Photography

England Recap

Hi friends!  I am back in the states!  I got back late last Thursday night and have spent the weekend relaxing, trying to re-acclimate my body to this time zone, and going through some of the over 3500 photos I took while I was there.  I worked most of the day Saturday and part of the day Sunday and have only gotten through my England pictures.  Good gracious.  I will do another post to show Ireland and then possibly a separate post to share my day at Harry Potter studio tour, which was out of this world.  It really was a sensational trip and I had so many wonderful experiences.  I completely fell in love with both England and Ireland and left a big piece of my heart there.  I will warn you that this post is gonna be a doozy because editing is not my area of expertise.  Here goes England…

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 The day we arrived, we walked down to the Thames to properly greet the city.

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We walked across the Millenium Bridge…

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 So we could check out Shakespeare’s Globe theatre.  I snuck in to try to see the inside.  Didn’t work.  We also visited St. Paul who was lovely but I had to leave some of my pictures out for y’alls sake.

The next morning we set off in search of Westminster, Parliament, and Buckingham Palace.  While we were looking for the palace, we noticed that there seemed to be alot of cameras and media around but we had no idea why.  We went to cross a little side road and all of a sudden this motorcade started coming towards us.  We stopped (obviously) so they didn’t hit us and as we were waiting for them to pass, there was a smiling Prince William in the car.  He was seriously about ten feet from us and if his window had been open we could have easily chatted him up.  We were stunned.  No pictures though.  Sorry folks.

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We rode the eye, which was very cool, however, it was difficult to get great pictures from due to the glare on the glass.

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Visited the Tower Bridge but missed the crown jewels because it was too late.

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We stopped for a Pimm’s on Carnaby Street.  Pimm’s is one of the most delightful and refreshing little beverages I have ever had and they seemed to be everywhere in the UK.  Here is a tip…If someone ever asks you if you want one, you say yes.  Colleen, even you would like it.

Then we headed to Notting Hill, mostly because I enjoy the movie so much.  It was a lovely neighborhood.  Very quiet and picturesque.

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This cat wanted to be my best friend.  He was delighted I was taking his picture.

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This cool little store only sold original maps.  Thank God it was closed or one of them would have been coming home with me and I am willing to bet purchasing would require a second mortgage on my house.

The next morning we took a train to Bath and were greeted by the Abbey almost immediately.  Abbey was quite lovely as was the whole of Bath.

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BathabbeytombstonesblogThey had people’s tombstones (I suppose people who were buried around the Abbey at some point) lining the walls.  I found that to be very interesting.

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We mosied over to the Roman Baths tour and got there before the hoards, which I highly recommend.  It was a wonderful tour but my favorite part was probably this duck who I feel certain was reincarnated from some Roman ruler because he definitely owned that joint.

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We had a light lunch in this sweet little alley.

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Strolled down the river.

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Tried on funny hats, ate biscuits, and practiced our calligraphy at the Jane Austen museum.

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 Then spent 2 hours enjoying the sunshine, sandwiches, and treats at a proper afternoon tea by the Abbey.  Why Americans don’t do this is truly beyond me.  This tea was blackberry currant and hibiscus.  Yum.

After this we rented a car, nearly had heart attacks and died while Katie was trying to drive us out of a city center full of one way tiny roads during her first experience (driving a manual car) on the left side of the road.  Stress.  But then we landed in the sweet little town of Colerne to stay at a B and B for the night.  We chose Colerne for its proximity to Castle Combe and it turns out that Colerne is not on the tourist track.  We were welcomed by the locals at the pub to spend the evening playing skittles with them and everyone kept asking us why we were there (in a polite British way).   Funnily enough, it was one of our favorite places.

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ColernedogblogOne of two pups who visited with us while we ate dinner in Colerne.

The next morning, we drove to Castle Combe.  Holy fairy tale land.

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This was the enchanted forest we drove through getting there.

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I mean, seriously?

CastleCombesecretdoorblogThe door to the secret garden.

