Our time in London ended far too quickly for my liking. I would have liked to spend another week in the city just checking out restaurants. But all good things must end – or in this case – move ahead on to other good things.

We started our morning having coffee with Will – our wonderful host for the trip. He was so generous and accommodating during our stay that I think both of us were quite bummed out that we had to say our goodbyes already.

We snapped a quick pic at our final exit of the Walthamstow Central tube stop. We just got the hang of the subway and it was time to leave!

We met up with the rest of the group for a final breakfast before heading to the next stop. A full English breakfast was a perfect note to leave on. We said some more sad goodbyes and then met at the train.

Jess, Rob, Jason and I followed Jay back to his home in Bournemouth. It was a few hours outside London along the coast.

Jay had been gearing up for our tour of his hometown for months now and was excited to take us to all of his favorite spots. First on the list was a stop at the Cornish Bakehouse for pasties. They were so good (imagine a really good hot pocket) and Jason regularly fantasizes about eating these again.

After our chow session, Jay took us through the local park, the Lower Gardens, that ran down into Bournemouth pier.

Walking the beach was the last thing I expected out of our trip to Europe so being able to do so, and on such a nice day was a real treat.

After enjoying the sites for a while we headed to a local coffee spot – Espresso Kitchen. You can check out just how awesome this shop was in an upcoming Coffee Break post.

We stuff ourselves full of cake & coffee and then headed to Jay’s house to meet up with his lovely partner Aisha (who blogs about all things crafty at Dandelion Life) and their cute pooch Murphy. We were just in time to join them for a walk.

This labradoodle was ready!

We walked along a scenic area just minutes away from Jay & Aisha’s house.

It was a quiet, peaceful area and Murphy was certainly not complaining about the water access.

A day well spent, let’s go back home Murph!

Aisha is basically the hostess with the mostess – She cooked everyone a delicious, savory dinner. Having a home cooked meal felt so good.

After dinner drinks came courtesy of Pimm’s – our new found English drink of choice.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention – Aisha made us dessert too! She went above and beyond making us feel welcome in her home.

Time for Jay’s drink of choice.

We spent the rest of the night drinking and talking and playing some card games. I’m about 95% sure I was totally crass and embarrassing but what can you do. I was so thankful to have these friends on the other side of the ocean. These friends that I had only known through email and podcasts were so generous and kind to us, opening up their home and their kitchen. It was one of the best nights of my life and I’m forever thankful to Jay and Aisha for allowing it to happen.

Eventually, we realized Murph had the right idea and turned in. What a crazy few days we had just experienced.