Warning: This post is extremely personal and filled with blatant sentimentality. You’ve been warned.

Today, I’m leaving for Britain for the first time in almost 3 years.

My wife and I last set foot in Britain in March of 2007 and it seems like that was a lifetime ago. I was still a student – living irresponsibly on students loans. We were extremely poor and had no business traveling internationally. We actually ran out of money halfway through the trip. That was not good! And it can be said that the financial damage created by that trip is still affecting us today and was one of the many reasons why we could not go until now – when the trip was provided to us.

There have been many starts and stops. We even had plane tickets purchased almost two years ago but when we got the great news that my wife was pregnant – we decided the responsible thing to do would be to cancel the trip (the whole baby thing didn’t work out – that’s really all I need to say about the most horrible experience we ever went though).

We even planned a trip for earlier this year and that fell through. We resolved to plan another one for November and we had to cancel those plans to back in August. Then, we got the great news that we had won a trip from British Airways. The November trip was back on!

I’ve been through 3 ‘real’ jobs in addition to working several second and third jobs, working my ass off wondering if I would ever make enough money to go on fabulous vacations again. I’ve now settled in the best job yet at a great company, with great co-workers and a challenging, rewarding job. And I finally make enough money so that vacations are possible now.

I started this blog two years ago out of the frustration that there had to be a way to write my way to great Britain. Not a day has gone by in the last 3 years that I haven’t wanted to go to Britain again. I’m obsessed. Britain is the second love in my life (my wife would argue the first…). It drives everyone I know crazy. So, I started this blog to channel that passion into something useful.

We’ve now grown into the world’s largest Anglophile website and the site itself has acheived the goal of actually getting me back to Britain. You see, I won the British Airways contest because they see a future in this blog – they saw my passion – my readers – all our great content – and they believed it had value.

That is the ultimate reward from all of this.

Anglotopia is going to be going to some amazing places in the next year. My goal is for it to somehow get me to Britain at least once or twice a year. I can dream right? My dreams have come true so far!

Now, I couldn’t leave the country without thanking everyone who made it possible for this trip to happen. Even though hard work made it possible – I did not do it on my own.

So, here’s a list of people I need to thank:

• British Airways – For selecting me as a winner
• Paras Shah – For urging me to enter
• My wonderful parents who always encouraged me to follow my dreams and listen to me go on and on about Britain. Especially to my fellow Anglophile mother who took me there for the first time so many years ago.
• Lisa Coulson – The blog would not be where it is without you and your fantastic columns. Thank you for taking a chance on us and writing for us.
• Mike Harling – Same goes for our second columnist – Mike – thanks for your fantastic writing
• To our other great regular columnists:
• Kat Martin
• Mary Kate Feeney
• Carl Gardner
• Anna
• Dana Franks
• Mandy Littlefield
• Denis and Francis
• Mandy Katz
• Katherine Kern
• William McAdoo
• My Ex-employer – For the year of employment and the lesson that I needed to search for greener pastures.
• My Ex-cowokers – For believing in my strange dreams and encouraging them – for listening me talk about England on end.
• My Current Employer – for empowering me to work hard again and for, well, paying me.
• My Awesome Boss Michelle O’Hagan – who cares just as much about my passions as my work and gave me the time off for the trip.
• My Awesome co-workers – For creating the best environment to work in, ever. Stay awesome guys.
• To Anglotopia’s Advertisers – Your support has helped the site grow and helped pay for this trip
• Michele Neylon at Blacknight.com – Took a chance on me and threw some freelance work my way and then a ton more which helped me dig out of some financial holes and buy an SLR camera for the trip. Recent work also paid for our stay at Updown Cottage.
• James K. Barath for believing in me along with all my Valpo peeps.
• To anyone I’ve solicited free blogging/twitter/seo/social media advice from in the past few years
• All my Twitter Followers on @Anglotopia and @jonathanwthomas for your friendship and advice.
• And of course to every person who’s ever visited Anglotopia and read a post (and clicked an ad!)

And last but not least -

I must thank my lovely wife of 3 years, Jacqueline Collette Thomas who lovingly and grudgingly puts up with my strange obsession and supports it with all her heart. We’ve had a rough road over the past three years – the hardest of our lives. But we made it through together. I would not exchange that for anything in the world. Whether you believe me or not – I do love YOU more than Britain. Remember that! This trip means one thing and I want you to hold it to your heart: we’ve arrived. Wherever things go for us in the next 100 years – these next few months we can safely say we’ve arrived and the next phase of our grown up lives will begin.

Now, if you all don’t mind, I have a plane to catch.

A New Dream Achieved – Everyone I Know Must Read This Post is a post from: Anglotopia.net

My Best Picture of Gold Hill

When I publish this post I will actually be in Britain in two weeks. Just 14 days. It’s been almost three years since I set foot in the green and pleasant land that is Britain. It’s been a long, tough journey with several trips planned and several trips canceled. At one point we even had plane tickets purchased, but had to cancel them at the last minute.

Not a day has gone by for the last three years that I didn’t think “How can I get back to Britain?”

It’s driven my wife mad. It drove me to start this blog and without this blog I would not be getting on an airplane to London in 14 days.

I’ve always had trouble quantifying my love for Britain. WHY oh WHY do I love Britain so much? I sort of have an answer.

To me, Britain, England, London – it’s all about dreams and the power to fulfill them yourself.

This is an essay that not many people will care to read – but if you make it to the end, I hope that you understand where I’m coming from. Maybe you have a similar story – maybe you feel exactly the same way.

The Poster

While my interest in all things Britain goes back well into my youth, a particular moment is really the beginning of it all. I was in Hobby Lobby during my high school years, I don’t remember why I was there but I was there with one of my best friends.

I loved having posters of far away places on my bedroom walls. I wanted to travel and see the world. I was probably the youngest subscriber to National Geographic Traveler. So, whenever I was in a store that sold posters, you can bet I’d always take a look and see if there was somewhere new that I could hang on my wall.

I came across a poster of a quaint English Village. It didn’t say really say where it was, just ‘Gold Hill Dorset’ which sounded completely foreign to me. If I came across it now, I would call it ‘chocolate box perfect.’ It was the cottages of Gold Hill, bathed in golden sunlight with the Blackmore Vale lit up proudly behind it. I thought the poster was rather cool, it looked like England and I decided that the poster was going to come home with me.

