I’ve been recounting my adventures while not on the road. Back in 2012 my family and I travelled to England to attend a cousin’s wedding before making our way to Italy and cruising the Mediterranean.
English Wedding
In the summer of 2012, we flew from Vancouver to England to attend a cousin’s wedding in Birmingham. This was one of the last “big” family trips we took together. As both my sister and I grew older, it became increasingly difficult to schedule time to travel as a family.
We arrived two days before the wedding to give ourselves a little time to visit tour and enjoy the city. We flew into London and rented a car for the short two hour drive to Birmingham. I had intended to be the primary driver and was the one responsible for booking the rental car. However, before the trip, I was so eager to make use of a new “money belt”, I neglected to bring my drivers licence! There was a bit of panic, but thankfully Dad brought his. To this day he still reminds me of the time I almost stranded us before our trip even got off the ground.
With no other hiccups we had an uneventful drive and check into our Hotel.
Birmingham
We spent the next day meeting up with family and exploring Birmingham. We spent a majority of the day at the Bullring Shopping Centre. It’s a large shopping area with some cool architecture and markets outside. We met up with other extended family that flew in, and shared a meal together.
My immediate family and I also dropped by a local Costco just to see what its like! Sufficed to say its a lot like the ones in North America, though the food choices are a bit different.
Wedding Day
The next day would be spent at the wedding location. My cousins had booked a beautiful rural “farm” dedicated to special events like weddings called Packington Moor. It was an amazing day spent with friends and family and the venue for it couldn’t have been better!
We celebrated with our cousins and danced the night away! The next morning we would be flying out of Birmingham Airport enroute to Rome!