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Why don’t our doors look like this?

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This cat lived in the town church and enjoyed spending time in this lovely cemetery.  Smart cookie that one.

We then left our fairytales (with great sadness- Katie nearly had to drag me by my hair) and drove to Stonehenge to spend some time with aliens.  Just kidding.

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No I’m not.

The next morning we left for Ireland.  We came back to London for a day and a half to see Harry Potter (which I will show you later) and shop before we flew home.  I didn’t take all that many pictures once I got there for the second time because we were pretty burnt out, but one of the last pictures I took from the trip was this one of my buddy Ben.

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Isn’t he a charming fellow?

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  1. Caitlin

    Love your pictures, Meggy Meg! They are fantastic!

  2. Lindsay

    Your photos are amazing, Meg! Did you buy a fancy camera? As always, your anecdotes made me laugh. I can’t wait to see more pictures!

    • Megan

      Hi Linds!! I got a dslr just like Colleen’s from Santa. Thanks boo boo!

  3. Lacey

    Gah I was coming here to say the same thing as those ladies^^! Pictures are amazing! Have you always been into photography? Care to do a post about your camera and your photography journey? Or, you could just message me! 😉

    Your trip looks amazing so far. Can’t wait to hear more.

    • Megan

      Thanks so much Lacey!! I have only gotten into it the past year or so I guess. Maybe a little longer. I am definitely not the person to be giving advice I anyone but we could definitely do a post about what lenses we have (Colleen has 2 fancy ones) and what actions we like and stuff. I always think your pictures are lovely.

  4. Taylor

    Oh Meg!!! Your pictures are fantastic. I cannot wait to hear about the rest of the trip and see all of your lovely photos. Also, you are hilarious. Hah!

  5. Megan

    Gee thanks guys!!! Most places I went were quite photogenic so that helps a good bit.

  6. Megan

    Also, I apologize to anyone whose phone I made crash due to all the pictures in this post. I did it to my own phone too if that makes anyone feel better.

  7. Colleen

    Sooo pretty Meg! Excellent photography job all which ways around. So glad you guys had a great time!

  8. Stephanie

    Love your pictures! Katie did great with hers. Much better than I did. Glad to have you both home safe.

  9. Lindsey @ be pretty

    Wow, Megs! First of all, I’d love to take a photography class from you… you’re pictures are worth purchasing! You have an amazing talent, my friend. Just stunning… the way you captured all of that architecture! Amazing! What a beauty trip… did you make any purchases? That’s a stunning picture of you! Miss you, friend! xoxo

    • Megan

      Hi Lindsey! We miss you too! You definitely do not need any photography classes from me, you silly girl! You take great pictures. I did make a few purchases but mostly art and a few other little souvenirs. We were spending so much money and running around so much that fun clothing purchases seemed impossible. 🙂

  10. Katie

    I love being able to relive our trip through pictures! Excellent recap! An idea for another post could be making our own Pimms and drinking them…preferably sometime soon.

    • Megan

      Great idea!

  11. Marilyn

    I never had an interest in going to England. Your pictures may have changed my mind! Absolutely breathtaking. And I loved the commentary

  12. Nicola

    Meg stunning! Those pictures are so beautiful – England should hire you for a promo because I am ready to hope on a plane!! Love how you capture both the big and small things that make England so beautiful. It sounds like you had an amazing trip. xoxo

    • Megan

      Thanks so much Nicola! Gosh I don’t even know what to say! What a nice compliment.

  13. Megan

    Thanks so much everyone! You guys are the nicest!

  14. Quinn @ Kimchi & Sweet Tea

    Looks like y’all had tons of fun with tons to see! And like everyone else, I think your pictures are amazing! We were just there this past summer and we also visited Bath. My favorite part of Bath was the incredible playground on the edged of Queen Victoria Park (& the story of Queen Victoria holding a major grudge against that tiny city).

  15. Stephanie

    Katie made me a Pimms! It was good!