In between my homestays I took a week to travel, spending time in England and Barcelona!

City: Reigate

How Long: 3 days

Accommodation:

I stayed with my friend Tony, who I met two years ago in a hostel in Barcelona. So while his parents are super generous I don’t think I can recommend staying at their house :). Reigate is about a 30-minute train ride south from London.

Where to Eat:

Well, we mostly ate at his house, so again I probably can’t tell you to show up there! But we did have a great sandwich in Brighton, where we visited for the day. Before visiting Windsor Castle, we ate lunch at The Carpenters Arms, a pub that has a tunnel that used to run from below the pub into the medieval Castle. Food was good and it was fun to see a piece of history with the tunnel. Also, we stopped for some tea and desserts after going to Windsor Castle at Madam Posh. It was yummy but nothing to write home about.

AJ’s burger at The Carpenters Arms

What to do:

We essentially had two days to sight-see and we made the most of it. The first thing we did was participate in a local 5k run right near Tony’s house! It was the first race I’ve done since my marathon and it was super fun to be back in that environment. It makes me want to sign up for another half-marathon when I get home! After a lovely breakfast at Tony’s house we headed out on the road. Our first stop was South Downs National Park and Seven Sisters Country Park, which houses the UK’s highest chalk sea cliff. It was super cool and the cliffs were incredible. Definitely not a lay out in the sun kinda beach as instead of sand there were pebbles. Tony did find some pebbles that had been made from the brick in the houses above the beach, which was cool.

The Cliffs

Sitting on the beach

After a walk around the cliffs, we took off for Brighton, a big beach town directly South of London. I really liked it! So many cool shops and restaurants.We walked past the Royal Pavillion, an exotic palace that was built as a seaside pleasure palace for King George IV. It felt so out-of-place as it was built in the visual style closer to that of India and China, rather than Central Europe or England. Also there is a long pier which is home to an amusement park with rides, attractions, and an arcade. We managed to be at the end of the pier at sunset, which was stunning. Also we saw two swimmers without wetsuits on swim to the end of the pier and back… in February.

The beach

The Royal Pavillion

The sunset over the pier as we were leaving

That night we ate dinner with his parents again, which was so fun. I really enjoyed hanging out with them. His mom and I ended up staying up late chatting about anything and everything—Including Trump/Brexit. Super interesting talking to people about their opinions and thoughts; it’s actually one of my favorite things about traveling.

We went to Windsor Castle, one of the Queen’s homes, on our second day. We met up with AJ and Henry, two of the other guys from the Barcelona weekend 2 years ago. I usually end up meeting up with the three of them when I am anywhere near London! We purchased our tickets (student rate: 18.70 pounds) and began walking the castle grounds. Despite seeing my fair share of castles on this trip, this one is a must-see. It’s one of the bigger castles I’ve been too and the rooms we got to go through were incredible. Definitely some cool history in this castle and the Queen was actually there while we were. Surprisingly I was not able to schedule a meeting with her… After saying goodbyes to Tony, AJ, and Henry, I took off on a train to Bath!

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Tony, Me, Henry, & AJ

Overall thoughts:

I really enjoyed my weekend exploring England by car (Thanks Tony!) It allowed me to see a bunch of new places that normally would have been tough to see all in two days. I also absolutely loved staying with a local British family! I kept telling Tony that if an American were to imagine a stereotypical British couple that his parents would be it. They are the most lovely, kind, generous couple. They made me a roast the first night I arrived, filled with potatoes, carrots, and chicken. Most importantly, they drank so much tea. To me that’s about as British as it gets 🙂

City: Bath

How Long: 3 days

Accommodation:

I really enjoyed my stay here. There seemed to be a lot of people staying here long-term (as it is cheaper to stay in a hostel than renting an apartment, especially for those only working in Bath during the week), but everyone I met was super nice and friendly! Great guest kitchen and there was common room with sofas, tables for eating, and a tv. The lockers were small so I couldn’t store my whole bag in the locker, which is always a bummer. But I was able to just put my valuables in the locker and lock it with my padlock. The staff was all super nice. Absolutely would stay here again.

Where to Eat:

I mostly ate at the hostel, having bought groceries to save money, but I did go to one café in Bradford-on-Avon called Coffee, etc. It was delicious. I had a deluxe hot chocolate and yummy sandwich. If you end up in the quaint town, I would absolutely recommend this place. However, there definitely seemed to be no shortage of cute, more upscale restaurants that were out of my price range, so don’t be afraid to explore other options.

What to do:

Bath is not all that big so to start I went on a walking tour to get a comprehensive understanding of the history of the city. Obviously the Roman Baths were a big part of the city’s history. The water was thought to heal all types of diseases so royalty from all over would come to the baths to heal their ailments. Also the architecture is very important to Bath. It is all made from Bath stone. Because the whole town is essentially built with the same stone, it is stunningly cohesive. I really enjoyed my time just walking around the town. Also the Abbey is not to be missed.

Bath architecture

The Abbey

Because Bath is fairly small, I decided to use a half-day to take a train two stops down to Bradford-on-Avon. It is a small town right on the river, as the name suggests. Its population is less than 10,000 people. There isn’t much to do other than take a walk through the hilly town with stops at the Saxon Church and Holy Trinity Church. I ended up walking along the river to the next train stop towards Bath to enjoy the sunny day as it wasn’t that far. After enjoying my three days in Bath, I was off to London.

Clearly a very old building 🙂

The bridge in Bradford

Overall thoughts:

I really liked Bath! It was fun to see a smaller British city as opposed to London. Obviously it was still touristy, but it felt much more local than London. The architecture is beautiful and I absolutely loved just wandering the city. Definitely recommend a visit to this city and if you have an extra half day, Bradford on Avon is worth the time!

City: London

How Long: 1 day

Accommodation:

I stayed at The Walrus Hostel. My sister stayed here and recommended it to me! Overall great hostel. Beds were comfortable (although the pillows were not very good) and the lockers were big enough to fit my bag. Small guest kitchen. There’s a bar downstairs that locals seem to frequent as well. I only stayed here one night and wish I could have stayed longer. The bathrooms weren’t the cleanest I have ever seen but it wasn’t that big of a deal for me. You need your own padlock here or you can buy one. Definitely would stay here again!

Where to Eat:

I was only here one night, but I met up with Henry for drinks at The Southwark Tavern. It was right by the London Bridge and clearly a popular place. It was definitely a British pub. We sat at a table downstairs where there were all these small alcoves. It gave it a more private feeling and allowed you to actually hear what people at your table were saying. I really liked this place! After drinks I headed back to the hostel and grabbed some food from a supermarket on the way.

What to do:

Essentially all I did was meet Henry for drinks because I arrived in the late afternoon and left early the next morning for my flight to Barcelona!

Overall thoughts:

Well this was a quick trip in London, so now major thoughts about this specific stay in London–but I love London, and hope to move here at some point, even for just a year or two.