London: Day One

When I last went to London in March to sort out my visa for moving to Chile, I assumed I'd be back in the city again a few weeks later for the same purpose. But of course, like nearly everything in 2020, that didn't happen as planned. Back then, I never imagined that the next time I'd visit the capital would be with my boyfriend, who'd travelled all the way from Chile! 

This year has brought a lot of surprises, both good and bad, but Claudio visiting me has definitely been the best thing that's happened, and perhaps something that wouldn't have happened in normal circumstances. So both of us feel very lucky, all things considered.

We decided to go to London shortly after our quarantine finished (which I'm glad we did, because now it wouldn't be possible to go) and spend a few days there in order to take in all the most famous sights.

When our train arrived at Paddington station, we had a couple of hours to pass before checking into our hotel. So we used the time to find a nice Japanese restaurant for lunch and also to go and see Paddington Bear. It was nice to meet another South American in London!

Once we'd checked in to the hotel and unpacked, it was time to explore! We were staying right by Piccadilly Circus, so it was very easy for us to get around to the major sights of the city. I was excited to be in the middle of the West End with all the famous theatres nearby!

On that first day, I decided it would be a nice idea for us to follow the route I'd walked last time I was in London (Trafalgar Square to Chinatown), but going in the other direction, starting from Chinatown. This time, the lanterns there were different, and everything looked even more colourful than before.

Next we had a look around Leicester Square, where we came across famous characters such as Mr Bean and Batman (it's hard to see him, but he's on the roof of the cinema).

And then we walked to Trafalgar Square, which is always so impressive. Every time I see it, it's like I'm seeing it for the first time. Of course, it was a great place for taking photos, especially as it was evening, and the buildings were lit up.

By that point it was getting too dark to do much more sightseeing, so we headed back to the hotel. But on our way, we took the opportunity to visit the Harry Potter shop and also see the theatre where the Harry Potter And The Cursed Child play had been taking place before the pandemic.

Our first day in London was brilliant and on our second day, we got to see even more of the city's famous sights. I'll be writing about our trips on the London Eye River Cruise and the London Eye (among a few other things) very soon!

Read about London: Day Two here, London: Day Three here and London: Day Four here!

Malmesbury With Claudio

Following our afternoon in Cirencester, our second post-quarantine trip was to Malmesbury, the town where I went to secondary school and which I blogged about back in June.

Like I did in June, we visited the most famous sights, such as the abbey and the Market Cross.

This time we were able to go inside the abbey, which was great, because its interior is so grand and impressive.

It was also really nice to see this little waterfall by the long stay car park.

It was great to introduce Claudio to a couple of the most important towns in my local area before we headed off on our longer travel adventure. Our next stop was London, and I have a lot to write about our time there!

Cirencester With Claudio

Claudio and I just got back from a very busy but incredible week spent in London and Stockholm, and I can't wait to write about all the different places we visited. But before going away, we managed to squeeze in a couple of trips to places in the local area after our two-week quarantine period finished.

First of all we visited Cirencester, a town in Gloucestershire which I previously wrote about in May. 

Cirencester is considered to be the capital of the Cotswolds, one of the prettiest areas in Britain, so it was the perfect place to introduce Claudio to travelling in England. 

We spent a really nice afternoon exploring the town on foot and seeing lots of cute dogs, interesting cars, and of course picturesque sights, such as the castle...

...Cirencester Park...

...and other places around the town.

Finally we went to the Abbey Grounds Park and visited a place I don't think I'd seen before: the Roman town wall. It was interesting to discover a bit more of Cirencester's Roman history after visiting the amphitheatre for the first time back in June.

All in all, it was a great first trip out after quarantine. Cirencester is a town that attracts tourists from all over the world, and we both really enjoyed seeing its sights.

The following day, we explored another town in the Cotswolds: Malmesbury. I'll be blogging about that next!

Hello From Quarantine!

Hello from quarantine, where I've spent nearly two weeks with my boyfriend Claudio and my parents!

