Sometimes it's the people that make the place

I was excited to be going back to Weymouth, England, with three generations. My dad and I, who were born there, and my daughter. She was more interested in seeing London for the first time, which I guess I can understand.

On the first day we hit the top sights on my daughter's list- Big Ben and Buckingham Palace; and the top picks on mine- the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. And of course we saw the red double decker buses, telephone booths, post boxes; black cabs and the tube.

A trip to Kensington Palace ended up being a trip down memory lane for me as I found a slice of treacle tart like my grandmother used to make. Next, we dragged my parents to Oxford St, Covent Garden and Harrods- a place where my dad would never go, but actually enjoyed as we got to take a seat for afternoon tea.

My daughter delighted in a showing of The Lion King as the Lyceum Theatre, having just performed the junior show herself for the school musical; and the Harry Potter Studio Tour, which I have to admit was actually quite impressive.

Traveling with three generations was more challenging than I thought, as we all had three different speeds, mine being the fastest. However, we all enjoyed staying in Bayswater with all it's iconic looking buildings with shared gardens, and picking up cheap eats at Marks and Spencers.

We visited our family in London, which was a pleasant surprise- that even after ten years between visits, they were welcoming and fun as always.

Having done a gap year in Weymouth after high school, I was keen to take Sabine there and show her where I lived, worked and played. We stayed with old family friends who owned the restaurant that I worked in all those summer's ago, and for me, it was like coming home to a family that always had my back.

I met up with my friend who I worked with that summer, and we took a nostalgic tour around town, to the pub where her boyfriend used to live, the cafe we used to meet, and the clubs we used to go to. It was so lovely to be able to share this with someone who had been there, as I don't think my daughter was that fussed with our trip down memory lane!

The three generations visited the grave site where my grandparents now lie. We took a turn around Portland Bill, the last place I went to lunch with my grandma before she passed away. The views of green hills from Hardy's Monument were the same as they ever were, and of the white cliffs from the sandy beach.

On the way to visit family in Gloucestershire, we stopped at Stonehenge and my daughter was suitably impressed. Good to see that some things are timeless.

By our final stop in Cirencester, I was able to slow down and enjoy the company of those I was with, and those around me. The little castle town was lovely to take the time to explore and we enjoyed meals with extended family, long country walks, card games and lots of laughs.

But I still made sure we fitted in a sight seeing trip to Bath and the birthplace of Shakespeare. Old habits die hard.

While I found the overcast weather hard after living in the glorious sunshine of Queensland for three years, the sunny nature of the people we reconnected with along the way more than made up for it.

Sometimes it really is the people that make the place.

#travel #writing #England #UK #people #place