I hung it up on my wall next to my bed. Not a day went by that I didn’t look at that poster and wonder, could I ever go to a place like that? It looked like paradise to someone miserable in high school.

High School

I was miserable in high school. I wasn’t popular (but I wasn’t unpopular) just quiet and antisocial. I went through the motions of high school because I always had one foot out. I was not meant to be there. I wasn’t learning much. I was wasting my time. It was just an obstacle in the way of The Rest of My Life.

I spent my high school years flitting from class to class, wishing for it to be over. Getting a crush on girl after girl and it never going anywhere beyond stupid love poetry. To keep it brief, I was very lonely. But I didn’t really mind.

The toughest part about high school (studying was not a challenge for me) was having to get up so early every day. I don’t do early very well. It was painful to get up every morning for school. To get dressed, eat, get on that bus in the cold of winter and go to a place you didn’t want to be more than anything was cruel.

Yet, every morning, I’d look up at that poster and think “the day won’t be so bad, because one day, I’ll get to go there.”

Where is There?

Jackie Decorating For Our First Christmas - Note the Poster Behind Her

Thanks to the wonders of the internet – it didn’t take me long to figure out where Gold Hill was. It is located in a small English Village in the county of Dorset exotically called Shaftesbury.

I looked it up in my guidebooks (these were the days before Wikipedia mind you) and realized that it was a place I had been looking at for years. When many people think of England, they think of a scene similar to Gold Hill. Thatched, limewashed cottages, crooked and barely standing on a cobblestoned street.

I wanted to go there so bad. I’d always been taught in life by my wonderful parents, that if you want something, well then by all means go get it. It’s your life and you can do what you want with it.

When I went to England for the first time at 17 – I was not able to go to Shaftesbury. I was with my mother, neither of us had been to England before. We didn’t even know how we would get there. We were afraid to leave the unfamiliar confines of London for the unfamiliar wilderness that was rural England. Even though I hated London on my first trip, I resolved to come back. I expected to Love London one day. It was just going to take more than one date. Shaftesbury would wait – it’d been there for a thousand years, it was going anywhere.

The First Trip to Shaftesbury

By the time I was actually in a position to go to Shaftesbury, I was in a completely different place in my life. Yet, I still clung onto the dream of walking down that cobbled hill one day.

I was in college. I had met the love of my life and was going to marry her. The future was bright. I wasn’t lonely and miserable anymore. Yet the desire to see Shaftesbury in the flesh still burned strongly inside me.

One day I was regaling my girlfriend (now my wife) about stories from my first trip to England and she was very impressed and had done some international traveling herself. She said that she’d love to go to London one day.

I responded, “So, why don’t we?”

She had unwittingly unleashed a can of worms. We decided that we would go to London. She didn’t really believe it would happen – our relationship was still new enough to where she didn’t realize what I was actually capable of. She had yet to learn the lesson that when I set my mind to doing something, I damn well do it.

She didn’t really believe we were going until I pressed ‘buy’ on BritishAirways.com and bought those first fateful tickets.

It was a whirlwind trip that culminated in a surprise trip to Paris where I proposed to her on the Eiffel Tower. After we had returned to London from Paris, we were sitting in the hotel room with only a couple days of our trip left. I sort of lamented to my wife that I don’t think we’ll be able to go to Shaftesbury. We didn’t know how to travel by train into England. We didn’t know about train timetables or changes or super saver fares. After our hellish experience in Paris (we were pickpocketed), we were rather adventured out. Cost was an issue as we were running out of money.

But my newly minted fiance knew what Shaftesbury meant to me.

Finally she said, “Jon, you’ve been to Britain twice now and you haven’t been to the place of your dreams. That’s ridiculous.”

She picked up the phone and called the train station and asked everything we needed to know and booked our train tickets for the next day. Clearly I had made the right choice to propose to her.

Waterloo

We arose early the next day. The plan was to travel to Shaftesbury, spend a few hours there and then return back to London. It was going to be a long journey. It takes two hours to get there.

And it was a nightmare. I learned that day what engineering works were and also the false concern showed by customer service workers on the British railways. It took us many hours, a bus ride and another train later just to arrive in Gillingham, Dorset, which wasn’t even our destination. Shaftesbury doens’t have a train station, the nearest being Gillingham. We had to take a cab from Gillingham to Shaftesbury.

While the journey was pretty arduous – I was having the time of my life, I was seeing bits of England I had never seen before, I got to travel on a train, travel on a motorway and pretend to be some sort of sophisticated traveler. It was a grand day out. And it had only just begun.

The cab driver was a delight – not quite believing that two young Americans had found there way to his little corner of England – which he thought was boring. He droves us through green rolling hills – the weather was overcast and not very pleasant – but I didn’t care. It was England. I was in the countryside – a place I had not yet been.

The cabbie dropped us on on Shaftesbury High Street – right in front of the town hall and told us that to get to Gold Hill you had to walk behind the town hall and make your way there.

So, we did just that.

The moment we walked around that corner and Gold Hill was revealed to us is one of the happiest moments in my life.

That First Moment on Gold Hill Captured - Note My Lack of Beard

It didn’t quite register that there I was, the place I had dreamed about for so long. I was at Gold Hill. My feet were resting on the cobbles. I was taking a picture with my own camera. I could smell the rich country air. Feel the cool spring breeze. Hear the birds singing. It was a quiet day in March – a Monday in fact and we pretty much had Gold Hill to ourselves.

We sat on the benches of the Salt Cellar – the small cafe at the top of the hill (now a huge restaurant) and I just stared in marvel at where I was. A dream given reality. I could scarcely believe I was staring at those thatched roofs – those limewashed cottages, nestled together on the hill.

Not satisfied with just sitting there – we decided to go for a walk. We walked down Gold HIll, back up it, back out to the High Street. Explored the shops. Walked down Shooter’s Lane and explored the quiet country lanes. As we did this – we were presented with four seasons of weather. Rain. Sleet. Sun. Cold. It was miserable and wonderful. Paradise.

The Happy Couple

We ate lunch at Wharfe’s Restuarant and had the grand tour from their eccentric owner. Lunch was delicious and English. The place dates back nearly 800 years. It was an amazing experience. After that, we walked down a short lane and was presented with the other great view that Shaftesbury has – over the Blackmore Vale towards Melbury Hill. Many pictures were taken.

