January | 2019 | Meg's Next Adventure

I spent the last few weeks before my return to the states in Gloucester with family! We were able to have some great adventures during this time!

I spent lots of time hanging around with family! Terri and I enjoyed a couple of walks up Robinswood Hill where we got some great nature views and views of Gloucester! We also enjoyed a nice day at the spa where we enjoyed a great afternoon tea and the sauna, jacuzzi, and pool! We also had a birthday celebration and went out to eat for Sonia’s birthday! I enjoyed hearing about all of their adventures on their cruise of Asia! So cool!

I got a chance to visit Uncle Frank in Northampton again! Though this time I got to meet two of his daughters and their sons! They have 7 boys between the two of them and I loved getting a chance to meet them all! It was a lovely visit and a great time!

The Victorian Christmas Market came to town just before I left so I was able to check that out a couple times! I went one afternoon before I went to see the Crimes of Grindewald and enjoyed lots of free samples lol! Then Terri, Tyler, Olivia, and I went again and we enjoyed a nice afternoon of ice skating! Tyler got really good as time went on! Although, he seemed to enjoy me pushing him around the most haha 🙂 I sure will miss these Christmas Markets, that’s for sure! They are simply magical!

We ended my time there with a fantastic Thanksgiving celebration! We gathered all the family together and had a great little celebration and send off!

Off I went to London where I spent the day with my cousin! We went on a tour of Tower Bridge and went on the Tower Bridge walk! It was really interesting and awesome!! Then I walked around St. Paul’s Cathedral a bit, before heading to the John Snow pub to see John Snow’s Water Pump (The water pump that he figured out was causing the outbreak of Cholera in 1854) then walked around Piccadilly and Oxford Street a bit more before meeting up with Marguerite again to go to the Troubadour – a pub in London where many famous faces have been including Jimi Hendrix! We had a nice time listening to live music and even made freidns with a girl traveling from Michigan! I love the cozy pub atmosphere! So friendly!

I am so very grateful for all of my family in England who welcomed me with open arms! Having a place to go to on weekends and people to visit and relatives who were so close and caring made me feel not so far from home!

They’ve been the best and I’ve loved every minute I got to spend with everyone! They’ve truly made this experience better for me! Though it was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but like Pooh said “I’m lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” and I truly am. For all of the friendships and family I have in both countries that make saying goodbye hard, I am so blessed and thankful. ❤ I love you all!

❤ Meg

P.S.

This may be my last post! I’m not sure what I will do with this blog now that I’m back! Life is always an adventure, so I suppose I could post more, but I may not and I may just post one last post – like a reflection piece about the whole experience! TBD! 🙂

Fright Night fun!

Night time stroll up Robinswood Hill

Gloucester City Lights

Aunt Ter and me

Hike up Robinswood Hill by day

Tea time

We traded tea in for champagne

Spa day!

Spa day

Christmas Market!

cof

Stopped in to the Bar for a mulled wine!

Victorian Christmas Market

Ty and I on the bus into town! He loves the view!

Ty and me

Ty and me!

Look at him go!

sdr

Nutcracker!

Ride on the merry-go-round

Ter and Olivia

Photo booth fun!

Video chat with the squad

Someone was happy about his early Christmas present

cof

View from tower bridge

Fun with the mirror above the walk!

Marguerite and I

Tower Bridge walk

dav

View from the bride

Tour of the old steam room

Walking through rainy London!

Tower of London

St. Paul’s Cathedral

St. Paul’s

John Snow’s Water Pump

Christmas Lights on Oxford Street

Christmas Lights

sdr

sdr

Christmas Tree

Oxford Street

Tardis

It’s no English breakfast but it was a decent enough breakfast

Just one slight mishap, my luggage broke just as I got to Heathrow lol just a minor inconvenience

Did a bit of shopping before taking off!

Finally made it to Omaha!

Homaha 🙂

My final days in Oxford approached quickly! My first days in Oxford are still so fresh in my mind it’s hard to believe that this is the end! I decided to hop to London one day to visit my cousin and to see a few more things! I visited the Hendrix and Handle house which was really cool! One of the workers told us a bunch of great stories and we had a really nice chat with him! I enjoyed exploring some streets I haven’t seen yet! We also stepped into a huge Victoria’s Secret that had like 5 floors! It was crazy! It also made me realize that they must tone down the Victoria’s Secret sex appeal for us Nebraskans because it was a bit more R rated there haha. Marguerite and I had a nice night out in Brixton and went to a couple of really fun pubs! Then the next morning we went to the National Gallery and saw London’s smallest police station in Trafalgar Square. I came across this on Pintrest recently and hadn’t known about it the previous times I visited Trafalgar so we had to check it out!

Then, we headed back into Oxford! We walked around the University a bit and I picked up a few more souvenirs for everyone back home. Then it was time to get ready for one last night out in Oxford! 😦 We gathered a bunch of the crew and went to our usual haunt, Hank’s! We had such a fun night! I loved seeing everyone and hanging out one last time before I headed to Gloucester and then back to the US! It really was a great time!!

The next morning I took a solo walk around the city. I just wanted to take a walk and take it all in! It was pretty incredible to walk around Oxford and have memories pop into my head wherever I went. It made me realize that I really did make the most of my time there. Even though there will always be things I wish I would’ve done or wish I would’ve had time for, I was able to see so much and experience so much and that’s what I have to remember to focus on! All the things I DID get to do!

Then, it was time to gather up the last of my things and head to Gloucester!

It was hard to say goodbye to everyone. We had all grown so close. We were all experiencing a similar thing – we were all far from home in a new place and it was really great to go through that journey with people who understood it. I am so happy I was able to meet so many people from different countries and backgrounds. It helped me learn more and grow as a person. I will be forever grateful that I met all of these fantastic people. I don’t know how I would have survived this journey without them! I met some of the most genuine and amazing people and made lifelong friendships along the way. In the midst of the confusion of graduating from undergrad and trying to figure out what to do next, this opportunity came knocking on my door very unexpectedly, and boy, am I happy I took it by the horns!

That’s all I have to say for now. I leave you with this:

To all of my Oxford friends,

Thank you. Thank you for your friendship. Thank you for being you. I love you all and I miss you all. I can’t wait to see you again!

❤ Meg