We’ve spent so much time as travelers for the last 4 years, its strange to dip our toes in the tourist pond. In our travels we like to blend in; looking, acting and doing all that locals would do. We also have to budget, stretching our dollars as far as possible, or our travel days will come swiftly to an end. Lucky for us, we aren’t alone on this part of the journey. With the accompaniment of our UK BFF’s, we get to be both tourist and traveler.

Our exploration of England continues from where we last left off in Marlborough. Our little apartment for the night was really nice. It was difficult waking up early the next day. But we have lots to see on the continuation of our road trip.

First stop is Avebury, Wiltshire. Avebury is a World Heritage Site much like Stonehenge. In fact, Avebury is also a henge but its history goes back even further as one of the best known prehistoric sites, containing the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. These stones are known to hold religious importance to many pagans, where Neolithic rituals would appease the malevolent powers of nature (cold, disease and death).

Unlike Stonehenge, Avebury’s ring of stones fully encompass an entire prehistoric village, erected much later, around 1400 A.D. This is where we enjoyed the chilly English morn. The village was very quaint, with a beautiful gothic church and graveyard situated at its center. It was haunting and musty but beautiful in its own way. The church is still in use today and built in 800 A.D. The details of its architecture are stunning.

There weren’t many people about so it felt like we had our own private tour of the grounds, which were very well-kept. There were several thatched-roof cottages and a gigantic manor house that we could pay extra to go inside (but we’re cheap), so we opted to loiter about the grounds instead.

The most wonderful thing about these places is the amount of history seeped into them. Generations of stories are imbued within the grounds, it makes for a very charming experience. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit to Avebury (probably even more than Stonehenge).

Next on the English Roadtrip agenda is The Uffington White Horse situated in Oxfordshire. Three guesses what this is all about…If you said a white horse, you would be correct. Here’s a fun bit of trivia: Did you know that most of England’s underbelly, foundation if you will, consists of layers of chalk? Not mud, not rock, but white chalk! Its very bizarre but this is visible proof in the pudding.

The Uffington White Horse is a stylized prehistoric hill figure that is dug out in trenches, exposing the chalk underneath. And, its in the shape of a horse. Its best viewed from above, maybe a helicopter. From our perspective, it looked like snow. The snow-frosted ground made it difficult to see the distinct horse shape, but you can sort of see it on the hillside. The landscape was so reminiscent of our time in New Zealand.

The best part about this wasn’t the horse or the beautiful countryside, but the huge snow and ice drifts that had us literally skating downhill back to the car (which had no prayer of making the drive up to the top). This is such an uncommon thing in England, Jake and I got to really experience HISTORY!

Another hour in the car and we were in Oxford. By this point we were all starving and in need of some grubbage. “The Fishes” is the name of the fancy pub where we dined. It was a bit pricier than our typical Weatherspoon affair, but it sure was delicious!

From here we got out of the car and continued on-foot to Oxford’s glorious, medieval universe. Everything here feels ancient yet somehow preserved in time. The architecture will seriously blow you away, not to mention the beautiful gardens and grounds within the city. Having not been to Europe, this was our first experience with such amazing architecture, so naturally my photo finger was snapping pictures like crazy.

The streets were packed. Abi and Adam pointed out some interesting things about the town. Adam owns a place here that he lets out to students. I was taken aback by how posh and fancy everyone was. Jake and I felt a bit out of place but then what else is new!

We wandered along the grounds of the ChristChurch School, one of the private and extremely posh places that you can get an education. I’m telling you it looked just like Hogwarts, minus the castle on the hillside part. It was massive and the details in the building facades were so intricate and stunning, my jaw dropped.

It was nearing sunset when we stopped off at a whiskey shop so that Adam could get some gifts for his groomsmen (for the wedding). The shop employee was surprisingly American and when we mentioned our upcoming travels to Scotland, he had a wealth of places that he insisted we go visit, especially if we’re into Scotch / Whiskey. (We really aren’t but we kept that to ourselves). He was so passionate about it, and well versed in the details, sort of like a Sommelier.

After a good 30 minutes, Adam found what he was looking for and we continued along the now darkening streets. We stopped at a famous pub where J.R.R. Tolkien wrote Lord of the Rings. It was a bit crowded so we skipped it and took a break in an Italian cafe, with the most delicious sweet treats of homemade pistachio and chocolate cannoli.