After that, with the weather still not quite cooperating (by American Standards) we stopped by Gold Hill one last time and then we headed back to the High Street where the cab was waiting to take us back to the train station. And that was our first odyssey to Shaftesbury, Dorset.

I was in love.

The Future

We’ve been back to Shaftesbury twice – each time we’ve stayed longer and longer. I’ve never fallen out of love with the place and everyday I think about being there. In two weeks I will be there. Instead of staying in our usual B&B – we’re going to get to sleep in an actual cottage on Gold Hill – the dream now comes full circle.

As for that fateful poster – we got sick of moving it every time we moved so I finally gave it to my parents. My dad took it and put it in his office. It’s a source of pride for him. He enjoys looking at it and telling visitors that it’s a real place, his son dreamed of going there and actually did. I’ve thought about taking the poster back now that we’ve settled – but I think it has a good home now.

Everyone has a dream and not everyone realizes that they have within them the power to make their dream a reality.

What’s your dream?

Dreams of Britain: My Love Affair with Shaftesbury Dorset Finally Explained is a post from: Anglotopia.net

London is an expensive city but that’s not going to stop people from wanting to visit it. So, you need to be a savvy traveller in order to make the most of your London trip.

Most of the major London tourist attractions are very expensive to get into – some as much as £25 per person! Thankfully, in my trip planning, I’ve discovered an affordable way around overpaying for all the best London tourist attractions.

It’s called the London Pass. You may have heard of it – but basically you pay one lower price for the London pass and it gives you free access to 55 London Tourist attractions – not only that but you can also skip to the front of the line. And anyone who’s waited in line at Madam Tussaud’s knows how miserable line standing in London can be.

Here’s a list of all the benefits of buying a London Pass:

Free entry to your choice of over 55 Attractions – including the Tower of London, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Windsor Castle, HMS Belfast and many more

A free 128 page Guidebook – available in 7 different languages containing a wealth of detailed information including maps and directions as well as great tips on how to make the most of the city

Skip the Queue at Top London Attractions – Save Time and make the most out of your sightseeing trip by skipping the long queues at Tower of London, London Zoo, Windsor Castle, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace

Added Travel Option – add a London Travelcard to your Pass which enables you to use all public buses, the London Underground and trams ensuring that you make the most efficient use of your time

Save on up to £420 worth of entrance fees – that’s the aggregate price of all Adult entrances to Attractions contained within the 6 day Pass

Other Special Offers – along with the Guidebook, we will provide you with access to other great offers available to visitors to London, including discounted prices on West End theatre tickets, restaurant discounts and much more!

How much does a London Pass cost?

They start at £39 for a 1 day Adult pass. They also sell passes with travel on the London Underground for a little bit more. If you’re interested in finding out more about the prices and all the benefits of the London pass, check out this website here.

Best of all – right now Anglotopia can offer an exclusive 5% off coupon so that you can save even more money on your trip to london. Just go here and enter coupon code londpas05.

So, to give you an example of the savings you can have by getting a London Pass – here’s a breakdown of the Top 10 Tourist Attractions in London and how much they cost to get into.

Top 10 Paid Tourist Attractions in London

The Tower of London

The ancient stones reverberate with dark secrets, priceless jewels glint in fortified vaults and pampered ravens strut the grounds. The Tower of London is one of the world’s most famous fortresses and has seen service as royal palace, prison, armoury and even zoo! It is still home to the Crown Jewels and Beefeaters.

To celebrate the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the Throne, a stunning exhibition of the famous monarch’s personal arms and armour ever shown in the UK is included in your admission to the Tower. Henry VIII: Dressed to Kill includes original artefacts never previously displayed in the UK and is included in admission until 17 January 2010.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £17.00

Normal Entry Price: Child: £9.50

Thames River Boat Cruise

A Thames river cruise is without doubt one of the best ways to see London, weaving through the heart of the city and past so many of its most famous attractions. See and experience the sights and splendour of this great city from the relaxed comfort of a City Cruises modern, all-weather boats with open upper decks and spacious lower saloons with panoramic windows.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £11.50

Normal Entry Price: Child: £5.75

St Paul’s Cathedral

Come and experience the majesty and glory of St. Paul’s Cathedral, it’s iconic dome dominates the London skyline. Built between 1675 and 1710, St Paul’s Cathedral is widely considered to be crowning achievement of the glittering career of Sir Christopher Wren.

The Whispering Gallery at this London cathedral is famous for its acoustics and is 30 metres above the cathedral floor, while below, in the elegant and spacious crypt, are the tombs and memorials of such historical luminaries as Admiral Lord Nelson and the Duke Of Wellington

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £11.00

Normal Entry Price: Child: £3.50

Windsor Castle

A must see for London visitors, Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world and official residence her majesty the Queen. The magnificent State Apartments are lavishly furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection, including masterpieces by Rubens, Holbein, Brueghel and Van Dyck. You can get there from London Paddington in around 30 minutes

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £15.50

Normal Entry Price: Child: £9.00

Tower Bridge Exhibition

One the most impressive structures and sites in the capital, Tower Bridge in London has stood over the River Thames since 1894 and is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.

Learn about the history of the Bridge and how it was built. Interactive displays and videos provide an entertaining and informative guide to Tower Bridge in London and its place in the history of the River Thames.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £7.00

Normal Entry Price: Child: £3.00

Kensington Palace and The Orangery

Generations of royal women have shaped this stylish palace and elegant gardens from Queen Mary to Victoria and, more recently Diana, Princess of Wales.

Today a unique collection of dresses worn by Princess Diana, including some never before displayed at Kensington Palace are shown in Diana Fashion and Style, an exhibition that charts the early days from the 1983 silk evening dress by Donald Campbell to the full blown style icon, demonstrated by the sleek black Gianni Versace cocktail dress, worn in 1995.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £12.50

Normal Entry Price: Child: £6.25

Hampton Court Palace

The flamboyant Henry VIII is most associated with this majestic palace, which he extended and developed after acquiring it in the 1520s. Its many royal occupants have ensured the palace has fabulous furnishings, tapestries and paintings. It is set in 60 acres of formal gardens, which include the famous maze and the Great Vine.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £14.00

Normal Entry Price: Child: £7.00

London Bridge Experience and The London Tombs

The London Bridge Experience is a two-part tourist attraction situated within the arches of London Bridge.

