Going Home

My Wife and I have just booked flights to England.

I haven't been back home since I moved to Houston just over 4 years ago. I don't think it's really settled in yet. It's been so long since I was there that I haven't started thinking about what I want to do when we get there.

We'll be in England for our first anniversary. I thought we should do something special so I'll be taking my Wife on a tour of Old Trafford. Ok, so I'm just kidding about that, we don't have to go on our actual anniversary..

We'll be there for 12 days and we have to make stops in at least three different cities, maybe four so we'll spend a lot of time running around getting to visit everyone.

My Wife hasn't been home to Ireland since 1999 so we're planning on going there for a couple of days. Flights from Manchester are only £10 per person (including taxes) so there's really no excuse not to. Maybe some of my friends can meet us there for a night out so we can kill two birds with one stone.

The first thing we've thought about is all of the goodies we can bring back with us. Obviously I will be stocking up on Cadbury's Dairy Milk and my Dad has already placed an order for some Mince Pies so we'll have to take a couple of extra suitcases. Times certainly have changed. We used to visit the US with a spare case for all of the clothes we could buy here, these days the spare case is for food you can only get in England (or Ireland).

Ever since we met, my Wife has been telling me about something called a Spice Burger. This is something you can only get in Ireland and apparently isn't actually spicy but I'm sure we'll get to try one on our trip.

I'm hoping to show my Wife where I grew up. I think she will be surprised at the part of Manchester we used to live. It wasn't any worse than most areas in Manchester but it is a world away from the life we have today. I think after the visit she will put any thoughts of moving back there one day right out of her mind!

It will be November when we're there so we can do some Christmas shopping, but the weather is going to be quite a shock after four and a half years in Houston. My Wife doesn't even own a coat so no doubt there will be a shopping trip to stock up on winter woollies.

It will be good to see friends and family we haven't seen for a while, especially those who couldn't make it over for the wedding and I'll finally get to meet the rest of Jennifer's family that I've heard so much about.

I did joke that I would have to check United's fixtures before we booked the flights to make sure I got to go to at least one game but we'll be so busy that there is plenty more I'd actually rather do. That statement alone shows you how much my life has changed since I left England!

Anyway, I'm sure the excitement will only grow between now and then as one of the best parts of travelling is planning all the places you're going to see.