LONDON
Once we got through customs, Matt and I took a cab to The Grosvenor Hotel in London right across from Hyde Park and the Marble Arch. Cabs in London are charming! They’re spacious, not yellow, and the drivers can be quite the characters.
Everything so far had perfect charm as if carefully put together for a movie. Except it was real. As for the hotel it was beautiful and when the registration desk heard we were on our honeymoon they upgraded us to their best suite in the hotel and wow was it stunning. We looked up later how much the room normally costs a night and our jaws dropped. Not a bad way to stay in London right?
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| Our view of Hyde Park |
We settled in then immediately started sight seeing:
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Parliament and Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
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Had to take the touristy Photo Booth picture ;) |
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| Burlington Arcade Later we ate at this small, charming pub in the city near our hotel. I really loved exploring the city with Matt then being able to relax and enjoy a good meal together. He was so prepared too! He had everything for our honeymoon pre-paid and mapped out including an envelope with pounds so there was nothing to do but enjoy being together. He really is a sweet, loving husband and I’m so grateful to be his wife. After dinner we took a scenic stroll back to the hotel. The buildings in London are so beautiful and the neighborhood we walked through had the most expensive cars you could imagined parked on the street. No garage or anything. This was in a place right near a busy part of the city. Not sure Los Angeles would be a safe place to do that lol. |
OXFORD
The next day we went out exploring some more then hopped on a train to our next honeymoon destination: Oxford. Matt had studied a semester there and thought it would be special to stay for a night. (As a side note, trains in Europe are great and I wish we had a better transit system like this in America) When we arrived in Oxford we walked from the train station to our hotel called The Randolph. The sidewalks were cobblestone and we were able to pass some of the school buildings which were tall and grand. Once we dropped our bags at the hotel Matt took me for a walk around the main part of campus and told me the schools were built as fortresses for its students. Back in the 1200s the towns people in Oxford despised the students for their noise and debauchery and ended up killing a couple of them. So the school thought it best to create fortresses that would keep the students safe and the towns people happy.
It felt like we were walking through a never ending group of castles. Oxford is comprised of many different colleges (as a university usually is) and their grounds all vary slightly from one other. They were beautiful, unique, and inspiring! Especially on our night walk everything seemed eerily majestic, beautiful and peaceful. Like there was a lot to discover and unearth. The next day we were able to see more of the colleges and walk around the many courtyards. I found it funny that you couldn’t walk on ANY of the lawns! The lawns do look pristine as a result but it’s one of the admirable differences between England and America.
BATH
Our final stop was in Bath, England. Yes that’s the city Jane Austen has great affection for. It’s quite the busy city but Matt found us the perfect hotel overlooking a beautiful park square. There were so many old, beautiful buildings with street upon street of shopping. There’s also an authentic Roman bath with a natural hot spring (geothermal energy is involved but still amazing)! We went inside and it was powerful to imagine the Romans and others using this place to bathe and relax. There were various rooms and they believed you were healed from ailments when you spent time there. It amazes me how we get to see these places which used to be so vibrant and of cultural importance for people from centuries ago. It made me realize the transitory nature of life and how someday hundreds of years from now people may line up and pay to see something that is a huge part of our lives today. There’s a temple which was built around 60-70 AD and the bathing complex was built up in the 300 years after (Click Here for more info). It was remarkable and made me wonder what people were like who entered these baths. What did they think? Speak about? Do in their daily lives? There was a presence there. You could feel a story had taken place.
For the remainder of our trip we wandered the streets, ate good food, and found this amazing park. Yes we could actually walk on the grass! Hey it’s ok to have grass purely for aesthetic purposes and some for recreation. The whole idea grew on me by the end of our trip.
After the park we happened upon this tiny, local eatery which had the best food and nicest staff. The menu only had 6 items to choose from which got me so excited. A short menu (written on a chalkboard no less) means the food is fresh and probably delicious.
England was magical and a great way to start our adventure in Europe. The scenery, culture, and history was wonderful and we hope to go back soon.
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