Firstly enjoy a fascinating trip back in time as the London Bridge Experience delves through the history of the bridge, from Druids through to Victorians, meeting Vikings, Romans, and some creepy medieval characters along the way. Featuring real life actors, stunning special effects and animations, this is unique interactive adventure really does takes you back in time.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £21.95

Normal Entry Price: Child: £16.95

Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms

The Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms are dedicated to the life of the ?greatest Briton’, Sir Winston Churchill, and the secret underground headquarters that were the nerve centre of Britain’s war effort.

The first London museum of its kind, the Churchill Museum covers all ninety years of Winston Churchill’s life, divided into five chapters: his early year’s as British Prime Minister starting May 1940; his later years; his childhood; his early political career and the period famously known as the ‘Gathering Storm’.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £12.95

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Tour and Exhibition

London sightseeing visitors can enjoy a trip back in time with a visit to the spectacular Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. Situated on London’s Bankside, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre reconstruction the original building that housed Shakespeare’s theatre in London, an open-air playhouse where the playwright penned many of his greatest plays.

Normal Entry Price: Adult: £10.50

Normal Entry Price: Child: £6.50

So check out the official London Pass website and find out how you can save a boatload of money on your next trip to Lonodn.

What’s Your Favorite London Attraction?

Dreams of Britain: How to Get Into London’s Top 10 Tourist Attractions for Almost Nothing – London on the Cheap is a post from: Anglotopia.net

It’s beginning to sink in that I’ll be in London in a matter of weeks. Planning is going ahead at full steam here at Anglotopia central.

I could not put into words how excited I am about this trip – then I read this recent blog post by Stephen Fry and he really has a way with words.

From his blog here:

I walked into town this morning, four and a half miles gently downhill into the bowl of London, the chalk basin where Soho, Mayfair, Bloomsbury, Marylebone and divers other of the villages that constitute the West End have their jostling, bumptious beings.

There’s that thing in the air. That thing. That thing that goes with the first yellowing of the leaf, the hint of chill in the air, the extra urgency of bicycles and the bright blue brand new George of Asda V-necks worn by schoolchildren on the pavements starting the new school year. That thing that stings the nostrils and fills the brain with an equal measure of dread and delight.

London in the Fall is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to be there.

I just hope it’s not too bloody cold!

Dreams of Britain – Stephen Fry Has a Way With Words is a post from: Anglotopia.net

As it gets ever closer to my trip to London in November, I’m starting to decide which iPhone apps I plan to take on our trip. This will be my first time to London with an iPhone and I can’t wait to make use of it. The iPhone will be an incredibly useful tool for planning and while I’m on a trip to Britain.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of London iPhone apps, it’s merely a list of the best ones that I could get a demo of. If you’re a London iPhone app developer and your app isn’t on the list, feel free to contact me so I can review it. If an app has a concurrent London iPad version, we’ll provide a separate link.

Without further ado, here is the ultimate list of London iPhone travel applications.

Lonely Planet London City Guide

By far the best London Guidebook on the market right now. It’s polished, works well and is feature packed. It includes all the great travel tips and information that you’d find in a guide book. It has a ‘nearby’ functionality that will show you what’s going on around you. Has a great map with all points of interest highlighted and a library of images of London. You can do an app wide search. By far my favorite feature is the ability to create a ‘favorites’ list so you can easily access all the things you want to do from one spot.

Pros: Featured packed, slick interface
Cons: No Tube Map

Price: $5.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

Spoonfed Radar

This is a MUST have App for anyone going to London. Spoonfed is a great resource for seeing ‘what’s on’ in London and their innovative app will use your location to show you everything that’s going on around you. This app will be perfect for when I need something to do and have a few hours to kill.

Price: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

London Tube

My favorite out of all the other London Tube apps. It provides Beck’s classic map of the London Underground – which works in landscape mode – directory of Tube Lines and stops, stations, GPS locate function and a route planner. It’s a perfect little app and will be indispensable to anyone traveling to London would doesn’t want to look lame always looking at a Tube map.

Pros: Actual Tube Map, landscape mode, GPS, ridiculously cheap
Cons: There Aren’t Any

Price: $.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

Click to Download iPad Version:

Love Art: National Gallery iPhone App

This is a pretty impressive app from the National Gallery in London. It’s filled with great videos, audio about paintings and so much more. The images included are high quality and this will make an excellent companion to a visit at the National Gallery. The National Gallery should definitely be on your list if it’s your first time in London

Price: Free

Click to Download in iTunes

London City Slicker

A lot of work went into this app and it shows. London City Slicker is a great guide to London with excellent written text (not taken from the Wikipedia), images, audio and maps. The audio is informative and you can pause and resume it, unlike the London Audio Guide. The maps aren’t internal but that’s going to change with the next version, according to the developer. The new version will also have added video tours about the history of London. This app is a good buy.

Pros: Information rich, easy to use
Cons: No way to search the app.

Price: $2.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

London Mini A-Z

Now, I LOVE this app. It provides the classic London A-Z map in a easy to use app. It’s easy to search, easy to read and has GPS location. I don’t like how you can’t zoom in and out and there isn’t a landscape mode. However, this app will be going on my trip!

Pros: Awesome Map
Cons: Needs more functionality, no landscape mode

Price: $9.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

Click to Download for iPad:

Frommer’s London

This was one of the first London guidebooks to come out on the iPhone. It’s improved quite a bit since the original release. All the information on the app is offline so it’s perfect for traveling. It’s filled with useful information on restaurants, hotels, shopping, etc. It also has an excellent London guidebook that gives the rundown on traveling in London. Overall it’s a very nice app and I’m definitely going to use it on my Trip.

Pros: Tons of info
Cons: No Tube Map, needs more maps

Price: $4.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

Top 10 London

I love the DK books and I use them for all my London planning. So, I was happy to see that they had an iPhone app. It’s a useful little app packed with lots of great information, decent maps and a currency converter. Lots of great info!

Pros: Plenty of Info
Cons: No Tube Map

Price: $7.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

London Free

Good little app. The user interface isn’t that great, but it makes up for it with all the information it contains. It’s a database of all the free things you can do in London. Has contact information, location on a map and the closing/opening times. You can make a list of your favorite locations so they’re easy to find again. Very useful.

Pros: Lots of Great Info
Cons: No search function

Price: $.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

London JamCams

Pretty cool little app that lets you view the traffic cams from all over London. Great for dreaming about London when you’re not there. Great for checking the traffic when you are there. I love pulling this app up and just watching London go by – it’s not quite as good as actually being there, but it’s still a lot of fun none the less. There are other London webcam apps – but this is by far the best one so far.

