I have just gotten back from my trip to the South! I had a wonderful time with the family I haven't seen in a while and the part of the family that I have never met before (Lisa counts as family as far as I am concerned). Since I had a week off of my classes, I was able to spend five days visiting family, hearing so many stories, and making new connections.
DAY 1: Thursday, November 8th
I started my travel last Thursday, November 8th, when I hopped on the train to London at 9:28 in the morning. After changing trains a ridiculous number of times--and riding the London Tube--I finally arrived at the very quaint New Milton train station. Lisa (a long time friend of my mom, and now my friend) picked me up and dropped me off at Aunty Joan's house in Bransgore. Aunty Joan and I spent the rest of the day chatting and drinking tea, before we went out to dinner at the Crown. We both got fish and chips, though Aunty Joan claimed that her Haddock and Chips could not have actually come with haddock, so after complaining to the waitress she got coffee on the house!
The night ended with more chatting and some television watching before I passed out for a very goodnight sleep!
DAY 2: Friday, November 9th
The next stop was a shop located right across the courtyard from the restaurant, where we (and by we I mean Aunty Joan) ended up chatting with the shop owner and her friend for at least thirty minutes. They were both very nice ladies, and we talked about many things, including ghosts and the supernatural, family, mothers, clothes, purses, and so so much more!
After chit chatting with the lovely ladies, we headed to see where "Nan" (Aunty Joan's mother/my mother's grandmother/my great grandmother) lived. We stopped by the little neighborhood area, and within a minute of walking up to the house we were invited into the neighbor's house. She was a very nice girl who was probably wondering what we were doing lurking outside of her home. So we were able to meet all her animals and she showed us the new layout of the downstairs portion of the house. Yet another 30+ minutes of chatting went by before we were able to head back to Aunty Joan's house before it got dark.
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| Nan's house! |
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| The adorable dog we met! |
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| She was rescued, and was so sweet! |
DAY 3: Saturday, November 10th
The third day of my trip was the day I spent with Lisa. Lisa has been and remains one of my mom's good friends--regardless of the 5 hour time difference and 4000 mile separation Though we have only met once before (when I was one), I already knew so much about her--and she knew so much about me. We started off our day with a trip to Christchurch, we walked around a beautiful church, little museums, and the water, talking the entire way.
After Christchurch, we ventured to Lymington. After having a lovely lunch and more conversation, we wandering around the streets, looking at all the stands set up for the Saturday market--vendors were selling everything from cuts of meat to lingerie. Our wandering took us down the cobblestone streets, to the water, and to either end of the market.
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| Lisa and I at lunch! |
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| Lesley spelled the right way! |
Our final destination was Barton on Sea, evidently this is the place where my mother and great grandmother used to come to sit and talk. There were beautiful views of the ocean, and it was a beach unlike any I had ever seen. There were small cliffs that looked onto the ocean, lots of pebbles and rocks by the water, and many hills to walk up and down--I'm used to flat, sandy beaches.
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| Barton on Sea |
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| Rocky beaches and beautiful views |
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| I'm not used to seeing hilly beaches |
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| Mom, is this the bench where you and Nan sat? |
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| Or is it one of these benches? |
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| Aunty Joan bought me one very large sausage roll! |
DAY 4: Sunday, November 11th
The last full day of my trip was spent with Sara (my mother's cousin/Aunty Joan's daughter), her husband Chris, their daughter Charlotte, and Aunty Joan. We drove to Portsmouth to see 5 Paignton Avenue, where my mother used to live. From Paignton Avenue we headed down to the dockyard where we spent the day touring the area. This meant boat tours and many views of the water, it also included a history lesson on the HMS Victory, Horatio Nelson, and the Battle of Trafalgar.
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| 5 Paignton Avenue |
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| Charlotte at the Dockyard |
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| Me and Charlotte |
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| The fam! Aunty Joan, Charlotte, Chris, and Sara |
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| Charlotte being quite the photographer |
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| And so beings our tour of the HMS Victory |
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| It turns out people were shorter back then... |
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| 10 year olds fit well! |
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| Charlotte and me |
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FACT: More than 60% of the men abroad the
HMS Victory were forced to serve |
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| Imitating the figureheads... |
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Personally, I would have a Greek God or Goddess on the front
of my ship |
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| Charlotte enlisted |
After a day at the dockyard, we headed back towards Bransgore, and stopped on the way for a nice Italian dinner. It was so nice to be able to spend the day with everyone, the people I have heard about for years, seen pictures of, but never had the chance to meet.
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Dinner with the family
(Sara, Aunty Joan, Chris, me, and Charlotte) |
DAY 5: Monday, November 12th
It was a very short day in Bransgore with Aunty Joan. When I woke up, I finished packing, got ready, ate toast with blackcurrant jam, drank tea, brushed my teeth, watched the Jeremy Kyle Show with Aunty Joan, and then we packed up the car and headed to the New Milton train station. At the train station we had a little more time to chat, but before I knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes and hop on the train.
The next five hours were spent travelling on a train, catching the tube, almost missing a train (I literally had to run, it would have been a funny sight), catching a bus back to campus, unpacking, and seeing everyone in my block--most of them had also just returned from weekend trips!
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