This post was originally posted in 2015, it's fun to look back and share our trip to England

Good evening my western hearts! I hope you all are doing well this busy time of year! When I left off last time I told you I had quit my job  and traveled to England. 

Traveling to England was an trip of a life time! 

I have a dear friend that goes to England every year for the Tattersalls horse sales in Newmarket, Suffolk, and every year she asks me to go and I say “no I can’t”.

But this year, I felt different, I felt that I could go and I took the plunge and bought my airline ticket, unbeknownst to me,  2 days later I would quit my job of 13 years. This was not an expected life change, but it was necessary, the stress was causing health issues, family stress and I was not a happy camper,  it was time to go…so I kindly said, “take the job and shove it!”  Well that’s what I would have liked to say, somehow I held my composure and kept my mouth shut.

Traveling to England Was Easier With My Friend and Amazing Guide

Tagging along with my world traveling friend definitely made life easier and as a result I had a trip of a life time that centered around my passion, horses. I love to travel, and once upon a time, I use to travel all over the United States for  my work, at this time in my life I love visiting National Parks and exploring beautiful Montana, that's another blog post waiting to happen. 

Traveling to England Was Exciting and New

Traveling to England was something different and new for me,  I loved the history, charm and kind, wonderful people I met along the way. I instantly fell in love with this great country. If you like, grab a cuppa tea and check out my photos.

Traveling to England was so easy

We left Los Angeles at 10:30 pm and arrived in Heathrow International Airport the next day at some strange  hour, late in their day. Here I am, looking sleepy but look at that smile! I was ecstatic to be traveling to England, who needs sleep? 

After our flight and enduring airplane food we needed good food. 

We somehow found a beautiful restaurant offering excellent Indian cuisine and a wonderful bottle of wine. After that we attempted to get a good night’s sleep, who can sleep when you are in England?!!! Remember they are about 10 hours ahead of us, so our internal clocks were really confused.

After a sort of goodnight sleep, we headed into London via the Heathrow Express, hopped on the Big Red Double Decker Bus and traveled around London in the cold foggy weather, the weather really set the scene, it was just as I had imagined it. Personally if you don’t have a lot of time when traveling to England, and we didn’t, hopping on an” On/Off Bus” was the way to see London. We could set our own pace and discover new sites in London.

Despite the rain, we sat atop of the Big Red bus and took in all the sights and sounds. The tour guide asked if we were from California as “they are the only ones that sit in the rain on the tour”, we couldn’t help but chuckle. He was nice enough to give us a “raincoat”, it was more like a large garbage bag but it did the trick, keeping us dry. My friend was smart to bring a hooded jacket.

Hold on, here we go, around the corner here is my first view of Big Ben! Tell me I wasn’t excited!! Not the best shot but imagine standing on top of a double decker bus, in the rain getting photos,  definitely fun but a challenge.

Big Ben 

Next we saw the most interesting outdoor bronze statue, it is called Still Water and was constructed in 2011 by Nic Fiddian, and it is located at the Marble Arch in London. Truly magnificent. I had to look up the name as I missed it on the tour, I had lots to learn on this trip, thank goodness for Google!

England was truly a horse lover’s paradise, I really did not realize this until traveling to England how much horses play a vital role all over the country.

Traveling around London we saw this amazing bronze statue.

It is located between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square and represents the four horses of Helios, the Greek god of the sun and light. The four horses are Pyrois, Eoos, Aethon and Phégon. This fountain statue was erected in honor of Lord Shaftesbury. He is best known for the Tenth Hour Act in 1833, which aimed to reduce the work hours of children.

For today I will leave you with some tea and shortbread that awaited me in lovely, quaint hotel room. 

It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day. As for my next post, I will tell you about the Royal Mews…if you are a horse lover, you don’t want to miss this. Don’t know what the Royal Mews is, no worries I didn’t either but if you love horses, don’t miss it.

Check Out These Must Have Travel Products 🔽

As most of you know, I am an Amazon Affiliate, and that means that this post might have links to products I know and recommend, when you click on them I might received a small commission at no added cost to you. Look what I found to make your travel enjoyable

I refuse to pack for a trip without these travel cubes! Of course my travel savvy friend shared this little secret with me. They help keep things organized and neat when you travel. Whether I am flying off to another state or going on a camp out, I don't leave home without these Packing Cubes 

Travel Shoe Bags

I actually use these on a daily basis during snow season, before work I have to go out to the barn and feed horses, so I have to pack extra shoes to change into at work. I got tired of carrying them in a plastic grocery bag so I upgraded to these.

Travel Shoe Bags

Noise Cancelling Head Phones

This is a big splurge but if you can swing it, I say go for it especially for those long trips where you want to try and some sleep or watch a movie. 

I found these neutral packing cubes with really good ratings. I like how they stack, so if you want to stay organized and save space, grab these for your next trip. Or if you know a traveler that needs a Christmas gift, here ya go! This set comes with a shoe bag.

Travel Packing Cubes, Luggage Organizers with Shoe Ba

If you have experienced traveling to England what was your favorite place, town or pub? Or what would you like to see if you were traveling to England, would love to hear about it. Also what are your must have travel items? Share below in the comments

Until next time, happy trails!

Lisa

PS Ya might want to bring along a travel rain poncho

Take a look at this one, comes in a handy storage bag for easy travel. Don't get caught in the rain. 

And this!!! I forgot to add it, so here goes, this is on my Christmas list, believe me when I am in the airport shuffling around I can use all the help I can get! 

Luggage Travel Cup Holder