Price: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

Anthem GB

In case you go to an event where you might need to know it – this apps has the music and words to the UK National Anthem. Very fun app. I can never remember the words to the anthem, so this is a very helpful app.

Price: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

Currency

Must have for any world traveler – this keeps travel of currency conversion rates. Not only can you keep up with the latest currency conversion rates for the UK, but you can also compare it to other currencies. Especially useful if your trip includes a destination other than Britain. It’s also good to keep tabs on the strength of the US dollar.

Price: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

British Airways

The BA app is a pretty useful tool. It was recently updated and features route information, mobile check-in, account information, latest British Airways news. One of the really cool features is the mobile boarding pass, on some flights you don’t even need to print a boarding pass, you can have the boarding pass right on the iPhone. Very slick and innovative.

Price: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

London Taxi Fare Calculator

This app will calculate the fare, time and route for your taxi trips to help you plan your journeys around London. This is based on the TfL Taxi Tariff and estimated traffic congestion in London according to the time you take your journey. While it’s a little slow and relies on the data network for it’s data – it’s a very useful app and can help you save a bit of money if you’re debating whether or not you should take a cab or the Tube.

Pros: Very Useful

Cons: Uses Data Network

Cost: $0.99

Click to Download in iTunes:

Time Out London

This is a definite must have app if you’re looking for things to do in London – from theater, movies and concerts – this app has it all and will located things going on near you. Get the most out of your city with the SMIRNOFF & Time Out London app for iPhone – it’s the app Londoners have been waiting for. We’ve put everything that’s great about the capital in one place, with information on gigs, events, bars, restaurants, club nights and film releases. London is full of possibilities – and now you can find them on your phone. Constantly updated with a wealth of events, the SMIRNOFF & Time Out London app for iPhone is easy to browse, and searches can be tailored to your location and tastes.

Pros: Wealth of Information

Cons: Don’t like the design and it’s plastered with liquor adverts

Cost: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

Evening Standard App – London’s Newspaper

The Evening Standard is my favorite paper when I’m in town – it’s London’s local paper and comes out in the evenings for the commuters. It’s filled with great articles and you can keep up with the latest London centric news that a lot of the bigger papers ignore. The London Evening Standard is a quality daily newspaper, published in tabloid format in London, England. It is the regional evening paper for London and the southeast of England, with coverage of national and international news as well as topical features.

Pros: Keep up with the latest London News

Cons: Terrible User Interface

Cost: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

British Film Locations

Find and photograph the most iconic British film locations in cinematic history. This application will not only map out the most famous film scenes around your Google maps location, it will allow you to search by film title so you can discover an entire Great British film tour whether you’re looking for Harry Potter’s Hogwarts or one of the Braveheart battlefields. Each film location is accompanied by a detailed synopsis and description of how to find it.

Pros: Very informative and fun

Cons: None

Cost: Free

Click to Download in iTunes:

What Apps That Will Be on My iPhone?

So, now the big question is, which apps will I take on my iPhone on my trip in November? Here’s a quick list:

Spoonfed Radar
Lonely Planet App
London Tube
Frommer’s London
London Audio Guide
London Mini A-Z

Many thanks go out to all the plugin developers who were kind enough to offer demos of their programs so that I could review them.

What’s your favorite London iPhone App?

Don’t wait until getting to London to start saving via travel apps there are some great apps to save on airfares as well as hotel stays, can also save on holidays let us know whether you find any worth writing home about.

The Ultimate London iPhone iPad App Review List – The Top 17 London Apps for iPhone is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Let me preface this by saying that, though I did not get the job in London, I managed to find an even cooler job in Chicago which has deadened my desire to move to London for now. I can’t wait to start it. I thought this would be a story worth sharing for people looking for innovative ways to try and get a job.

I’ve written about my desire to move to the UK in the past and my frustrations at how hard it was for Americans to move there for work. Well, about a month and a half ago, it almost happened for me. I almost got a dream job in London.

I can only talk about it now because I’m leaving my current employer for a much better opportunity in Chicago. Now, I can now talk freely about the whole experience. I thought it was would a great story to tell for people looking for creative ways to get a job in this challenging economy.

The Problem

The UK government recently made it much harder for skilled professionals to move to the UK for work – where before it was hard enough they now require a minimum of a Master’s degree in order to get the Tier One Skilled worker Visa. I don’t have a Master’s.

So, the only hope for me to get a job in the UK was to be sponsored by an employer directly for a Tier 2 visa. Easier said than done. Most UK employers require you to be eligible to work in the UK first before you even apply for the job – sponsorship is usually not an option. This is because it costs money for them to sponsor you, comply with the standards and it’s also politically sensitive right now as well (jobs for Brits and all that).

Half-heartedly, I was browsing jobs on LinkedIn one day and did a quick search for jobs in London. My reasoning was that if they posted a job on an American career site, they would be willing to sponsor for a visa. I was right, I applied for a job and someone bit.

Hope for London

What followed was a dizzying week of phone interviews, dreaming and praying. About a day after I applied for the job, I got an e-mail from the HR person at a major travel company with an office in London (in interests of disclosure, I will not mention names). She liked my resume and wanted to schedule a phone interview.

I was elated.

We scheduled the call for a couple days later, taking in mind the time difference. I didn’t really think about the job much – I had had phone interviews with London before and they’d never gone anywhere once they realize they have to sponsor me. But I figured it was worth the phone call.

The scheduled day for the phone call arrived and I made sure I was out of the office to take it. The call went very well, I seemed to tick all her boxes and answer her questions well. I’d been searching for a new job for nearly 3 months at that point and was beginning to get quite good at the phone interview.

The phone call neared the end and then the question came up: I made sure that she knew that I would have to be sponsored for a Visa.

She said the understood and had no problem with that. They would sponsor the right person, any person that was qualified. The call ended and she said she would get back to me once she’d had a chance to talk to my potential boss.

When I hung up the phone, I nearly floated back to my desk at my current job. I was beyond excited. There was a chance it could happen.

Days of London Dreaming

I thought it went so well that I immediately began plotting my move. The problem with moving to London, on such short notice was that it wouldn’t have been easy to just unplug from our life here in Indiana. My wife was finishing school, she was committed to a job for the summer and had to go back in the fall. Our lease was coming up, so that wasn’t an issue.

