Our England Trip
Hello again, friends! I’m so excited to catch up. This past weekend, we got home after two weeks visiting family in Cornwall, England, and seeing friends in Italy (more on that soon). Here are a few photos, if you’d like to see…
The journey from Brooklyn to Cornwall is no joke: you take an overnight flight to London, rent a car, then drive five hours southwest to my aunt’s house.
But after all the anticipation, entering her village feels spectacular — you drive through miles of country lanes, then BURST into the harbor. This is the view!
Lulu always greets us with drinks, snacks, and huge smiles.
We took a bleary-eyed but happy photo on our first night.
Anton reunited with his long-lost cousin Jimmy, who is his English doppelgänger. They’re like little soulmates, jumping into the water, eating salt-and-vinegar chips, and getting into mischief. (Here’s a photo of them from six years ago.)
So brave!
And Toby finally caught up in height to his same-age cousin Bo. (Here’s a sweet slideshow of them through the years.)
On the height wall, the babies, toddlers, and kids slowly creep up, but teenagers start shooting up four inches every year. My sister’s late husband, Paul, also once marked his height in the morning and the evening to prove that people get shorter during the daytime.
Meanwhile, Lulu’s dog, Jane, seemed surprisingly unfazed by all the chaos.
On days when it didn’t rain (it’s still England, after all), we’d take the little boat into the ocean, where you can see jellyfish if you look over the side.
The boys would swim from the rocks to the boat.
And my dad was psyched didn’t care when I told him that boat shoes are actually very cool right now!
If it did rain, we’d hit the beach, as one does, haha.
Lunches were of the smash-and-grab variety…
…or we’d get fish and chips and mushy peas at the pub.
We also played a LOT of Go Fish. (What other classic card games do you like? Forever looking for recs.)
One afternoon, Julia Bird — of seaweed art fame — stopped by Lulu’s house, since she lives in the same town. I was so happy to meet her! After chatting about work and children and marriage, she said, “Well, I need to walk the dog and go for a swim, so I’m going to love you and leave you.” How sweet is that phrasing?
This is Julia’s lovely shop. (I brought home a little print for Freddie.)
In the evenings, we’d sit outside and chat…
And watch the boats.
One night — since the sky doesn’t get dark until 10 p.m. — I lay in bed, looking over the water, and thought about how many times we’ve come to Cornwall, ever since I was seven. We’ve missed a few summers here and there — when money was tight, or when I had babies, or during quarantine — but overall these annual visits have felt like a heartbeat in our lives. We moved around a lot when we were growing up, but my grandparents’ yellow house was always there, every year, exactly the same. While writing this post, I was thinking how there isn’t much new to report, but then I realized, that’s the point. It’s all cousins and wet suits and fishing lines and half an avocado in the fridge.
The only catch was a stomach bug that passed through the group — or, as Toby called it, “the disease.” We almost escaped unscathed, until we drove back to London and I caught it from my brother. But every adventure has some ups and downs, right? That’s what makes it a family vacation.
Thank you so much for reading. We love you, Cornwall! Italy recap coming soon… xoxoxo
P.S. Many England trips through the years, and what’s your #1 travel tip?
Tags: anton, england vacation, personal, toby
Comments
104 commentswhat town were you in Cornwall, and for a visit what town(s) do you recommend- any recommended places to stay? Thx!
Maybe it would be impossible / weird, but I swear if you raffled off a home-stay at your Aunt’s place, you would raise $1M. It’s such a DREAM!
Whenever you write about Cornwall, it makes me think of Rosamunde Pilcher novels, but this year in particular I have to comment! The combination of Cornwall and the Italian rented villas is SO perfect for her book The Shell Seekers. It is an absolutely gorgeous story, as is Coming Home.
I thought the exact same thing! I read Winter Solstice, then The Shell Seekers, then Coming Home, all since February. I just want to fall into those books!
I thought everyone said “Im going to love you and leave you”. If we just pop into someones house for a while and then need to leave, thats what we always say :) xx
Oh Joanna, that photo of you and your dad made me cry! So precious. I lost my father in April and I will never sit with him again like you do, hug him hard I love it so much when he makes appearances on COJ! xx
We just taught our boys (13 and 12) to play spit!
