We enjoyed a one-night stopover in York on our way from Glasgow to London. We followed the coastline down to this medieval little gem and arrived with a “wee bit of a delay” thanks to cows on the train tracks. That’s a first for us!
It was so fun to be back on the trains. The countryside was beautiful with pops of bright pink fireweed and a mix of other wildflowers lining the tracks, fields broken up by small villages, and occasional views of the ocean.
We didn’t preplan much for York, and quickly realized this little city is a European paradise. It has everything you want for a small European town. A castle on a hill, a gigantic cathedral, city walls you can walk on, a river flowing nearby, more museums than you can visit in one stop, cobble stone streets, stone buildings, a variety of cafes and eateries, and so many little alleys to wander through.
After checking into our hotel, we set off on our tour of the town. While stopping to admire the York Minster, we found countless gargoyles of all kinds attached to the outside of this massive church, one was even shaped like a pig!
We journeyed around the city, wandering through the alleys and old streets. We strolled along the river, over a few bridges, and walked on the old walls (one of our many favorite European things to do). We took a break for dinner and eventually made our way back to the hotel. This little gem was definitely worth the hassle of unpacking just to pack again for one night. We’re nearly pros at packing our bags, but somehow there always seems to be something that doesn’t quite fit...
We spent the next morning meandering along the quiet streets (including another “Diagon Alley”) and strolling through the Museum Gardens. We admired the remains of St. Mary’s Abbey and watched the rowing club make their way down the river. We treated ourselves to another cheese scone and, this time, a cherry and lime scone. We’ve been rating our scones throughout the trip, and so far, New Zealand has the best cheese scone and Giant’s Causeway has the best fruit scone thanks to the local cherries. However, this cherry and lime delicacy was a close second!
Our time in York flew by and we both said we could easily spend more time in this little gem. I feel like we just scratched the service and have more to discover. That may be the theme of entire our trip…
We caught one more train down to London and spent the warm afternoon strolling through the busy streets. While deciding where to conclude our World Tour extravaganza, we realized that London would be the perfect end with an easy flight home and a chance to see a live show (or two). We ended up getting tickets for Wicked and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Both of which have been on our list and both were shows we talked about seeing in London while we lived abroad (we’re finally doing it!).
After dropping our bags off at the hotel, we caught the Tube to the main sights. We visited Big Ben, passed by Westminster Abbey, and walked along the River Thames. The last time we were both in London, Big Ben was getting a makeover so it was fun to see the distinguished clock unveiled. It sure looks good! We grabbed an easy dinner and strolled back to the hotel calling it a night.
We spent the morning walking around Kensington Park and over to Buckingham Palace. We arrived just as the changing of the guards was taking place, and we settled in for the show. We enjoyed people watching while listening to the band play a variety of tunes including Hallelujah and Uptown Girl. While watching the guards, Jeff realized he forgot his glasses and decided to head back to the hotel to grab them. With Harry Potter being a double feature, he wanted to be sure to see everything. You can’t blame the guy! As he hurried back, I strolled through St. James Park and over to the West End. It was very reminiscent of my impromptu London stay two years ago (thanks to a cancelled flight) when I walked from Buckingham Palace to the West End for a showing of Mama Mia.
Without cell service, we used the old school method of setting a time and location for meeting back up. “See you at 12:30 at the M&M store”. And that’s where we regrouped, grabbed lunch, and headed off to our first show!
While we were separated, we both realized that was the second time in three months that we had been apart for more than an hour. The first time was in Cape Town when Jeff got a haircut and then now in London. Other than that, we’ve been together 24/7 for the past three months. It’s a good thing we like each other!
The opulent and ornate architecture of the Palace Theatre set the mood for our first performance, and as the Cursed Child began, we were spellbound (pardon the pun). The show was absolutely incredible! I won’t give away any spoilers, but know the theatrics were incredible and the experience is worth every penny. The show is a “double feature” that’s broken into two parts. For us, Part One was a matinee followed by a break for dinner and then Part Two was evening show. In theory, it should have been a long day, but the time passed so quickly as we were glued to the performance.
For dinner, we visited Bill’s and devoured the mouthwatering cinnamon donuts and Dulce sauce we had five years ago when we saw Hamilton in London. They were absolutely delicious back then and, we can confirm, they are still just as good.
With full bellies, we made our way back to the theater for Part Two of the show. We were once again entranced. Not only was the performance great, but having the chance to relive a piece of childhood is something special. We were both Harry Potter fans as kids and waited eagerly for each book in the series to come out. We’ve watched the movies on the big screen and many more times on our smaller screen at home. This show brought back all of those childhood emotions of anticipation and excitement.
At the end of the performance, we were surprised by an unexpected announcement from the cast that they were celebrating Harry Potter’s Birthday and the Cursed Child’s 8-year anniversary. The stage manager wheeled out a cake and the crew took a selfie with the crowd to commemorate the anniversary. That was a fun surprise!
Our last day in London, and last day of the trip, began with a walk around Borough Market. It felt right to wander the busy aisles and enjoy the different goodies at each stand as we have been to so many different markets over the past three months. We stopped for a few nibbles and continued our adventure, wandering through the city streets as we made our way to Wicked.
We arrived at the theater, ready to discover the wonderful world of Oz. This was another incredible show and one we’ve been waiting to see! It was just as good as we imagined and we were once again captivated by the live performance.
Following the show, we decided to walk back to our hotel instead of taking the Tube. Roaming the streets in an unfamiliar city is still one of our favorite things to do. You just never know what you might see and what you would miss if you were on the Tube or in a car. We passed through a mix of quiet and active streets, both lined with beautiful buildings and homes.
We gathered our bags and headed to our last hotel of the trip. This one was closer to the airport, making the departure the following morning a little easier. Our room had a view of the runway (Jeff was delighted to say the least) and we fell asleep to the sounds of planes rumbling down the runway.
Our final indulgence of the trip was our business class flight back to the states. Jeff found a stellar points deal and the anticipation of a fancy flight home helped make the ending to our three month adventure a little easier.
We almost made it around the world with only two minimal flight delays, but as we were walking around DIA, we received a text saying our flight home was canceled… thanks to some quick thinking and stellar teamwork, we were able to catch an earlier flight home that happened to be boarding right then. It was quite the unexpected ending to our trip.
The past three months have been an absolutely incredible experience! I can’t even put it into words. We’re both so glad we took the opportunity and ran with it. The entire trip we were in awe of everything and so grateful for how it all came to fruition. From the very start everything just worked. We both got time off of work, we didn’t have bad jet lag, only 2 of our 23 flights were delayed, there were no flight cancellations or lost luggage (until the last one), we dodged bad weather multiple times, we survived driving on the left side and on single lane roads, we only had one stomach bug and one small cold both of which cleared up quickly, and we’re still enjoying each other’s company after 90 days of constant companionship. We made it around the world in 90 days with stops in 17 countries, and we made so many incredible memories during that time. I still can’t quite believe it all actually happened. It really was the trip of a lifetime and one we will cherish forever!
I guess it’s time to start planning a new adventure… where to next?!
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