Trip of a Lifetime

I can't exactly recall when the idea sprouted that I should go to England, though it was more of a conglomeration of events rather than one single instant. A few ladies whom I'd been "speaking" with online over the past two to three years all live in England. We had joked at various times about one of them coming to Florida to see me so they could enjoy some much-needed warmth and sunshine, you know, get a break from the persistent British rain and clouds. And they would post photos of places they visited in the U.K.--the Peak District, Edinburgh Scotland, and York--which really whetted my appetite to travel and see those delights for myself. When I learned I'd be getting a little windfall, suddenly the idea of me visiting them wasn't such a joke anymore. One of the ladies--Amanda--said that since I'd be so close, three of us might as well hop on the Eurostar train out of London and spend a weekend in Paris. I thought, why not? And since Edinburgh was not that far from where two of them lived in Yorkshire, well, how long would it take for the train to reach that city? Since I'd be so close and all.

Before I knew it, I had tentative plans to visit three British ladies I had never officially met. I posed many questions to all of them when it came to deciding which month would be the best to visit. We'd have to coordinate their schedules, hotel availabilities, flight costs, etc. After learning that the summer months are super-crowded in any major U.K. city, not to mention the higher costs of hotels and attractions, I decided the last week of April and the first two weeks of May would be ideal for us all. Springtime in Paris? Yep. I'd be there.

I purchased two books on London specifically and two more books on the U.K. in general. Poring over those books became my passion. And it was only October 2012.

I had never had a passport, so in November, at the age of fifty something, I got my first passport. After many hours of checking out flights from Tampa to London, one selection popped up that I'd never seen. A direct flight from Tampa to London Gatwick Airport. Leave at 6:15 in the evening and arrive at 7:30 the next morning. Perfect! I purchased my round-trip ticket three days before Christmas. My friends were ecstatic! It was real, it was happening, and we needed to firm up plans for Paris, which we did in January. One other friend contacted me so she could ink me into her schedule for 2013.

Not sure when, either, that I decided I wanted to go this adventure alone. My husband had lived in Europe for three years back in the 1960s and traveled extensively. He had already had the European experience. I reasoned that if I went alone, I could stay longer and indulge in a few other perks as well--nicer hotel accommodations, spontaneity of when and where to go and do. Besides, if my lupus or other autoimmune garbage flared up, I wanted the luxury of staying in and not feeling bad that I was keeping him from enjoying whatever area we might happen to be in. I'm an adventurer at heart--I could do this by myself and have fun.

And as much as I wanted to be entirely spontaneous, traveling wherever the whim of the day took me, well, that all came to a screeching halt when I checked availability of rooms in London four months ahead of time and found some places already booked up! Change of plans, then. I would map out the bulk of my trip, making room reservations for every single night I'd be over there, which meant I had to decide how long to stay in each place, and prioritize what I wanted to see and do in that particular area. If you ever start looking through those travel books, it's too easy to become overwhelmed at everything available. Once I made those decisions, and coordinated with my friends on their available dates, everything fell into place.

The itinerary went like this: London (2-1/2 days), Milton Keynes (3+ days to visit Stonehenge, Bath, and Stratford-upon-Avon), Cotswolds (3-1/2 days), London (meet up with friends, spend the night, then take the 6:15 a.m. Eurostar to Paris), Paris (2-1/2 days), London (2 days), Sheffield (2 days), Edinburgh (2 days), York (2 days), London (2 days), fly home.

For traveling between London and each city, a BritRail FlexPass was the way to go. Essentially, it was my train ticket to travel anywhere I wanted in the U.K. on any eight days that I chose. After I told Amanda I had purchased my FlexPass, she said, "Did you make your train reservations? Just because you have the FlexPass doesn't mean that there will be a seat open on the train you want." Didn't know that. It's great to have friends in the U.K.! So I made reservations.

The best decision I made, and would make again on another venture like this, was to be willing to be open to the experiences I was going to have, whether they were excellent, good, bad or everything in between, and to carry no preconceived notions about what to expect. Embrace what came my way. Immerse myself in the cultures. Ask people about themselves and learn as much as I could about the area I was in. I tried to find joy in everything I did, everywhere I went, and everyone I met and talked to. When people ask me now, What was your favorite thing? I tell them, Everything, every day. And it's true.

Now that you know the background of the trip, subsequent posts will be the eye candy--many of the wonderful photos I took in three different countries during my twenty-one days. Enjoy!