Game I’m loving = Hey Cow! When I first started dating my now husband, he told me he made a card game which caused me to be very skeptical…but it turned out to be awesome. Fun original art, punny, easy to learn and fast, great for ages 6 and up. Give it a try! https://tweedledeegames.com/products/hey-cow-card-game?srsltid=AfmBOopozzIisbC95SyUlQMsMRTdEnuRVBQ9b4R9wMppW4KykQa04FPi
Hi Joanna! I love your writing about those trips over the years. I remember your grandma doing embroidery pillows. One day you mentioned, were she get her Kits& Patterns. Would you mind sharing egain, bc i can’t seem to find the post. Thank you!
I’ll ask my aunt!
Currently obsessed with the card game, Castle! (Also called Palace, also also called Green Goblin?) https://www.wikihow.com/Play-the-Palace-Card-Game
I have long wanted to visit Cornwall–definitely at least partly inspired by you, Jo!–and over Christmas last year we fiunally made a little trip with my partner and our son. We loved it. I bought, for 1 GBP, a used book at the post office in town in Polperro that I read throughout our time. It’s called When God Was a Rabbit and is partly set in Cornwall featuring a family that opens up a B&B when the move to Cornwall. I’ve been burnt out on my work for a bit and long had the dream to run a little B&B (probably since I was 19!), so encountering that story while we had a perfect, quiet Christmas was just perfect. We are now in very early stages of planning a family-run B&B (location tbd) as we figure out where we’ll move/live next after my current work contract expires…! We are New Yorkers currently in Geneva and hoping (!!!) to stay in Europe for the long haul. Anyway, like everyone, I love this annual post. Thank you for sharing your beautiful family and traditions with us :)
Love reading your England trip recaps and seeing the kids grow up! We love playing Big 2 (Chinese card game) and Slap Jack!
The making of family memories – it is wonderful and you have a wonderful place (and family) for it. I always enjoy your posts about these trips. Thank you for sharing.
Your penultimate paragraph is perfect. Giving that a screenshot to keep mulling over. Looks like the loveliest time!! Thank you for sharing, Jo. xo
Thanks for sharing trip photos – Cornwall looks like a lovely place. My British cousin who lives in Wimbledon also will say, “I’m going to love you and leave you.”
Thanks for sharing, Joanna! Cornwall seems like such a lovely, charming place; I adore these posts. We don’t have a family tradition like this but looking forward to a trip out west in a couple of weeks. Seeing Paul’s entries on the pub column is bittersweet. As another reader said more eloquently, “how we endure.”
The photo of you and your dad! Sob! xo
The last picture made me laugh a lot because in the uk that is a very rude gesture that you are doing Jo! My husband is English and he is forever laughing at all of the cool kids on my side of the family posing like that for pictures :-D
Lol, I’m Canadian but clocked that from my extensive BritBox viewing.
Same in NZ. Basically the same as flipping the bird. Ha ha.
I was thinking it must be bittersweet to return to the same place again and again, so many memories of those no longer with us but the same time you can still find joy and make new memories. It’s so beautiful there- I always look forward to your recaps when you visit. Thank you for sharing this slice of your life and family. Your aunts seem amazing :)
If it’s not inappropriate to ask (and if it’s not already answered below), where do you all sleep?! It looks like so many people for a cozy little home.
There are four bedrooms in the house so some of us rent nearby cottages :)
Love card games! Some that have stuck around in our family include – Uno, Skip-Bo, Crazy Eights, Set, and the most fun (and a huge hit with anyone I introduce it to!) is a game that my daughter learned in the Netherlands called Swedish Bully. I wish I could share the instructions, but it sounds a bit complicated at first and kind of just needs to be played to get an understanding.
I love this so much. What lovely photos and so glad you are able to visit family with your boys!
Recommendation: the French card game, Piou Piou. A strategy game about laying, stealing, and hatching eggs. Fun and fast.
Just love your Cornwall posts. Jo, looks like your destiny is gorgeous silver hair! Lucky you!!
I’m crushing on the Stones T-shirt–love it! I have a 10′ x 10′ Rolling Stones themed room in my house (including a life sized cardboard cut out of Mick Jagger), and it’s my super happy space! My first tattoo ever inked this past April–the tongue on my left calf of course…lol
Canasta! I started playing with my husband’s family. The first five times I played I would get so frustrated (I even cried a couple times). But once I got the hang of it, it became one of my favorite pastimes. I have so many fond memories of driving from Austin to San Antonio to spend the whole weekend playing Canasta. My FIL has since passed and while we play three player sometimes it’s really a completely different game. The fun in Canasta you always have a partner, whose moves you come to know quite intimately. I sometimes think the reason my MIL and I get along so well is we started out as Canasta partners!
