My Hop Across the Pond

Wow, I have gotten really bad at this blogging thing. BUT I think that will change soon (like actually change for real) and hopefully I can share next week. And I need to remember that I created this space for me and I don’t want it to be a chore, I want it to be a place where I enjoy sharing my thoughts.

So where was I last week? A quick trip across the pond!

Three colleagues and I traveled to Southampton in the UK (an hour drive east of London) for a conference. The trip to London was awful, the plane was completely full and I didn’t get any sleep which resulted in my being awake for 20+ hours and when I finally did pass out at 10:00pm Sunday evening, I slept right through the night and woke up feeling pretty good. I didn’t have any jet lag all week, yay! (Slightly different story coming home but a much better flight).

Immediately after landing we headed to Caffe Nero in the airport for some caffeine before hitting the road in a rental car. If you're in the UK and can't find a Starbucks (or don't like them) check out CN!

I didn’t think anything about Southampton until we got there and I found out that the Titanic sailed from there! It was both so cool and terribly tragic to stand in the spot where so many people set off on what they thought would be a wonderful journey. There is a memorial at the entrance to the docks and people still visit and lay wreaths… it is very much a part of the city’s history. And I am sure there are other lovely parts of the city and it has an in depth history but I didn’t get a lot of free time to wander around.

The Titanic memorial outside the entrance to the docks

One of the many beautiful buildings we saw

The conference was great, it was the first time I travelled out of North America with this company and I met so many people. I spent some time in the booth, watched presentations and went out on a couple of boat demonstrations.

I guess this presentation was boring...

Friday morning I flew home and am so thankful that I had the weekend to recover (i.e. sleep). So we didn’t have a very exciting weekend – I slept and ate a lot of fruit. I am over hotel food for a while.

I did discover elderflower water and I looooved it – so refreshing! I didn’t speak to a single Brit who liked it though; it seems only foreigners are fans. I was also told you can’t get it in Canada so if anyone knows where I can, please tell me.  Elderflower and pear still water was my favourite.

My first elderflower experience!

I ordered a ginger ale - the bottle was 3 inches tall (check out the hand pouring behind)

I was invited to some amazing meals and my favourite of all was this hot chocolate and homemade coconut cookie. I may or may not have asked for extras and eaten all 4 when they arrived at the table.