A Suffolk Whirl

Bright and early Monday morning, Jon and I set off from north London to Liverpool Street Station to meet my parents for our train to Suffolk to join my future in-laws.  Okay, it wasn't early for most people - in fact, we caught the height of the morning rush hour - but we were on holiday!  We were also on a mission, though, so off we went, chugging east towards the North Sea.

Honestly, most of our time in Suffolk was taken up with wedding things, and I don't want to spoil the next few weeks of Wedding Wednesdays by writing about all of it here.  (Sneak peek: tomorrow will be the new florist, next week I'll post about the tasting lunch we had with the caterer, on the 15th I'll give you some hints about my dress and on the 22nd you'll hear about my exploration into the fabulous world of bridal headpieces, and the last Wednesday in May will be for a discussion of wedding drinks.)  But beyond the appointments and plans, it was wonderful to simply be with Jon and to see our parents getting to know each other better.  They'd met before, in September 2010, when Mom and Dad came to visit me in London and we then spent a weekend in Suffolk, but Jon and I had only been together for two years at that point; now we're engaged, and I really felt like we all started to be a family last week.  Jon's sister Ellie even came down from London one night to join us for dinner!

I'll share my photos with you from our whirlwind few days in Suffolk - believe it or not, I took many more than I Instagrammed! - but quickly, first, let me introduce you to the county.  Suffolk, with its 45 miles of coastline on the North Sea to the east and acres of rolling countryside to the west, includes the best of all of England.  I know I'm biased, but it's true!  It has pebbled beaches, lively marshland and quiet heath, whispering forests and waving fields as far as the eye can see, plus classic English wildlife - pheasants, rabbits, deer - straight out of a country cookbook.  Some of the towns were founded by the Vikings and you seem to stumble on a medieval church or castle at every turn.  This is where the romantic painter John Constable painted many of his most famous works, inspired by the generous land.  It's the England where Jon grew up and it's the England I know best outside of London, and I can't imagine getting married anywhere else.  You can learn more about Suffolk here and here - but here's how I explore it:

linking up with Helen in between for Travel Tuesdays