Travel Throwback #1: London

After recently moving house I uncovered a box of my old photographs from my junior high and early high school years, undoubtably taken on a hundred or so Kodak disposable cameras. Included amongst the photographs of friends, Disneyland and parties was a series from my trip to London in the autumn of 2004.

This particular trip was special for three reasons:

1. It was to celebrate my sweet sixteen
2. It was my first trip to England. 
3. It cemented me as an anglophile forever. 

Here are some of the gems I found starting with a jet-lagged sixteen-year-old me at our hotel, The Rubens At The Palace...

Funny story, we originally were in just a normal room but the toliet decided to turn into a fountain and we were promptly upgraded to the beautiful Clarence Suite.

I love the Autumnal colours in this photograph of St. James' Park. If you look closely you can see Big Ben in the background.

"If the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it."

For a Harry Potter fan, no trip to London would be complete without a trip to Platform 9 and 3/4 at King's Cross station!

And finally... one of the most cliché tourist photographs in all the world - posing with a red telephone box. I'd like the think the double decker bus in the background makes it slightly different. Does any tourist visiting London not have a photograph with a red telephone box? I think not!

Q: Have you ever travelled somewhere that made a big impact on your life?

Erin x

Experiencing Germany for the First Time

Stuttgart, Germany is famous for being the home of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, as well as hosting a number of beautiful historic buildings and landmarks.

via bastian_r

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience any of that as I was travelling to Stuttgart for work. A lot of people think travelling for your job is just a laugh, but more often then not it is a lot of hard work. The reason for being in Stuttgart in the beginning of April was to assist with a conference being arranged by one of my company’s top consultants. The hours were long but the end result was worth it.

This was my first time in Germany and I was not exactly sure what to expect. I had visions of mountain taverns filled with steins of beer and people dressed in lederhosen.  Okay, I realise a complete stereotype but I still remained hopeful.

via Christian Senger

While I didn't find any people dressed in lederhosen, I did have several uniquely German experiences which I am pleased to share with you.

1. Getting ditched for being 1 minute late. I know the Germans are all about punctuality but I would hope that 1 minute might be excused, especially when I called and said I was lost. Granted when I say lost I mean I couldn't find the lobby from my hotel room. It appears anything other than 5 minutes early is late to some of my German colleagues.
2. Ich spreche kein Deutsch. Never have I felt so hopeless on a trip. I know I don't speak German, but man did I learn how much I didn't speak German on this trip! I hated not being able to ask for directions or being confused when someone at the event asked me something. You try explaining to a German that they have to leave their credit card or passport in order to receive a headset when you have a massive language barrier! I could just about manage ordering with the aid of my little phrase book.
3. Filling up on German food.  Besides bratwurst and sauerkraut, I didn't have much experience in German cuisine. During the course of the weekend I filled up on pretzels, spätzle, schnitzel and loads of beer! I think in fact I still might be full. 

Schnitzel and currywurst

Erin x

6 Things I Love About England

As I was looking through my archive of previous posts I came across last year's post for the Fourth of July about the five things I miss about America. It made me think that I should really do a list of things I love about England. As an expat you will always love your home country, but usually you find reasons to love your new home just as much. Here are the six things that sprang to mind when thinking about what I love about England.

6. Royal Family. Say what you want, I love the royal family and think they do a great deal of good for this country. I just love the Queen, she is the ultimate legend. But it's not just the Queen, I love them all,  even Prince Charles! I mean Prince Charles reported the weather for the BBC, how cool is that?!

5. Elderflower Cordial. It might not be to everyone's taste, but for me, nothing is better than elderflower cordial in sparkling water. Cordials are basically flavoured syrups, which are quite popular here in the England. Elderflower is the flower of the elderberry, quite delicious and something I had never experienced in America.

Source

Enjoying Afternoon Tea in Stratford-upon-Avon

4. Tea. I have never been a coffee girl and it is so nice to be in a country that appreciates/loves tea as much as I do. Whether it's just having a cuppa in the evening or going all out with an afternoon tea, England certainly does right by tea. Even the largest of problems can be solved with a cup of tea. Boyfriend dumped you? Family member died? The first thing any English person will do is dash off to the kettle and fix you a brew!

3. History. In Las Vegas a building from the 1950s is considered old and anything before that, practically pre-historic but it's a whole different kettle of fish over here. In fact they have so much history it's practically bursting at the seems. Take the 2,000 year old Roman mosaic in Spoonley Wood for example. There are no maps to it and the only thing protecting it is a bit of tarpaulin! Every where you go, even the smallest of villages, there are buildings and and stories of some significance. If you love history, England is definitely the place to be!

Roman Mosiac in Spoonley Wood

2. The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Pink Floyd. Led Zeppelin. My top four favourite bands of all time are from England. I take it as a sign that I was destined to live here, and also perhaps in the 60s or 70s. These men are all rock gods!

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1. English Literature. This small island has given the world some of the greatest masterpieces and authors. You have my personal favourites Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass or J.K.Rowling's Harry Potter series, but don't forget J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, C.S.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters. Do I really need to go on?

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Q: What do you love most about England?

Erin x