London - Day 10

With only one day left to experience England, no one should be shocked when I tell you that I filled our only unplanned day with architecture.

London - Day 9

For my last weekend in England, I had the pleasure of spending the entire time in London - a city that's now captured my heart. Having had my dslr out and about for the entire trip, I decided to take this day and only use a 35mm film camera. Something about them has already made this trip feel so nostalgic...

Leeds Castle - Day 8

Can you believe that until this point in my life I had never seen a castle before? Are there even castles in America? (Google has, in fact, provided the information that yes there are some and all but a few were built within the last 100 years when there was absolutely no need to build castles considering the advancements in the construction industry. This, however, didn't stop a team of historians from building another in 1997.)

Margate - Day 7

Upon first arrival to Margate, I was struck by how completely different it was than any of the other English cities I had been too. Dilapidated yet charming, a reflection of what the city used to be. The years where each summer, families would flock to spend their weekends and holidays on the sandy beach, enjoying the amusement park and meals of fish and chips on sidewalks by the sea. But for the day I spent there, fascinated by the new city in a county so foreign to me, I re-lived the dream of Margate.

Well... at least the 21st century version of it.

Brighton - Day 6

Brighton is one of those places that I had heard of through various social media accounts, but really didn't know what to expect when I got there. With Nicola and Charlotte by my side, I was given an amazing experience in the seaside town filled with colorful buildings and whimsical landmarks. 

London - Day 5

While abroad, my hostess with the mostess Nicola pointed out that although it was my first time abroad, I wasn't interested in doing what most consider to be "tourist" activities. Big Ben and Buckingham Palace weren't on my list of must see's, but rather going to contemporary architectural landmarks and seeing British modern art were. (I see no problem in this, and neither did she!)

Canterbury - Day 4

On my fourth day in England I was flooded with history. In Canterbury, I was lucky enough to meet (and get a rather in-depth tour from) David, Nicola's long time boyfriend. Since the weather was giving us a hard time, we did a lot of walking and ducking into coffee shops. Starting off at Burgate Coffee, then making our way for lunch at Cafe Turquoise, escaping the rain in Willow, and ending up in Brookstone's independent cafe. After a bit more walking, shopping and checking out the Beaney Museum we headed to Club Burrito for dinner and drinks!

London - Day 3

For my first foray into London, Nicola and I were joined by the lovely Charlotte to explore the Shoreditch and Brick Lane areas of town. We started our journey by meeting Tom, who is well known in the world of social media as foxesandcats, at the Columbia flower market. In typical England fashion, it rained the entire day. After practically running through the streets composed of equal parts umbrellas and flowers, we found cover in an adorable yellow restaurant called Clutch where we enjoyed an amazing brunch of banana bread french toast and eggs benedict.

England - Days 1 & 2

After 23 years, 7 months, 10 days, 11 hours, and 23 minutes of being on this planet I finally made it to Europe. I've been in 19 states, and 4 countries in North America, but it took until that precise moment for me to be able to say I've left the continent I was born on. And after traversing Southeast England for 10 days, I can't wait until I can get back across the pond.