By now we’ve probably walked nearly 5 miles and were feeling exhausted. So instead of making the trek back to the car, we hopped on our VERY FIRST double-decker bus of the trip!!!! Its exactly like the Night Bus, it’s even PURPLE (Harry Potter nerd here). Naturally we sat on the top level and in the front, so we could enjoy the view.

We lucked out with our amazing friends who gave us the chance to see things that most people wouldn’t be able to do when visiting the UK for the first time. It was definitely a full-day of touring, with another one on the docket for tomorrow. So when we got back to the abode, we wasted little time in getting to bed.

London, England

Its been almost a week since we arrived in the UK and we haven’t yet had a proper visit to London’s most visited tourist attractions. We decided that we needed to get down to business and get our sight-seeing on! Though kind of exhausted from jet-lag and the last few days of touring, we pushed on.

We woke up to our first completely sunny and warm day since we’ve been here, and that means we are hitting the town! Abi and Adam had to run some errands in the city today, so the four of us took the train together in the morning and planned to link up later for lunch. This will give us time to be proper-tourists; camera’s blazing.

I’m already feeling comfortable navigating the trains and the Underground. But just in case, we had the trusty crocodile-leather bound notebook of London in our back packet.

After saying goodbye to our friends at Marylebone station, we took 3 different ‘tube’ lines out toward the Thames River. We thought it’d be fun to get off around the Bank district (one stop before the Thames), since we haven’t been to that part of city yet.

We consulted our map-book, and it seemed like it was only a few blocks to the waterfront. So it should be easy to find our way. Jake and I have navigated through so many unknown places before this, on-foot, in the boat, in a car. We should have no problem. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. The buildings are so tall and closed in that makes it impossible to see beyond the block, so we were lost pretty much from the word GO.

In the midst of all of this, we wandered into some pretty cool places. First, a “small” Cathedral (it was massive and towering above our heads) called St. Michaels built in the 1300’s and somewhat tucked back and shouldered amongst more tall buildings. We ducked in to appreciate its enormity from within. There were a few people praying at the front, so we left.

Jake thought he figured out this maze called London, following the path into a huge shopping-market of sorts. It was so incredibly ornate for an inside-outside type of deal. So palatial and intricate and BRIGHT.

We eventually cheated after we found ourselves back to where we started an hour after arriving, and used the phone to navigate us.

St Paul’s Cathedral was the first landmark that I recognized and we made a B-line. I can honestly say that after these years of worldly travels, I have not ever seen a more impressive structure. It is so massive and beautifully detailed. Just one tier of the building was so large and there were 2 other tiers on top of that. My wide-angle lens didn’t have a prayer to capture it all in one frame.

There’s a long history with this Cathedral; hundreds of years of wars and fires, building and re-building over time. So much so that the style of it changed from Romanesque to Gothic and much renovation work has been done to preserve it, especially on the Dome.

If someone asked me what key places should they visit on their trip to London, I would definitely recommend St. Paul’s Cathedral. Jake and I didn’t have time to do the inside-tour (which happens to cost £18/pp), but if we ever go back, this is definitely something we will do. And there is no charge for worshippers, so try to go visit on a Sunday.

From here, Jake and I were delighted to see more of the “London Tourist Attractions“, including the infamous Millennium Bridge. Remember the 7th Harry Potter movie’s opening scene where the death eaters destroy a bridge? Millennium bridge is that bridge. So of course, its a big tourist attraction. Did you know that When it initially opened in 2000, the bridge would wobble when pedestrians walked across it. So much so that they shut it down for 2 years to make modifications that would stabilize it.

It was nice to escape the confining buildings and be on the Thames waterfront. We made our way to the walkway directly along the water, but were soon stopped by buildings in our path, forcing us to criss cross back into the oppressive city-streets. After the third time doing this, we gave it up and crossed to the other side. Path clear!

Now this is London! We could see everything from Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, the London Eye (ferris wheel) and so many other massive buildings. We walked passed huge ships, a haunted dungeon, a lot of really wonky, cobblestone winding walkways, tons of beautiful architecture both super old and very modern, and of course, the Thames.