My wife knew how much it meant to me to work in London, so she assured me that we’d make it happen. The job paid a significant some of money (a HUGE raise over what I was making), so most of our problems could be solved with the right amount of money.

However, as that first weekend progressed, we sketched out a rough plan of how it would play out. I’d leave immediately for the job if I got it, set up house temporarily in a flat somewhere. She’d stay behind, finish out our lease, move in with our parents and follow me in December once she’d graduated. Somewhere in that 6 month period of time, she would come visit me once and I’d come visit her once. As I said, the job paid enough that that was possible and since it was a UK employer, it offered 21 vacation days so that was not an issue either.

Seeking Advice

As the days went on I began dreaming of my future life in London. How much I would love riding the Tube to work. Picking up the Evening Standard on the way home. Curling up with British TV in the evenings. Becoming a Londoner and loving it.

It became clear that I would do ANYTHING to get the job. So, I began to reach out to my network of mentors and friends to see if anyone had any ideas for how I could get a second phone interview.

My brilliant idea was to rent a mobile billboard and park in front of the offices of the company in London. However, once I priced it out and looked Google Streetview and saw that there was no street access to the offices that a truck could fit down, I discounted the idea.

I sounded some ideas off to my wife and then she hit gold – send them cupcakes.

Operation: Cupcake

Not just any cupakes mind you – AMERICAN Cupcakes from the Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill. I’d had the pleasure of eating cukcakes from the American Style bakery on my last trip to London and they were sooooo delicious. Since then, American style cupcakes have taken London by storm. So I thought it’d be a great idea to send some to the offices with a note thanking them for their time and consideration.

Easier said than done. You can’t yet order online nor place an order by e-mail. That meant a phone call. The problem is that this place is very popular, so you need to call right when they open, in order to get your order in. That meant getting up at 4:00am for a phone call to London.

Let’s just say, I was VERY tired that day but it was worth it. The soonest cupcakes could be delivered was two days later and I prayed it would not be too late as the cupcakes cost nearly $70 (for 18!)!

The next two days passed by excruciatingly slow as I waited for those damn cupcakes to be delivered. Thursday between 1-5pm became my mantra.

The day came, I constantly checked my e-mail from early in the morning – hoping that I would get a confirmation from the bakery or an e-mail from the HR lady. The clocked ticked. I got up. Went to work, checked my e-mail every five seconds. Waiting. Waiting.

I don’t know exactly when the cupcakes were delivered but shortly after 10am my time, I got an e-mail from the company asking me for a second phone interview with the person who would be my boss.

It worked. I think. Operation: Cupcake was a success.

Second Phone Interview with London

From the information I got from the company – the person I would be interviewing with was Russian. This made me nervous. I’ve worked with Russians before I know how… gruff they can be. So, I put my best foot forward, prepped as much as I could by browsing the company’s websites and finding SEO problems I could solve. I took the day off work so that I had plenty of time to sell myself to the Russian.

The phone rang at the set time and I had the interview.

It was an unmitigated disaster.

The interviewer asked questions I wasn’t prepared for – questions I had trouble answering. Communication was a problem since he was in London, I was on a cell phone. It didn’t help that he was Russian and hard to understand. He was blunt – we disagreed on some basic SEO principles, but I thought standing my ground was a good tactic. I didn’t get to talk about any of my ideas for the company or build on all the prep work I did.

When I hung up, I looked at my wife (who sat there and thought I did great) and said I’m not going to get the job – it was a disaster. I was deflated. But I didn’t want to give up hope.

I asked more people for advice – “How Do I Get This Job?”

I had recently listened to a podcast from Marketing Guru Jim Kukral about doing innovative things to get a job in the bad economy. It was worth a listen and one thing stuck out: make yourself memorable.

I thought’d I done that with the cupcakes and it got me to the next level, what next? So e-mailed him for advice. Jim is an incredibly nice guy and really knows about marketing (check out his blog here).

He said:

“Now, perhaps you make a video of yourself and your wife introducing yourselves to them. Let them get to know you. They have to like you to hire you. If you do this, they’ll get that you really want the job. They want to hire someone who really wants the job, believe me.

Get a flip cam and take them on a tour of your house. Let them see how you live (clean first), let them see you wife and your pets and the inside of your refrigerator. The point is… you will remove all doubt from their mind about the person they are going to hire. Be personable. Be yourself.”

I thought, great idea. I’ll make a video. The first issue I had to deal with was that I didn’t want to put my current job in jeopardy by posting a video all over the web asking a company to hire me. So, I settled on putting a video on a subdomain of my main website that could only be accessed by people whom I told it was there.

I wrote a script of everything I wanted to talk about on the phone but didn’t have a chance and crafted a sales pitch. I dressed up in a nice shirt, put on my trademark green hat, shaved and sat in front of my Mac to record the video. It ended up being 10 minutes long and I’d like to think it was impressive.

I posted it to a custom built WordPress site I put together just for the video and e-mailed to everyone at the company I’d had contact with. The next morning I got up and checked the stats and saw that 3 people from the company had watched the video and stayed on the site enough to watch the whole thing. That was a good sign. Again, I waited and waited for an e-mail, something to give me hope that I still had a chance to live and work in London.

It didn’t come until two days later and it wasn’t what I’d hope. It was a rejection letter.

Dream of London over.

What I Learned

The big thing I learned was that you can try all the fancy gimmicks you want to get a job – but in the end you need sell yourself as you would if you didn’t have the gimmicks. I just didn’t sell myself well enough.

I was more than qualified for the job. They just didn’t think so and it’s my fault. Russians may be hard to impress, but I should have tried harder to impress him. To add insult to injury, there are still job postings for that position all over the web, some are relatively new. They’re still looking. Just not at me.

The Future

The whole process was an emotional roller coaster of hopes and dreams. I can’t put myself through that all over again. I don’t think working in London is going to happen until I have significantly more experience than I do and thus justify the cost involved. I will never be able to get a visa on my own – it’s prohibitively expensive and I’d need to go back to university for a Master’s Degree – as well as make significantly more money than I do for at least one year and save a large sum of money to meet the visa requirements.

So, I’m sad to say, living and working in London looks like it’s going to be added to the Bucket List of things I’d like to do one day before I die.

