Tag Archives: England

Three Cheers for Train Travel

by Wendy
Train travel can be nostalgic, modern, adventurous, efficient, rustic, glamorous, educational – provoking many combinations of potentially contradictory impressions. I love planes (and hanging out in airports), and I love road trips. But trains are also cool. And the European high-speed train network is super-cool. Continue reading

More Love for London

by Wendy
I’ve written a lot about London. It’s like the blog is called Looks and Leaps and London. I can’t help it! I love this city and would happily travel there more often if I could. Here are a few more reasons why for those of you who aren’t sick of hearing about it. Continue reading

An Afternoon at Parliament

by Wendy
Next time you’re in London, consider booking a guided tour of Parliament followed by afternoon tea. That’s right, you can actually drink tea in a House of Commons dining room! This is a cool activity for anyone interested in England, history, politics, the Queen, or a fine afternoon tea. Continue reading

I Heart Stairs. And Heights

by Wendy
There were a lot of stairs on the Iceland and England trip. Not like running up and down my basement stairs to deal with laundry. Not like walking up and down a few flights to my office floor instead of waiting for what must be the city’s slowest elevator. This was more in the line of trudging up hundreds of steps in a narrow corridor or next to a steep drop-off. The work was usually rewarded with an impressive view, but that didn’t stop me from complaining. Continue reading

Funny Travel Stories

by Joe
It always seems to me that unusual events or actions occur when you travel. Some occur to you and some are incurred by you. Either way for some reason these events can turn into the stories we tell our family and friends sometimes more often then about the things we saw or did and become magnified in their humor. Here are some of the funny stories from a recent trip to Iceland and London with my daughter Wendy, her husband Jack and my wife Cindy. Continue reading

Dover: A Delightful Day Trip from London

by Wendy
follow me on twitter @wendylooksleaps

Interested in taking a day trip from London to another part of the country? Consider Dover. We had a brilliant time in this southeastern city on the coast of the English Channel. Continue reading

Post-trip Packing Post: Iceland/England

by Wendy
Packing for this recent trip was a challenge, as we traveled to two very different destinations.

Iceland: mostly outdoor activities. Even though we were going in summer, nearly everything we read cautioned us to be prepared for any type of weather. Basic hiking gear was a necessity.

England: we would be in London most of the time, with a day trip to Dover that included quite a bit of walking. Always good to be prepared for rain in England. Though London is a style capital, anything other than comfortable shoes would be pointless. We weren’t planning any formal activities but wanted to dress appropriately for tour and tea in Parliament.

Right. Here is my list and a few notes on how I organized everything. Continue reading

Back from Incredible Iceland

by Wendy
I am just back from visiting Iceland with Jack and my parents. It was amazing and we look forward to sharing many stories on the blog. Right now, I think we’re all still in the midst of jet lag, unpacking, organizing, and getting back into the work routine – but I keep stopping to look at photos, jot down a few notes and feel grateful for such an epic vacation.
Continue reading

London Loves

by Wendy
I am interested in the people and cultures of all countries I visit, but will always have a special fondness for the UK. Not only was London the first foreign city I ever visited, but even before I traveled there I gravitated toward many British writers, musicians and films/tv shows. When you think about it, you probably do too. Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, Virginia Woolf, The Beatles, The Police, Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sherlock Holmes, Downton Abbey, Doc Martin, Harry Potter, James Bond – this is only a fraction of a long list. Continue reading