We headed in the direction of Tower Bridge, amongst the throngs of tourists and locals getting to and fro the bustling city. From here you can really appreciate how huge London is, and I’m sure we’ve barely scratched the surface. Its hard to take it all. We crossed the bridge to get a great view of the Tower of London, also packed. If we had more time we might consider purchasing a ticket to tour this, but we have to meet our friends in an hour.Which reminds me, we’d better hit the underground so we aren’t late.

The plan was to meet at a pub called Moon Under Water (a Weatherspoon pub) for a late lunch. Knowing our ineptitude with navigating the city, we opted to jump a train from Tower Station Underground to Leicester (Lester) Square.

Luckily we didn’t have to go far and found the pub within 10 minutes. It was rather full, but we found a small table in the front corner. Our friends met up with us and we had a most amazing lunch. My favorite food here is Tikka Masala and Jake had a Steak and Ale pie. Its so nice to have a reprieve amidst the chaos of the city. Dealing with masses of people and getting lost perpetually and trying to see everything is a lot to ask. So an English brew midway through the day brings it to a happy balance.

After our most wonderful lunch, Abi and Adam offered to be tour guides. Covent Garden was the first stop. So I have to tell this story because its kind of a testament at my stupidity. I assumed that we were going to see a garden, hence the name. So when we walked up to a gigantic outdoor (and super expensive) shopping district, with a huge sign that said “Covent Garden”, I had to ask…so where’s the garden? Silly Jill, there’s no garden here. But there is a guy dressed in a tux and a bunny mask and giving out free chocolate!

We didn’t spend much time after realizing our error (mine) and continued along to Trafalgar Square in Westminster, Central London (aka Charing Cross). Nelson’s Column is in the centre of the square flanked by fountains and guarded by four monumental bronze lions. At the top of the column is a statue of Horatio Nelson, commander of the British Navy at the Battle of Trafalgar (hence the name Trafalgar Square).

Surrounding the square are the National Gallery and St Martin-in-the-Fields Church. We walked toward Admiralty Arch, heading out to Buckingham Palace. The path was refreshing as we left behind the crowds and welcomed the large grassy park full of blooming flowers. Buckingham Palace is also very impressive (not as much as St. Pauls), and we enjoyed watching Sentry of the Grenadier Guards posted out front. They did not have their traditional red dress as it was chilly today, so they wore large jackets of navy.

After a bit, we walked back through St. James park. with a small lake and 2 islands, Duck Island (named for the lake’s collection of waterfowl), and West Island. I guess these things are quite rare, ducks and birds and especially swans. There were TONS of birds loitering when humans would come by (especially if they had food). The funniest thing, though, were the squirrels. Squirrels are, I guess, rare. It makes sense as they prefer nature-environments. This park provides exactly that and people were in a tizzy over the squirrels that came out in the hopes of collecting some food scraps. How cute!

We continued on toward Westminster Abbey Church and Palace, which were right next to the Parliament building. Big Ben was one sight that I couldn’t wait to see, but sadly it was completely under construction, wrapped in a scaffolding-blanket of sorts. But all of these sights were a marvel to behold. Each with exquisite details in ever nook and cranny.

By now my feet were aching. I was tired of carrying my camera (I broke my lens cap so I had no other option). Adam left us after crossing Westminster bridge, where we found ourselves at the Eye of London. We meandered by this and opted to take a little break in the Tate Modern, Art Museum. Its free (BONUS) and has some pretty cool modern-art exhibits. We only have about 30 minutes before they close, but we played around on the modern-swingset and did a little shopping.

It was getting late so we headed back to the train station, but not before stopping off to get some sweet treats. I can’t believe how much we managed to see (and how little) today. We walked more than 10 miles! No wonder my feet hurt.

The next few days we opted to give ourselves a break by keeping it close to home, aka High Wycombe. We walked around the neighborhood, did some shopping and mostly we did a TON of cooking. Its one of our favorite things to do, especially when we have access to an awesome kitchen. Plus it felt great to be able to do something nice for our gracious hosts. Jake and I made homemade pizzas, tortellini primavera, Indian curry and homemade naan, and lots of sweet treats.

It’s been a blast staying here with our friends. The most expensive thing thus far is transportation, especially trains. Perhaps once we head north, we’ll look into some more affordable types? Food is very inexpensive which is a total surprise. Limiting ourselves to only a few paid attractions throughout should allow us to continue on the rest of our trip with the budget in mind.

Onward to Edinburgh!