My favorite place to visit, through all my travels, is England. I first visited England in 1993 alongside some of my high school classmates. The trip was a whirlwind European vacation, with a few days in Germany, Switzerland, France, and England.
I loved Germany and Switzerland, and Paris was quite the experience, but England and London had long been dream destinations for me, so stepping off the English Channel ferry was exhilarating. My brain knew that the other European countries I had visited were chocked full of history, but for some reason, England made my heart soar.
The first trip to England started at Dover. Seeing those white cliffs loom up from the sea on the horizon was like living a fairytale story. I’m not one for ocean voyages (or boats in general), but I stood on the wave-tossed deck, sea-spray on my face, and just watched as the cliffs grew taller as we grew nearer. Our next destination was Canterbury Cathedral, a spot that I was only familiar with through Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and through the movie Becket from 1964 with Richard Burton. The beauty of the architecture and the history of the place was nearly overwhelming. I didn’t know anything about those who are entombed at the cathedral, and learning about Edward the Black Prince was fascinating, and he’s a figure I enjoy learning about even now.
Our final destination was London, and although it was a whirlwind tour (as with the rest of the trip), I have so many memories of that beautiful city. I had always loved learning about London’s history, and to be able to walk in the footsteps of all that history was so stirring. I was so overwhelmed by everything I saw that I have to rely on photos to remember what I saw on that trip. I left the city in 1993 a true Anglophile, dreaming of the day I could return to the country of my heart.
I got that chance in the summer of 2018, when a summer of celebration was upon our family. My son turned 16, I graduated from the University of Illinois Springfield with my bachelor’s degree in English, and my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary, all in the same year. My parents gifted us a trip of our choice, and the family and I chose London. My first European trip went off without a hitch; I can’t say that our second trip was “hitch-less”. A delayed flight from our departure airport caused a missed connecting flight which, in turn, caused us to loose an entire day of our trip to London. Several of our scheduled activities (a tattoo appointment for me, a trip to a particular store for my son), were missed or cancelled, and we were exhausted when we arrived; even more that just jet-lag. We still had an absolute blast, touring around both the countryside and the city for the four days (yes, I know, short trip) we had. I got to see the country I love with the two people I love the most, and it was one of the highlights of my life. Even though I was 100% in panic mode during the flights to and from England.
If I could go back, I would go in a heartbeat. I want to spend a month (or more) seeing every inch of the United Kingdom that I can, and I want to do it alongside my husband and son.
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