Travel: A Whistle Stop Tour of England

The London Eye and County Hall, London

I was starting to worry that I would never get over to England, somewhere I so desperately wanted to go, as there were a few occasions growing up that I was "meant to go" and it always fell through!

Finally I got a whistle stop tour of Brighton, Shoreham by the Sea, Sussex, New Forest and London.

Ed had a friends wedding to attend over the weekend and so we had a fly in, fly out trip to attend the wedding, catch up with Ed's family and swing by our UK office. It is lucky we are now located in New York so it is only a short seven hour flight over, in comparison to the long haul 24 hour flight from Sydney.

First stop was Brighton. We were picked up from Heathrow Airport and whisked off to Brighton to walk through the lane ways, get a picture by Brighton Pier and have a spot of lunch at Donatello Ristorante. Unfortunately we only had enough time for a bit of window shopping in the Brighton lane ways but there looked to be so many amazing and trendy shops that I cannot wait to return and spend a whole day wandering through and making a few cheeky purchases.

Brighton Pier, Brighton

Donatello Ristorante, Brighton

We stayed with Ed's parents for the weekend at Shoreham by the Sea, which is quite the cute little ocean side town. But I do imagine it gets quite cold there during the winter months! With the sunny weather we were lucky to get whilst visiting, it would of been great to go for a walk around the town but with the time restraints we will also have to leave this until next visit.

We got a bit of time with Ed's extended family in Sussex, which was great for seeing some of the suburban area, the cute little town buildings and all the green! And of course it was wonderful to get time with Ed's family, especially his adorable niece. We stood in the back garden of Ed's brother and sister-in-laws house and could not believe the quiet! We have become so immune to the sirens and horns of New York City that we had forgotten what piece and quiet is like.

The wedding took place in New Forest at a spectacular castle called Rhinefield House, where we also stayed for the night. New Forest was a lovely green area, filled with wild horses and other spectacular wildlife. It looked like a wonderful place to go on a hike and explore but once again with time restraints and a busy schedule, exploring more of New Forest will have to be to left to another visit.

I enjoyed being able to partake in an English wedding and to see the similarities and differences to an Australian wedding. The ceremony took place in a church down the street and I do believe it was my first church wedding. We then all piled on a coach back to Rhinefield House for the reception. The grounds were just spectacular with a pond stretching the length of it, a maze to get lost in and the venue itself was a breathtaking castle. As for the similarities and differences, there was mostly similarities with the ceremony and signing of the marriage certificate, the bridal party goes off for photographs while the guests head to the reception and begin the drinking. This is followed by the wedding dinner and speeches, which this wedding in particular was somewhat more formal compared to the Aussie weddings, where I am used to there being an MC who usually just cracks jokes the whole time and generally at someones expense. But the only real difference was that often the English have "reception guests" show up after the dinner for the dancing and party in the night and  for a buffet supper, which I think Aussies should adopt the buffet supper idea!

wearing: Varley Dress Gold by Never Fully Dressed, Larissa Heels by Coach 

Rhinefield House, Brockenhurst 

Rhinefield House, Brockenhurst 

The last two days were spent in London. We squeezed a bit of work in and it was great to catch up with everyone that had moved over from the Sydney office to the UK office. But it wasn't all work, we went on a whirlwind walk of London to visit as many of the main attractions as possible; Big Ben, The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Southbank, The County Hall and more! On the last night we caught up with Ed's oldest brother and indulged in a feast at Ping Pong; a tapas style dim sum restaurant. We had plate after plate of pork buns, duck spring rolls, prawn toast, rice paper rolls, chicken cashew nut dumplings, pork belly bao, beef gyoza dumplings and more. Are you drooling yet?!

For such a rockstar visit it was great to see a wide variety of the country; to enjoy the more laid back and trendy lanes of Brighton, to look out over the pebbly seaside in Shoreham; to drive across the beautiful green countryside and to be swept up and mesmerised by London City.

I admired how green and picturesque England is and I can see a number of similarities it has with Australia and also the many differences. I naturally felt more comfortable and at ease in England as people didn't look at me or treat me like an alien and we seem to share a similar lifestyle and upbringing. In New York I still feel like I stick out like a sore thumb but it is only a matter of time before I'm walking the walk and talking the New York talk.  

Living in New York has sparked a new passion in me for buildings and architecture and England had many beautiful old style buildings for me to admire and snap. They were almost too picture perfect that it felt like I was walking down a movie set on a film lot.

For now it's back to the hustle and bustle of New York City. So until next visit, cheerio old chaps! It's been the dogs danglies!

Buckingham Palace, London

Big Ben, London

The Admiralty Arch, London