This time last month I was getting ready to head on my first SOLO international trip ever. I guess at 24 years old, I should be ready, right?! I was so nervous though! I was anxious about the flight… anxious about getting through customs… anxious about my passport and credit cards and taking all of my camera gear overseas… but it obviously all turned out JUST fine. More than anything I was EXCITED to get to visit our friends Mike & Erin who have been living in a town called Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England since last spring! When we talked about visiting I always thought Justin would be accompanying me on my first trip over there but we just couldn’t wait! Mike & Erin’s first wedding anniversary was happening and suddenly they just had to have anniversary photos around their new home in Harrogate!! I still can’t believe they hosted me for the week and took me to all their favorite places and let me photograph them. It was so much fun and such a relaxing trip!
WHAT TO SEE IN HARROGATE, NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND:
This was my first time traveling where I had no idea what we were going to do. I just let Erin plan it all (which she seemed to really enjoy)! Mike & Erin are foodies like Justin and me, except they’re way more experienced and educated when it comes to food so I knew I was going to be having some AMAZING food. I’ve never been blown away by my meals in London so I was excited to be out of the city and in the English countryside for some more traditional fare but also just to experience what England is like outside of London! It’s a totally different world and a really beautiful one.
Some fun ways that the English countryside differed from London’s cityscape:
- The accents are different! The best way I can describe it is like a American southern accent in the country vs. someone from the Midwest… or like comparing a Boston accent to someone from Minnesota. I honestly don’t know. It was just really noticeable! Lol I had a hard time understanding a few people!!
- People take their dogs EVERYWHERE! There were dogs at every restaurant and shop we walked into. I loved every second.
- Everything was way more affordable (praise)
- The food and drinks were better! I loved the cask ale I got to try at a 500 year old pub and the scones at afternoon tea. Definitely beats London’s trendy/hipster afternoon tea we went to last year. Lol.
- Much slower pace and chiller vibe but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone!
I loved seeing Harrogate and Yorkshire from the perspective of someone who lives there and just doing all of Erin’s favorite things to do! I can only imagine how lovely it must be to step out of my front door and walk 10 minutes to a coffee shop. I came back from this trip wanting to move to a part of Northern Virginia that would allow me to do that! Actually I think I told Justin I want to go get an apartment in downtown DC but we all know that wouldn’t be nearly the same. Haha. Anyway, here are all the things we did during my time in Harrogate, North Yorkshire!!
– Afternoon Tea at Betty’s! It’s been around for quite some time (like 100 years I think!) and it was so much fun! I felt so fancy having someone pull out my chair for me, unfold my napkin onto my lap, and bring us sugar cubes in a little silver dish. It is just such a fun (and delicious) experience!
– Walking The Stray, the gorgeous park in the middle of the city. Everyone’s dogs are running about and there were flowers blooming and it was just really pretty! It’s also where we took some of Mike & Erin’s Anniversary Photos!
– Breakfast at Baltzersen’s! Erin’s caramel waffle was just amazing!! I couldn’t resist ordering the eggs benedict though. So good!
There are a few places you can see on a quick day trip from Harrogate, too… like Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge, and Appletreewick (yes that is the actual adorable name). We also took the train to Edinburgh one morning, which was every bit as magical as you would imagine it would be. That is coming in another blog post! But here I’m just going to share the rest of the amazing photos from this trip, starting with hugging my dad goodbye at the airport on my way to LONDON all by myself!! (Cue “I’m such an adult now how did this happen” line.)
Can you see the London Eye and Big Ben?! (I was definitely tearing up a little when I got to lay eyes on my favorite city on Earth just briefly as I was arriving in the U.K.!!)
I’ve officially arrived… all the Harry Potter things! LOVE IT.
May or may not have had a salad for breakfast. At 5am EST. No regrets. (I love Europe and how they eat lunch food for the first meal of the day! America needs to get on top of that.)
Wheels up to Leeds where Erin was waiting for me!
My first impression of Harrogate was that it was gorgeously historic. Love.
1. Please note how tired I look after lasting 48 hours on just 3 hours of sleep… I actually felt a little drunk from the exhaustion. I swear it wasn’t because of the Aperol Spritz!
Such cute houses!! When can I move here?
Poppy goes on a LOT of walks. She’s gonna be the healthiest little King Charles there ever was.
One of the main streets in Harrogate! There’s the theatre as well.
World’s friendliest little dog. She is seriously a SOCIALITE.
Erin took me to Coldstones Cut, where you can hike up a little hill and see a pretty view of the countryside. It was lovely! Also noticed that the birds make really strange sounds here but anyway.
Then it was off to Pateley Bridge! Such a cute little town!! I loved browsing the shops.
More sunshine! I got really lucky on this trip… we had really beautiful weather!
Then it was off to Knaresborough! We did all of this in one day. Everything is so close together! I LOVED this little city!! Just gorgeous.
P.S. The ravens are MASSIVE in England. Terrifying. Poppy was horrified.
Afternoon tea! I genuinely think I had tea every day. America step up your GAME.
Whoops I put a photo of the view at Pateley Bridge next to lunch in Knaresborough so this is my disclaimer for anyone planning to see these sites lol. They are about 30 minutes apart from each other. Lunch on the water in Knaresborough is so pretty. I had beef & potato stew and it was to die for!! The British are so good at comfort food.
This is from later in the week when we had some beer & pizza at Major Tom’s in Harrogate! Yep, based on the song. #ILoveTheUK
Breakfast at Hoxton North in Harrogate. SO delicious. The mocha was just amazing too!! I am already asking Erin when I can visit again lol.
On the hunt for some English cheese to take back home to my family!! We ended up buying a BLACK cheddar cheese. It was good I swear!!
Missing my cuddles on the couch with Poppy. And all the amazing French and Italian wine that was readily available.
My last day, Mike and Erin took me to see an abbey (ruins of an old church) near Appletreewick, where we also stopped for some cask ale at a 500 year old pub called Craven Arms. SO, SO, SOO good. If you like smooth beer like me, you would just die!!
The foam was literally creamy. Seriously nowhere else in the world does beer like Europe. I don’t understand. Someone in America figure out how to make beer that is flatter/creamier/richer and not so carbonated!! So much better this way!
MISSING HER ALREADY.
Oh also there are approximately 45 sheep per square mile in Yorkshire.
The Bolton Priory Abbey. It is so cool! Something enchanting about old crumbling church ruins.
Just adore these two and wishing they lived closer so we could double date on a weekly basis.
Mother’s Day in the U.K. is in March and happened to be my last day there. So we had some really good Mother’s Day lunch at The Queen’s Head Inn… steak and ale pie, of course.
Above all I definitely miss being snuggled/kissed/pawed at/annoyed by this little pup… she is so precious and sweet!!
Erin and Mike, thank you for having me and hosting me and doing all the things with me!! I had a genuine English countryside experience that is just priceless and can’t be replicated by someone just coming to visit as a tourist and for that I will be forever grateful. Quite the authentic experience. I can’t WAIT to bring Justin back with me so he can have some cask ale, caramel waffles, pizza with an egg on it, sweetbreads, scones, afternoon tea, and his first Aperol Spritz. Until next time… xoxoxo!!
