England and Ireland Fever

I have been obsessed with England for a while and now that I went there, I don't know where I stand. England was such an amazing place with so much to do and see. So much history, architecture, culture and beauty. I absolutely loved my England trip and can't put how amazing it was in words.

So, I'll show you some of my favorite parts of the trip. The summary of my trip was this, 3 days in London, 5 days in Ireland, Liverpool, Bath, Oxford, Brighton and then London.

 Our first stop was at The Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, London Eye and Parliament. It was very crowded, so we didn't stay very long but the Big Ben was very cool to see in person.

 One of my favorite places in London was the Tower Bridge. We walked across it and you can see the gold and blue on the bridge with so much detail.

 The Changing of the Guards was so interesting to watch. Get there early and be prepared for some battle of the bands. The ceremony was 45 minutes long and the different bands played various songs before they changed the guards.

 The Tower of London was a definite must for the tours. There are lot of tours you can do in London but the Tower of London has so much history and has the crown jewels. Be prepared to wait in line to see them but the crown jewels are so ornate. Also, say hi the ravens who are basically the royal pets!

 We went to Little Venice where they had a canal, houseboats and lots of  gardens. I found my future home (they don't know they are going to sell it to me yet...) We ended up going to Waterfront cafe with the view below of the canal. I had some tea and just enjoyed being in Little Venice.

 If you ever have the chance to explore Hyde Park, go! Hyde Park is very large and we didn't see everything in the park. The first night, The Killers were performing in the park so it was very crowded. We ended up going two other days for a stroll and looked at the different statues and gardens.

I was the ultimate tourist as I took pictures of my food. This was one of the best meals I had. It was at a local pub near our hotel near Earls Court. The english do love their fish and chips and meat pies. This meat pie was delicious.

 One thing I learned to really love is sheep. Ireland is full of sheep and you can drive on the small country roads and then have to stop because of sheep. The picture below is a sheep farm we stayed from Airbrb. It was my favorite place because it was in the countryside, we had our own apartment and lots of not so friendly sheep.

 We drove through Wicklow National Park and if you have ever seen PS I Love You, the couple meets in the national park. The national park is absolutely gorgeous. I didn't realize it was a national park for a while because there were no signs!

 This is Kylemore Abbey and one of my motivations to become a nun (#293 to become a nun: You could live in this abbey and have this view everyday).

 Cliffs of Moher: GO THERE! It was incredible. I know I am saying that about pretty much everything on this blog post, but the Cliffs of Moher were one of those sights that you just were speechless. Go at sunset, walk towards the end of the cliffs so you can see the whole cliffs and just sit there and take the view in.

 Next stop is Bath. Bath is a wonderful place if you love Jane Austen and old buildings. I love both so it was heavenly to walk around the city and think about all the history.

 The Royal Crescent has been a place I've always wanted to go since it is featured in nearly every time period drama. The assembly halls are near there so it was great to see where the rich of the rich would go to balls and shop.

 The Bath Abbey and Roman Baths were very cool to visit as well. The Roman Baths are definitely worth a tour. You can't swim in the water but you could see the old baths and learn how the romans build and used the baths.

 Oxford was beautiful as well. If I was going to go back to school, I would consider Oxford If could afford it...haha. We had afternoon tea and guys...clotted cream is amazing. It is sweet, similar to whipping cream but thicker. I put it on my scone thinking it was butter, but it was actually clotted cream.

 We tried punting (a Oxford classic). It was a boat ride along the river in Oxford and you can see different areas of the college.

 Oxford Botanical Gardens, go there. I have 5000 pictures of flowers I had never seen before.

 Brighton. The perfect place to go to the beach (it is cold and rocky), beach pier (go to the arcade area) and then shopping. I found so many cute boutique shops and I could shop there anyday.

 Last night, we saw Les Miserables. Cried like a baby and was not ashamed. First time seeing live and it was inspiring! After that, we flew back to LA the next day and the trip was over.  Time to repeat the trip now? All voting yes, lets go. Pack your bags again.