My first trip across the pond was in 2011. Before then, I'd only been to Central America and a handful of states in the U.S. 

From the moment I stepped off the plane at Heathrow Airport; I was hooked – the travel bug bit me hard! Since then, I’ve visited many more states and countries, and there isn’t a place that isn’t on my ‘To Visit’ list.

London, however, made an impression on me, and it calls me back again and again. Conveniently, my husband and co-adventurer feels the same way. In 2014, Kevin and I put together a trip for entering university freshman focusing on intentional travel and the history of the Anglican church, with plenty of fantastic food and experiences sprinkled in. It was our first time to travel internationally together, and little did I know Kevin had a big surprise up his sleeve, or rather, in his pocket.

A Surprise Adventure

We arrived in the city a couple of days before the students, to be able to reorient ourselves to the Underground and collect tickets to all the sites we were visiting. On July 26, we visited the Victoria & Albert Museum, walked along the Themes, looked at the Millennium Bridge, and attempted to visit the St. Paul’s Cathedral Gardens. I had no idea that all day long, Kevin had been waiting for the perfect moment to propose. 

Since the gardens were closed, we walked around the back of the church and happened upon Festival Garden, which has a sculpture called The Young Lovers. It was at the foot of this statue with the cathedral bells tolling ten that Kevin asked me to be his wife. To commemorate this memorable location, I had the latitude and longitude of Festival Garden engraved on the inside of Kevin’s wedding band.

I am writing this just after our third wedding anniversary and am thinking back on all of the adventures we’ve had since that day and plan to have in the future. I am heading back to my favorite city this week, and Kevin will join me there for a bit a week later. This time, we have the opportunity to meet with friends and explore the city at our own pace, the only agenda being to fall in love with the city and all it has to offer all over again.

Check out Kevin’s London Musts list and stay tuned to learn more about what I’ll be up to while I’m there.