But all it not lost. I learned so much from the process and I thought that others looking for a job may enjoy the innovative tactics I used to try and land the job. I took what I learned from the experience and landed another, better job in Chicago.

As for me, I’ve landed a better job at a fantastic company in Chicago. It’s not London but I still love Chicago and I really am looking forward to commuting into the Big City for the first time. This new job is exactly what I’d been looking for and I’m going to give it 110%. Someday, London will come calling and I’ll be ready for it.

Besides, we’re still going to London in November. Come hell or high water!

Dreams of Britain – How I Almost Got a Job in London – An Internet Marketing Tale is a post from: Anglotopia.net

As I countdown to our trip to London in November, it’s time to start making lists of things to do in order to make the most of my time there. So, I thought it’d be cool to share my list of things that I do in London every time I go. You can call them my London Traditions.

I’ve been to London 5 times now and I’m a creature of habit. While I don’t always do the same things over and over, there are a few things that I’m sure to do every time I go. They’ve come to define what London is to me and I really look forward to repeating them on my next trip.

First British Breakfast

When you fly British Airways out of Chicago, all of their flights leave in the evening, so you arrive in London in the morning. This helps with jet lag but after 7 hours on a plane with crappy food, we’re usually starving. So, after we get into central London, the first thing we do is eat breakfast. I’m not a fan of the ‘traditional english’ breakfast but I usually get eggs, toast, bacon and a donut if I can find one. Our favorite breakfast joint (don’t know the name, just know where it is – across from Gloucester Road Tube Stop) has a machine that squeezes fresh orange juice on the spot – it’s the best orange juice you’ll ever have. It’s a true pleasure to sit outside a small breakfast cafe and eat breakfast on a cool London morning.

Visit MUJI London

MUJI is a Japanese lifestyle company that has a large presence in Britain and in London. They make the BEST pens I’ve ever used. So, I usually buy about 20 or 30 pens to last me until me next trip (or until I break down and order them online). They also have fantastic little notebooks for writing. My favorite is the passport sized notebook. They put Moleskine to shame. I also usually pick up a photo album, all my London pictures end up in a MUJI photo album. They also make great soap so I usually pick up a few bars of Mandarin scented soap. Months later, when I’m feeling London withdrawal, I just need to smell the soap and I’m instantly transported back.

Visit Travel Bookshop

I first visited this place because of it’s connection to the film “Notting HIll.” However, over the years, it’s become a must stop because of the great selection of books they have. They have more than just travel books – they have a lovely selection of international literature that you can’t find anywhere else. My wife loves browsing the books that you won’t see in the USA. I love the travel book selection and this is the place I usually pick up my trusty Ordnance Survey Maps. The staff are always helpful and friendly.

Visit Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square IS London in my head. So, I’m always sure to stop by and eat a lunch on the National Gallery steps, watch the people and enjoy a crisp London Day. Trafalgar Square is the center of London and it’s great to watch the city breath past you. The pigeons are quaint and the fountains great. I also greatly admire Nelson, so I like to give my deference to him.

Ben’s Cookies in Covent Garden

Ben’s Cookies, located in Covent Garden, simply have the best cookies on the planet. Now, I consider myself a bit of a cookie expert and I haven’t had a better cookie than those baked fresh by Ben’s. So, I’m always sure to pick up enough to get me through the trip. I also usually sneak back before I leave and take a few on the plane with me.

Dinner at Garfunkel’s

Garfunkel’s may just be a chain of restaurants, but I love their Filet Steak and fries. SOOOO delicious. I stop there at least once, maybe twice if I can convince my wife. They have locations everywhere in central London so they aren’t hard to find. My favorite is the cramped location in Leicester Square.

Walk Through Hyde Park

What trip to London would be complete without an amble through it’s premiere park, Hyde Park? Most people walk through the park on the way to somewhere else, which is a shame. There is so much to see and do in the park it deserves it’s own trip. My favorite thing to do is get up when the sun rises and walk through the park as the city awakens. I like pretending that for one day, I’m a local.

The Forbidden Planet

I’m a sci-fi geek and the Forbidden Planet is a must visit destination for sci-fi geeks. They have a huge selection of the latest collectible toys, some that you can only find there. In the basement is a massive collection of books, comics and DVD’s. Perfect place to pick up a model of a Dalek.

The Sunday Papers

The British have the Sunday paper down to an art form. My favorite is the Sunday Times, but I usually pick up a few others. They’re great reading material and they usually make their way home with me. It’s wonderful to sit in an outside cafe, sip some tea and read the Sunday Papers.

Countryfile

My favorite British TV show is Countryfile, a British Countryside affairs show that airs on the BBC on Sundays. So, if I’m in town, you can bet where I’ll be on Sunday. There’s just something extra special about watching my favorite show, while breathing London air. Generally though, I don’t watch too much British TV while I’m in London. I get most of it back home from various sources, so I don’t miss much and I have my live British TV feed from UKTV2C. So, while I’m in London I keep the TV off and explore what London has to offer instead.

What are your London Traditions?

You may be tempted into trying to find all inclusive holidays when coming to the UK as many people are worried about the cost of travelling to the UK. However as mentioned some of the best things are free so do drop a comment below if you think we have missed any of your favorite to-do’s.

Dreams of Britain: My Top 10 London To Do’s – My London Traditions is a post from: Anglotopia.net

I’ve only ever flown British Airways to Britain in my time as an Anglophile. They were there with me on my first journey to Blighty, they were there for my last trip and they’ll be there for the next one. I will only consider flying BA – despite there being many other non-stop flights out of Chicago to London. I’ve always had a great experience with them – even when things went pear shaped.

Here’s my list of reasons why British Airways is always the best choice when flying Transatlantic.

1. Economy of Scale

Quite frankly, BA is the largest transatlantic flight operator. They have the biggest flight network, largest fleet, biggest staff and the most daily flights to the UK. Economy of scale leads into my next reason, price.

2. Price

Because of the sheer size of BA, they can pretty much always undercut any competitors on price. It’s been my experience that British Airways ALWAYS has the lowest airfares. Sometimes, other airlines may have lower prices but wait a week or two and BA prices will be in line. Also, it’s almost always cheaper to book your flight directly with BA for the best airfare – avoid price comparison sites.

3. Trip Options

Because of BA’s size, they provide a huge amount of flexibility in planning your trip. They’ve negotiated with hotels and tour providers to provide the best rates for their customers. BA has high standards and they will only recommend good hotels and tour operators. Best of all, you can book your hotel, tours and train journeys all through BA’s checkout process.

