A Slice of British Paradise!

Hello again, friends! Hope that the beginning of Movember is going well for you! I was fortunate enough to spend the beginning of this month romping across the United Kingdom, visiting family and friends. Here are some snapshots from my trip - enjoy!

My first stop was in Letchworth to visit some family from my mother's side. It was fantastic to get a piece of home and I adored the English countryside.

I also got the opportunity to meet some of my younger cousins for the first time! Katie enjoyed wearing my scarf :) I also enjoyed trick-or-treating with them!

The English countryside was absolutely lovely. It sure made me miss autumn at home!

I spent the second day in London, beginning at Kings Cross Station. Platform 9 3/4 anyone?

My first stop was the Swiss Re building! I was ecstatic to see 'the Gherkin' in person!

The London Eye looked so appealing! If only the line hadn't been 2 hours long....

Westminster Abbey was far more impressive than I could have imagined. I assumed that after seeing the churches of Italy, this wouldn't 'wow' me. How mistaken I was.....

Big Ben!

St. James' Park in front of Buckingham Palace featured some very interesting birds....

My next day was spent in Glasgow visiting a friend from home. We spent our first night at the local bookclub bar with friends.

Scotland was so beautiful. Goes to show that I should have studied abroad in the land of my ancestors....

Apparently, the formation of Hogwarts in the HP movies was based on the University of Glasgow. So was it inappropriate for me to yell HUFFLEPUFF when this group walked by?

Who wouldn't want to go to school in a beautiful place like this? I have to admit, this is what I also imagined college would look like.

My second day in Scotland was spent in Stirling, where we met up with a friend of mine from college. Scottish paradise? Quite possibly.

We toured Stirling Castle and were particularly fond of the cannons....

We ended the day at a local brewery in Bridge of Allen that served the best cider I'd ever had. Leaving Scotland was the most difficult thing I've done recently, that's for sure!