I’m pretty much the least spontaneous person you’ll ever meet – I’m so type A that planning is my best friend and doing anything “outside” of the plan just stresses me out. Sure, that may be lame to some, but to those who love structure, you know what I’m talking about! So this October, we didn’t have any plans for my birthday because I had a wedding that weekend. Long story short, the wedding ended up getting canceled and we went to LONDON instead — what!?!? We certainly weren’t planning on going to Europe again this year, but when Rob searched for and found tickets to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child playing only in the West End, we knew it was fate. Two tickets to Heathrow later, we found ourselves on the way just a week after booking! 

London is actually the first city Rob and I visited together in Europe and always wanted to go back. We had so much fun exploring and there is just an incredible amount to see there! We had a blast wandering around and had zero shame in our tourist game, hitting up Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and even the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace! 

Of course the main event was the play! It was, in a word, amazing, and that clearly doesn’t do it justice. I won’t give any spoilers but let me just say if you are a Potterhead and ever had an opportunity to go, just do it. It’s so worth it! 

Since we had been to London before, we knew we also wanted to do a day outside the city. Last time we visited we went to Bath, Lacock and Stonehenge. We loved driving through the Cotswolds on that trip but didn’t get to stop and explore, so that was our destination. We stopped in Oxford on the way to see the historic city. It was definitely overflowing with tourists, but the afternoon tea didn’t disappoint! 

The Cotswold were like another world — truly like something out of an English fairytale. Everywhere we turned was a picture-perfect landscape (you know the photographer in me went crazy!). The quaint villages were surprisingly empty for a weekend and we loved just strolling around, checking out the small shops and beautiful homes. I think we picked a new place we were going to retire in just about every town! 

I’m definitely one who always encourages people to travel somewhere new, but heading back to London for a second time gave us a whole new perspective on this amazing city! We are so in love with the United Kingdom and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again! Now if only I could perfect their accent!