bit of traveling before blogging came in vogue. Over the next few days I’ll share posts about 3 trips I took pre-bloglife.]
My first big trip out of the country was when I was 16. I was super excited to go on a school sponsored trip to France. Unfortunately, no one else was. I was the only student who showed up at the informational meeting. Kind of a bummer. Instead of getting too upset, I rallied. I decided that if no one else was interested in a trip I would take one myself. But not to France (too scary since my language skills were just emerging), to England.
The start of my trip was a bit…oh, terrifying. I arrived at Heathrow ready to meet my host mom. She wasn’t ready to meet me. I felt a little anxious that no one was there to pick me up but I moved to the waiting area to wait. And wait. And wait. In between sobbing phone calls to my mom, I tried to ignore my rumbling tummy and get a little sleep. I was worried that if I went to buy food or water I’d miss my host. 13 hours later…she arrived! Something about an am/pm mix up or whatever…
host, Sheelah, and me
Thankfully, the rest of my trip was much less stressful. My host lived in a small town called West Byfleet, a bit south of London. She had several other travelers staying with her including people from France, Japan, Bahrain, and…UAE! My first time meeting an Emirati was on this trip.
Malmesbury House, complete with swimming pool
In hindsight, I wish I had been more adventurous on that trip. I wasn’t quite brave enough to navigate London on my own. Nevertheless, I still managed to see and do plenty.
My host mom took me to see Windsor Castle, Leeds Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Stratford upon Avon, the Cotswolds (love!), the Tower of London, the London Eye, and the Palace of Westminster… among other lovely things.
at Windsor Castle
at Hampton Court Palace
at Leeds Castle
London Eye
“It’s not the clock, it’s not the tower, but the bell that rings the hour.” Big Ben.
I joined a French youth trip (the leaders were staying at my house) and visited Tower Bridge and Cambridge.
at Tower Bridge
at Cambridge
punters at Cambridge
And Ahmed and his cousin, both from UAE, took me down to beachy Brighton for the day.
doesn’t look like England, does it?
I think it was a pretty good way to spend the summer of my 16th year and a pretty good indicator for my parents that there would be more traveling to come.
xo, jill
[pardon the photos, this was before digital cameras were the norm]
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