A few months ago, some of my fellow classmates and I spent what I consider to be the best week of our lives in England and other countries of the British Isles. We first heard of this trip from one of our teachers, who was organizing the trip through EF Tours. We paid a little under two thousand dollars, and in March, we were on our eight hour direct flight to England. Five students, including myself, went on the trip as well as our teacher and one other adult chaperone. Most of us couldn’t sleep on the plane because we were so excited and arrived in London at nine in the morning with zero hours of sleep. However, the adrenaline was enough to keep us going. First thing, we dropped our bags at the hotel and went on a ten hour walking tour. We saw Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and many other landmarks, our eyes wide and our cameras clicking. We went on the Tube, otherwise known to us Americans as the Subway, to get around London as our guide explained the history of everything we passed. He had a great sense of humor as well.
It wasn’t until we reached our hotel that night that we realized how tired we were. I shared a room with two other girls and we passed out at nine o’clock sharp. We got up early and noticed that our feet hurt, but we got on the bus for another day of sightseeing. St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Museum of Natural History, Big Ben, we saw it all while our tour guide explained its significance in a light and witty manner. We even got to see Buckingham Palace, which is a lot less secluded than most of us are led to believe. It’s located right in the middle of the city with restaurants and houses literally right across the street.
The next day, we left for the country where we spent a lovely day in the small towns of Avesbury and Lucock, which we later learned had been used to film parts of Harry Potter because they were some of the older looking towns in England. The food in these towns was absolutely superb as well, probably because it was authentic. We even got to see Stonehenge, a great experience, but one I’d only really need to see once.
In the next few days, we went to Wales, then Torquay. The hotel in Torquay was so winding that it felt like working through a maze just to get to our hotel room, but it was the most interesting place we’d stayed in, so we didn’t mind. After that, we went to Bath and saw Bath Abbey as well as the Roman Baths for which the city is named. The entire city of Bath looked almost like Rome. It was so beautiful.
Our last stop before we headed back to London and home was the Salisbury Cathedral. No matter how many times I saw those Cathedrals, their beautiful architecture never failed to awe me. I was extremely disappointed when it was finally time to go home. I can only say that a trip like that was the opportunity of a lifetime and anyone would be a fool not to take it. I’ve never felt so alive.
Dear Reader: This page may contain affiliate links which may earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Our independent journalism is not influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative unless it is clearly marked as sponsored content. As travel products change, please be sure to reconfirm all details and stay up to date with current events to ensure a safe and successful trip.