4. Flight Experience

From the moment you step on the plane – even if you’re going to coach, you’re stepping into another realm. BA flights are calming, the service wonderful and the seats roomy. Most flights out of Chicago are overnight, so they dim the lights and you can sleep the whole way, waking up refreshed the next day in London.

5. In Flight Entertainment

If you don’t want to sleep, they have top notch in flight entertainment. Most flights now have personal Video On Demand consoles, which means that you can watch movies and TV shows whenever you want from a huge database. They have recent releases and the latest British and American TV shows to choose from. You can also listen to BBC radio – my favorite is the classical music station. There’s just something about listening to classical music on a flight to Britain that just fits.

6. Free Newspapers

Most people don’t know this but BA usually has copies of the Daily Mail or other newspapers on board. All you simply need to do is ask for one. Sometimes they’re in a pile as the back of the plane. It’s very nice to catch up on the latest news before you touchdown.

7. Customer Service

I’ve only had good experiences with BA customer service. For example, on my last trip to London my luggage was lost somewhere between getting from the plane to the luggage carousel. While this was very inconvenient – it did have all my clothes – BA customer service stepped up to the plate to make sure my luggage got to me eventually. Hours after leaving the airport my cell phone got a call letting me know that my luggage had been found and that it would be delivered to my hotel the next day. It was. If you incur costs related to losing your bags, you can submit a claim and get a refund.

8. Online Check-in

BA is on the cutting edge when it comes to taking advantage of the internet. You can check in to your flight 24 hours before you have to leave, choose your seats and even customize your meal. When you get to the airport, you simply have to drop off your bag and head to the gate. It couldn’t get much smoother than that.

9. Terminal 5

One of the things I’m looking forward to the most about my trip in November is finally being able to go through Terminal 5. The opening may have been a disaster but things are running smoothly now. I can’t wait to step into the awe inspiring building. Especially after 5 trips through the other crappy terminals at Heathrow. You’ll finally get a proper welcome into Britain at Terminal 5.

10. Flexibility

Because of their economy of scale, you have flexibility when planning a trip. For example they have four flights in and out of Chicago, daily. This means that you can leave when it best suits you and plan your arrival in the UK to fit into your schedule. And if you wanted to, you can also fly BA to other cities in Europe and they make the whole process incredibly easy.

11. Britishness – Flag Carrier Status

You can’t beat the fact that British Airways is the Flag Carrier of Britain. It’s comforting to see the Union Jack on the tail of BA planes. It’s reassuring to know that you’re in for a classy flight experience that harkens back to a day when travel was a more sophisticated endeavor.

12. Package Deals and Sales

You can always count on British Airways having frequent airfare sales or package sales that include a stay in a hotel or attraction. Your best bet is to signup with an account at BA.com to recieve their e-mails and be notified of the latest deals. Most of the Anglophile Alerts on this site originate from e-mails like this.

Dreams of Britain: Top 12 Reasons Why British Airways is Always the Best Choice for Transatlantic Flights is a post from: Anglotopia.net

Many moons ago. Well, the late 1990′s to be exact. There was a cooking show on cable called Two Fat Ladies. I wasn’t particularly interested in the food. I’ve pretty much always been interested in Britain even before I knew what the word Anglophile meant.

So, what piqued my interest about the show was that it was an English cooking show with two lovely English ladies as the hosts. Every week they rode their old Triumph motorcycle to a new location and cooked an elaborate meal. I was more interested in the scenery than the food. Not only that, the Two Fat ladies that were the hosts were charming and hilarious. It was a very calm and subdued show. You could say that it was almost zen-like to watch.

My mother introduced me to the show and we watched it together whenever we could. My mother is not near the Anglophile that I am, but she’s pretty into Britain herself. We caught the show whenever we could and dreamt of one day visiting England ourselves. The show wasn’t on for very long and we were saddened to hear not long after that one of the Two Fat Ladies, Jennifer Paterson, died after the last episode was filmed.

One day, we got a brochure in the mail. Normally we threw away the junk mail but my mom showed it to be and it immediately caught both our interests. It was a brochure for a package vacation to Britain to some place called Birmingham. The price was really cheap and we decided that this would be a good time to maybe plan a trip to Britain. I was graduating from High School soon and it would be my graduation gift.

After much calling around and research, we decided that Birmingham wasn’t quite right for our first trip to Britain so we booked a similarly priced package deal to London for a week. We were to leave right after school let out in June.

The months that follow the booking were a blur as we ran around trying to get passports for the first time and finding the necessary luggage. My mother and I were so excited to finally be going to Britain. We were going to see the land of the Two Fat Ladies. I could barely sleep at night because I was so excited.

The story of my first trip to London will be for a future Dreams of Britain Post. In case anyone was curious, the great folks at Acorn Media have put Two Fat Ladies on DVD for the first time. It includes the whole run of the series (24 episodes in total) and a bunch of extra features. I’m definitely going to pick this up for my mother and promise to watch it with her for Mother’s Day. She deserves it – after all she took me to London twice.

Next Tuesday in Dreams of Britain – How My Love Affair With Shaftesbury Started

Dreams of Britain: It All Started with Two Fat Ladies is a post from: Anglotopia.net

You may have noticed that something has returned to the Anglotopia Sidebar – that’s right a trip countdown!

My wife and I are planning a trip to Britain in November!

We’re still a little sore that we had to cancel out trip last month and have been wracking our brains since trying to figure out how to get back to L’Angleterre.

I declared to my wife the other day, “We’re going to England in November.”

She responded, “Okay.”

And that’s that. Planning has begun. Now, the hard work of figuring out how to pay for it begins. I’m pretty confident I’ll be able to make it happen. I have a few innovative ideas and few irons in the coals that I think will make it happen.

In order to keep the wife and I motivated and to excite you all about the trip (and for planning your own), I’m going to start a weekly blog series titled “Dreams of Britain.” This series will focus on how to plan a trip to Britain, sites to see, what to expect and so much more. I’ll also take you through our journey of planning the perfect trip to Britain.

It’s going to be an exciting journey and I can’t wait to share it with you all. Without all of you, this site would not be where it is today and I would not be able to confidently say, “We’re going to England in November.”

A New Countdown Begins – England Here We Come is a post from: Anglotopia.net