Report From England, March 2026

March 25, 2026

The jet leg always gets you on the second day…

England was a delightful spring-like wonderland compared to the cold that greeted us when we got back to Chicago!

There were flowers everywhere:

We weren’t in London for all that long; we bracketed our rural driving adventures with time in London, but not nearly ENOUGH time. I think London is like Paris (or New York, or Chicago…) in that you can spend a lifetime getting to know the city, and you’ll still fall short!

Everything I’m sharing today is kind of random stream of sleepiness, as opposed to stream of consciousness; I’m not completely awake, so my stream of consciousness might just drop off…zzz…

First up, I did very little shopping, and bought very little. Anything I bought I would have to either have shipped, or carry around for the entire trip. Further, the majority of stores that we saw in London were nothing new to us – most of them have stores in Chicago too. Or else Paris. At any rate, there is virtually nothing in the world that I need, and I do not need an extra bag to haul around the countryside.

Still, I did indulge in purple socks! And we went into the Asket store, which is a minimalist paradise. They have almost the best sweatshirts in the world (the nicest I’ve ever seen are Sunspel, if you must know!), and I bought a grey hoodie. I’ve meant to get one for a few months, but I wanted to get a really good one so I don’t ever have to buy another.

We went to both the Wallace Collection and the National Gallery, which might explain why we didn’t do much else!

This is such a sign of a civilized country:

The weather was lovely – I NEVER used my umbrella. In fact, I’m not quite sure where it is; I hope it’s still in my backpack…

And I made a last-minute call and swapped out my quilted jacket for my quilted vest. Heaven knows that if you want to fit in in London, wearing a Barbour vest is a quick shortcut! But for those of you heading to London, I can tell you with confidence that you can wear ANYTHING you want. We saw all kinds of things – almost as eclectic as New York, and much more interesting than street style in Chicago!

We spent out first nights in London at the Grazing Goat – I can highly recommend their rooms IF you don’t mind stairs. Our room was on the top floor, and it was a climb!

On the return, the night before we flew home we stayed in the Nobu Hotel at Portman Square. FAR more posh than anything in my normal life, but it was posh in an exquisite quality, exceptional service minimalist style. I could get used to it, I suppose… 

My wardrobe worked out really well! I was particularly happy to have my ponte knit pants with me; they felt just that wee bit dressier than the rest of my clothes.

If anybody invites you to Bury St. Edmunds, say yes! It is indeed where the remains of Saint Edmunds are buried. This tower was finished in 2005! Aptly named the Millennial Tower:

I was standing in the Abbey Garden when I took the above photo. If you love beautiful gardens and ruins of medieval religious structures, THIS garden is going to be a favorite. We sat in here and drank coffee for a really long time.

Hmmm… what else did I want to tell you? Oh yeah – instead of a second pair of ponte knit pants, I swapped for my black wide-wale corduroy pants. Corduroys are everywhere in England – especially in the countryside. I’m not at all sure that’s why I made the change – maybe for warmth? Or just a change from two pairs of ponte pants?

And packing my “sneakerinas” was genius!!! First up, the uppers of the shoes are fabric, so they can be squashed down almost flat. And after days of walking, being able to put these on for dinner was delightful. I wouldn’t want to walk more than a mile in them, but in the evenings they were perfect.

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Bury St. Edmunds, I’m sending you directly to The Angel Hotel. It’s across the street from the Abbey Gardens, so the view from our window was of the church tower and the entrance to the gardens…

And the area where we had tea each afternoon was lovely:

For what it’s worth, this was my travel capsule wardrobe:

In all honesty, I would probably pack these things up again if I were to go back right now. Well, the sweaters aren’t dry, and the shirts should be ironed.

Which might be something to consider. The first couple of days after you get home from a trip might be the WORST time to have to leave again in an emergency. Laundry undone, favorite clothes crumpled, toiletries and medications depleted. And it’s always entirely possible that your emergency hasn’t ended, or reignites in the worst possible way.

Anyway!

Our last stop was Woodbridge – a lovely little town on the Deben river. We sat by the river and watched the tide come in. We have lots of water in our view here in Chicago, but we do NOT have tides…

What do you think of this color combination? The main shopping area in Woodbridge has a number of antique stores, a few boutiques, a bookstore, and enough tea shops to keep the whole town hydrated. One boutique had this outside their doors, and the colors began to grow on me…

Just in case you were worried that my spring wardrobe was being neglected because I didn’t buy much in London, I’m delighted to report that ALL of the pieces that I pre-ordered from Eileen Fisher were in our package room when we got home:

Something I saw in the windows of the shops in Woodbridge that I wish was here also:

Clearly, Women’s History Month is in more than the US…

And how did we find the airports? O’Hare was a breeze for us; there was literally no line at all for TSA Pre-Check flyers, so we whizzed through there.

Arriving at Heathrow was so simple – we went through a kiosk that took our photograph, and we were FINISHED with immigration. My bag, which I checked like the chronic fatigue sissy that I am, was out in 5 minutes.

HOWEVER,  Heathrow is always a drag because they don’t tell you where your gate is until about an hour before boarding. If you are lucky enough to get early to the airport and get through security things in a reasonable time, you still have a LOT of time to pass in an area with lots of stores and relatively few seats. Sheesh!

Chicago wasn’t bad for us, but for people coming back into Chicago who did NOT have Global Entry, the line to have your passport checked was LONG. Mind you, this was Sunday night, before ICE was deployed to help out in the airports.

Ahem…

love,
Janice

p.s. Ten years ago, we were in the middle of a number of posts based on Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1 by Georgia O’Keeffe. It’s still lovely, and appropriate if the weather gets warmer! I am envious of the heroine…