England Archives - Battered Suitcases

Using all my restraint to not reference Winning London.

When my sister and I were planning her visit, we really wanted to squeeze in a side trip to another country. My goal was to find a place that would be: 1. new for the both of us 2. easy to connect to Lisbon (my next destination) 3. easy to connect to Amsterdam (her next destination). It turned out that the city that most closely fit the requirements was London. (I’ve been before but I was 16 so I was happy to visit again).

We stayed for three nights at St. Athan’s Hotel in the Bloomsbury neighborhood of Central London, which was the perfect location for us. We were able to easily get everywhere we wanted to go. We also went ahead and rode one of those silly double decker bus tours. It was the best way to relax, see the main sights, and get around town. Plus, now we have a new memory of Jana narrowly escaping pigeon droppings!

Luckily, the spring weather was gorgeous for most of our stay. When the chilly wet rain finally did creep in, we headed into the British Museum for a bit of respite.

Thanks to our mom, dad, aunt, and uncle for sending some special “sister spending money” our way. We indulged in some delicious meals on this trip and thought of you with every bite!

Again, here’s a collage of photos from Jana’s phone:

xo, jill

[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]

London: Sister Edition

Hi There, England.

Connect

Search

Filing Cabinet

Labels