We say, “well, I’m going to love you and leave you!” as a goodbye in my family in Australia too, and now I’m wondering if that’s because my mum is English (Yorkshire)? Never thought of it before! Love these pics of Cornwall, thanks for sharing!
I swear, this is my favorite post every year. Cornwall better anoint you its American ambassador since you’ve inspired so many people to visit. Seeing Paul’s handwriting immortalized on the height wall is really moving. What a tribute to love and life, with all its passages. How we endure.
My whole life has been punctuated by a semi-annual, week-long family reunion at the beach in North Carolina. It’s been happening since the 70s (20 years before I was born). It reminds me of your Cornwall trips. I love the sameness of it. The same beaches, the same laughter, the fabulous food, the crew who does yoga in the mornings, the folks who read on the beach, the catching up on what’s new and changed in lives and jobs, the euchre tournaments, the sand underfoot, and the general lack of wearing normal clothes – swimsuits all day long. I have decades of photo memories that appear in my Google photos in July, each passing reunion with new faces of new spouses and newly born cousins that are now so familiar that it’s weird to think they once weren’t there. Nothing ever changes and yet everything does – everyone is older and the same and somehow they are also new and more interesting, and I love them all more every time. Ah, life, what a joy to live it!
This sounds amazing! As someone who has no such tradition, I’m wondering how it’s possible to get started. Does the CoJ hive mind have any tips??
card game rec: Dutch Blitz, which is a new-to-me version of Nertz
My husband and I are outdoorsy, and we’re trying not to pressure our baby either way. But he recently had his first trip to the beach and would fuss if he couldn’t explore the sand in his little full body rash guard. I know it’s too early to say, but I can’t help but get a little dreamy about it, seeing photos of boys in wetsuits.
Your annual Cornwall trip is so soothing to vicariously live through! The repetition of drinks o clock, a boat trip, some swimming, lounging around, and enjoying your family is heartwarming and earnest. I echo others in my gratitude for your family’s generosity in letting us share in your time together. For those who may not be fortunate to have such a close relationship and set of traditions with their own families, or who may live too far away to join in (me, for now), it’s comforting to read about yours. I can feel the sense of peace that comes from your time with family in England. A few years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Cornwall with my mom and grandmother and we ended up staying in Fowey, in large part inspired by your happy memories there. It was every bit as magical as we’d hoped (and the seaweed art shop is even more impressive in person; the textures!). I loved the calm and quiet, and walking along the see on the cliffs of Polruan.
These trip reports are always so charming! Love the little kid in the rain gear, that is absolutely the right approach. And the ups and downs of travel are real… we recently went on a big, once in a lifetime trip Down Under. Coming back my seven year old got sick and threw up in the customs line at LAX. Then we had to run across the entire airport to catch our last flight. Not the best way to end the trip but it’s all part of the story now 😂
Aww my granny and grandpa had the exact same plates (also in England)
This was so lovely to read xo
Love Toby and Bo! Twins!
Okay, as usual, every outdoors photo is a postcard. Everything is beautiful and dreamy and looks just like Rosamunde Pilcher’s descriptions of Cornwall. I’m oddly fascinated with the summer sunrise/sunset times of northerly locales, and have had Truro saved on my weather app for months (really!), and check those daily. I really want to go visit a place that “doesn’t get dark until 10 pm” during July. Apparently, Aunt Lulu’s is the place! Thanks for sharing your fun trip.
One June we took our children to York and their favorite thing was trying to stay awake until dark. Our ground floor family room in our B&B had a door into the garden. We would open the door before we got in bed and just lay there and watch the light fade oh so slowly. The family dogs would find their way in and join us. Just the most wonderful way to end our days.
Right now in Seattle the sun is setting at 9:05 PM and then the sky slowly shuffles through darker shades of blue til 10. Come visit!
Minneapolis (i’m in a suburb 20 minutes out, in a glorious wooded quiet area) still isnt getting dark dark until about 9:30, late June it was 10, makes putting littles to bed tricky but it’s summer. We stay up, look for fire flies and play in the grass bare foot.
Can I just say how much I love that your dad is wearing his life jacket? The sweetest.