It's actually been a great experience (a million times better than the quarantine between March and May!) and it's been really nice to relax at home together. I've been working, but we've still had plenty of time to spend doing things like watching TV and movies, cooking and working out. And because the village where I live is quiet, we've been able to go out for daily walks without coming into close contact with anyone, so we've been to see my favourite neighbourhood stray cat a couple of times, and played football and done workouts in the park lots of times. I also turned 25 earlier this week, which I find slightly alarming(!), but I had a lovely birthday.

Even though my village isn't the most exciting place in the world, Claudio really likes it here and is enjoying discovering the way of life in the English countryside!

But all the same, we're not going to be hanging around here in Wiltshire for much longer! Next week we'll be going up to London on the train, where we'll spend a few days sightseeing. We've already booked trips on the river cruise and the London Eye!

Then we'll head to the airport and travel further north than either of us have ever been before, to Stockholm, Sweden! It looks like an amazing city and we're so excited to explore it. Just need to keep our fingers crossed that it won't end up being removed from the travel corridor list on Thursday...

We had quite big plans to explore Europe together (in particular France, Italy and Greece), which we thought would be possible by this point in the year. However, those plans will have to wait for another time. France remains on the quarantine list, so it looks like the only part of Paris Claudio will get to see is Charles de Gaulle airport...

But Italy is the big disappointment. Claudio's great-grandfather emigrated to Chile from Genoa, and we were really hoping to visit that city, along with Pisa, Rome and the Vatican City. So when Italy ended up on the quarantine list this week, we had to rethink our plans.

Greece, Sweden and Germany are the only three remaining European countries on the travel corridor list, and our first thought was to go to Athens and/or Santorini. But then I discovered that permanent residents of countries like Chile are not allowed to enter Greece, even from the UK.

Luckily, Sweden allows all travellers coming from the European Economic Area to enter, regardless of their citizenship. It also seems like a country that is handling the pandemic really sensibly, by allowing people to carry on living their lives whilst applying common sense at the same time. So yesterday we got our flights (flexible tickets) and hotel (free cancellation) booked and made a list of places to see in Stockholm! 

After we get back home, we'll have a few weeks left to explore places in the local area, including some that I've written about over recent months as well as some new ones. That is, of course, barring another national lockdown, which I'm praying doesn't happen, as it certainly isn't necessary down here in the South West, where cases are very low.

I'd hoped that Claudio's first trip to Europe wouldn't be as complicated and uncertain as this, but I guess that's just how things are at the moment. In future years, I hope we'll be able to visit France, Italy, Greece and many other countries together!

However, we're very happy to be able to travel in England and Sweden this time. And now there's only a few days to go until we start our next travel adventure! I can't wait to explore London and Stockholm, and to document our trip here when we get back!

A Morning in Old Town, Swindon

Earlier this week I spent a morning in the town where I was born: Swindon! 

It's fair to say that as a town, Swindon doesn't have the best of reputations, and people often make jokes about it being a dump. The central shopping area is pretty much dead, some neighbourhoods have high crime rates, and it contains an array of terrifying roundabouts, including the infamous Magic Roundabout.

However, it's not all bad! The Old Town area is actually quite an interesting place to explore, and it's where you can find the Swindon Museum, as well as an array of independent shops and cafés.

On Monday morning, my mum wanted to look at some shops there, so I took the opportunity to go for a walk in the Town Gardens, which I think is the nicest place in the whole of Swindon. It features an old bandstand, an aviary for budgies and cockatiels, and lots of cute squirrels!

While in town, I passed the Swindon Arts Centre, a theatre and cultural venue. This was where I did my Year 10 Work Experience all the way back in 2011, and I have great memories of the week I spent there.

Afterwards, we met up at the Core Juicery, a café with plenty of vegan options, including one of my favourite foods, avocado on toast!

Other great places to eat in Old Town include the Moshan Island Grill Caribbean restaurant, Fabio's Italian restaurant, and Los Gatos tapas bar.

Overall, Swindon isn't exactly well-known as a travel destination, but like every other town, it has its good parts as well as its not-so-good parts. It's also an ideal base for exploring the UK, as it's right in between London and Cardiff, and is close to popular tourist destinations like the Cotswolds, Oxford and Bath. 

I've got no more trips planned for the time being, as my boyfriend will be arriving here in a few days and we'll have to start our quarantine! But I plan to work on this blog during that time, and of course start planning our travel adventures for when we're allowed out again!