England

Why go?  This one was a no-brainer.  There is so much to see in the UK, even avoiding the huge city of London.  Our big agenda items included Banksy-spotting in Bristol, a sunrise at Stonehenge, and a game at Old Trafford. 

Get there.    We flew from Dublin to Bristol, which was really quick and really cheap ($15/per ticket) through WOW airlines.  

Read before you go.  For England, I listened to a lecture called “1066:  The Year that Changed Everything,” which highlighted the ways that England and France influenced each other and how the Norman invasion was a key factor in keeping England under central Europe’s sphere of influence.  If you like history, it was a quick and interesting listen.  

Weather advice.   Spring in England is much like Spring in the US - cool and sometimes rainy.  We lucked out most of the time, and enjoyed really good weather.  

Expenses.  England ended up being a bit over 2% of our budget and under 2% of our time - which made it a bit more expensive than Ireland, but not much.  Our big splurge was the tickets for the Manchester United game - which had sold out, so we had to go through some scalpers.  

Teachable moment.   As I was walking to grab our car in a carpark in Amesbury, I saw a car stalled in the middle of the road.  One old man was trying to push it to a gas station, while another even older man steered.  They were really struggling, and several other drivers were sitting around honking.  I ran over to help... and, with some struggles, we were able to push it up the ramp and into a gas station.  The first man thanked me, smiled, and proceeded to open the hood.  I spent the afternoon reflecting on how tiny moments can be so impactful.  

Three “Must Do’s”

• Must eat.   I have to insert a ‘must drink’ here instead of a must eat.  We stumbled on a great beer bar called Port St. in Manchester, and I was lucky enough to try a Double India Pale Ale (DIPA) from Cloudwater Brewing Co.  The beer, v.13, was citrusy with almost no bitterness, and was cloudy as hell.  It definitely reminded me of some of the double-dry-hopped DIPAs that I tried in the US.  Seriously enjoyable - check them out if you go to Manchester.  
• Most impactful experience.  Match Day at Old Trafford - This experience had been awhile in the making.  The Reds were playing West Bromwich Albion on April 2nd, which was really the only game that fit well into our timeline, as we planned our trip.  I joined quickly as a member of the United club (as only members got access to tickets), but was unsuccessful at getting seats.  Finally, after some researching, we came across TicketBis, which is a relatively new service out of the UK (owned by StubHub).  The prices were pretty high (to be expected), but the service was great, and the seats were together, so we went for it.  The interesting thing is - when you buy these tickets - they can only be mailed within the UK, so we had to have them sent to our hotel.  Additionally, these are 'season tickets', which are basically credit cards issued to the ticket holders, so you have to find a way to return them after the game.  That said, the game was completely one-sided, with United taking (and fumbling) most of the opportunities afforded them on the offensive end of the ball.  That said, the energy was great - and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.  The game ended 0-0, so I didn't get to see a goal, but I did get to see Wayne Rooney come onto the pitch midway through the second half, which was a pretty cool moment for me.  All in all, it was an experience of a lifetime.   
• Must Visit.  Stonehenge had been on my list for as long as I could remember, so this was pretty exciting.  In preparation, I did some research and we purchased the earlyaccess tickets, which you have to do if you want to walk between the stones (not just around them from a distance).  This was pricey, but it was definitely worth it.  We arrived at 630am, and the bus shuttled us to the site just as the sun was rising.  The tickets keep the group small - there were only 16 of us - and are your only opportunity to see the site that early in the morning.  If you are thinking of visiting, I would definitely recommend this experience.  All told, we were out there for an hour, and snap a ton of great pictures.  Truly incredible.    

The Wrap.  As I write this in our tiny AirBNB room in Paris, I'm really struck by how much fun we had in England.  Our visit was short, but efficient.  The feel of each of the cities we visited was unique, yet the overall vibe of England was one of overwhelming ebullience.  Lastly, I'll say that I was really impressed by the great abundance of delicious ethnic foods - ranging from Vietnamese to Thai to Italian on each of our stops.  It was something that truly reminded me of home.  That said, England is in the midst of some significant changes  - we happened to be over in England right as Theresa May was drawing up the paperwork for Article 50, which made it an interesting time to be in England.  There is still a lot of uncertainty about the future.