England 2011

What a great trip. Arrived in London from South Africa early on a Monday. I dropped off my bag at the hostel and started to explore. Bored after my first day, I asked my sister where I should go. She recommended Brighton. So off I went the following day. Arriving, I didn’t expect much. Brighton was in my mind this blue-collar town. Nope – I soon found myself in a sea of people, all going about their daily life in this most vibrant of shopping districts. And there was the sea. A beautiful long rocky beach nearby.

From there I went up north near Liverpool, where my sister lives. I stayed with her family for a few days, and had a great time. It was the first opportunity since I was seven years old that I was able to be around her, alone, for more than an hour. She had moved out of the house when I was 7, and a country’s span away when I was 10. Every time I would see her thereafter was a family excursion, and so we never had alone time.  When I got older and she moved to England, I wasn’t able to afford to go alone. So on this time, where it was finally just us, we were able to connect in a way that I hadn’t been able to do at all in my life.

I left Liverpool and stopped by a small town, where I met a wonderful couple I’ve known for a decade now through this warez bulletin board I was part of when I was a teen. We chatted and drank, and they made a wonderful wonderful meal. I ended up crashing on their couch. I left the following morning for York. Explored there for a day. Finally I took the train back to London where I left to go home.

There was a small niggle on the way back – American security made me miss my connection, so I had to spend the night at a hotel in Washington, DC. They only had one flight a day to Ottawa. That bit was rather frustrating. But it doesn’t overshadow the rest of this superb adventure.

Comments

2 responses to “England 2011”

  1. Jeremy Avatar
    Jeremy

    Welcome back! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures!

  2. Julien McArdle Avatar
    Julien McArdle

    Thank you. We should definitively get together soon. 🙂