During my travels, England was my home base. I was a student at the University of Hertfordshire right above London. After a few months living there, it really began to feel like home. Although many of the places I visited were more interesting to me, or more sightly to the eye, nothing quite felt as charming and warm as England.
Some of the best things about the UK:
1. The English Pub - I didn't meet a single Brit who didn't spend most of their evenings enjoying a pint at their local pub. For me and my fellow Americans, pubs were the places to go to meet locals. Most of the pubs we visited were hundreds of years old.
2. Gorgeous, quaint villages - The villages are just you see on TV! Each one has a high street, which has everything everyone in the village would ever need. And you can walk everywhere! You see families all over on the sidewalks. One of the coolest things were the community markets that each village would hold about every week, where everyone would come out and buy fresh produce and other items.
3. Historical buildings - This is a no-brainer! But I especially loved the lesser-known places, like the St. Albans Cathedral.
4. Talkative, interested locals (albeit a bit arrogant!) - Brits love to chat, but they are not afraid to put you on the spot! And they love talking politics. If you can stomach a good debate, these are the people for you! They are always friendly, nonetheless.
It's really nice to "meet" you here and get your insight on your experiences in England. I think the pub aspect is really interesting. Were people there of all ages, or mostly young people?
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that you were able to spend time in England as a student versus just as a tourist! I've done some traveling but have never been to England. I would love to go someday. What did you like most about your stay there? Were you an English major at the time? Were you able to visit any of the historical sites for the English writers?
ReplyDeletesensunique - Nice to meet you as well! The pubs around campus usually consisted of university students, of course. In the other villages, people of all ages would go to the pubs. The cool thing was that people of all ages weren't afraid of socializing together! I met some really cool 50-year-olds as well as people my own age.
ReplyDeleteColleen - The best part about the stay there was the people. I just love English people. It's very difficult to find a dull, unopinionative Brit!
ReplyDeleteYes, I was an English major at the time, although that really wasn't why I went to England. I did get to go see Shakespeare's home, Stratford-upon-Avon, which was really cool. You'd be surprised how well-preserved many of the famous writer's homes still are.