I want to say, like others, how much I look forward to these posts! Please thank your family for their generosity of spirit to let us peek in at your family vacations. They are a balm for my soul and I appreciate everyone’s openness. Watching the cousins grow up – what a privilege for us all, thank you!
Yes agreed! A big thank you to your friends and family who let us be a part of their special (and ordinary) moments! It is what makes this corner of the internet so unique and warm.
I couldn’t agree more – ditto to everything Amy said! Your Cornwall visit post is always my favourite of the year. So heartwarming. It’s like I can feel all the love and familiarity and joy and nostalgia through your photos. xx
Just seconding this sentiment!
Yes! Ditto! I want to live by the water and welcome all my far fledged relatives like Aunt Lulu!
I love the picture of the little cousin in rain gear!! So cute and funny!
joanna, can i come on the next trip? this is so beautiful!
I, for one, would be sad if this post wasn’t virtually the same every year. It’s perfection. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Agreed. Such special memories being made and Millie’s legacy shining through.
‘I’m going to love you and leave you’ or as it sounds when people I know say it – ‘I’ll love ya n leave ya’ is such a classic English phrase that we use without thinking. I love that you noticed it AND mentioned what a lovely thing it is to say. I’d honestly never thought about it, despite using it and hearing it a lot. A good reminder of all the little beautiful moments, that are so easy to miss if you’re not looking.
Loved the paragraph about this being the heartbeat of your life. The whole post was lovely. I hope I can give my son (who’s 4 months old today) something like this in his life, just a constant familiar fun place to look forward to every year. Also another note – I love that Toby still wears the tights underneath the shorts look. If I remember correctly, that’s been his thing since he was tiny! So sweet lol
That photo of the boys on the couch with the dog and an aunt half out of frame? I could practically hear the layers of loving chatter 🥰
“I’m going to love you and leave you” is one of my favourite departure phrases – I say it all the time.
Love the trip photos! Our family has been obsessed with the card game The Mind, if you’re looking for something different.
I, too, love your summer holiday photos. I’m the English parent -living in Wyoming – and not being able to relocate because the father of MY children is American. But also because the quality of life I have here is pretty hard to beat. Wyoming = Cornwall. NYC = London. How wonderful that our children get to experience so many perfect places !!
Where in Wyoming? We’re in the Bighorn Basin and summer is hard to beat here!
Hey neighbors, up north in south west Montana. Summer is pretty much heaven isn’t it?
Loved this post so much. Cornwall looks like a dream. Beautiful to see the relationship the boys have with their cousins. I do laugh when I read Americans talking about the long flights etc. to Europe. As an Australian, I think I wish I only had a 9 hour flight or so (and of course your 5 hour drive) if we want to go to Europe it’s a 22 – 24 hour flight.
That caught my eye too (for different reasons). I live in Maine and a trip to England is a quick flight (5 hours) as opposed to a possible 9-10 hour flight to California (with a connection). We are doing this exact trip in December (Maine-London-Cornwall). I can’t wait for the road trip part. Driving through English villages (stopping for food at pubs) is the most appealing part of the trip for me! My friends/family members who are “city folk” are not into road-trippy trips like we are though… I guess it’s a good thing we have city people and rural people!
I hope your trip to Cornwall continues to be a happy part of your lives, and you share this post yearly forever. May God protect you and your family from evil eyes, jealousy, and envy. Xx.
I always love seeing your Cornwall posts and I maybe feel this way every year but I think I am even more emotional and moved by seeing the kids this year —they are so big! It feels surreal as someone who has been reading your blog since I was in college and now have two little boys of my own. Your blog has always felt like dispatches from the future in the most warm and comforting way possible. I’m a doctor and Paul’s memoir came out when I was in medical school and memories of reading it then will stay with me forever, just feel very connected to your family in many ways (like so many of us do, which is part of what makes you very good at your job!). I love remembering your squishy babies and squirmy toddles as I look at my own now, and seeing how yours have stretched out into these lanky guys! Thanks for sharing your life and wisdom with all of us💛
Love it! We play a lot of Rummy and Dutch Blitz!
I’ll never tire of seeing snapshots of your travels! The boys on the couch – their legs are so long❤️ Your dad leaning toward you and your face aglow with a huge, beaming grin. I’m so glad you had a wonderful time … despite the dreaded stomach bug. Thanks for sharing, Joanna
My eight-year old nephew just taught me how to play Speed—but all his sisters had different ways of playing it! It was so fun to play with each of them.
Another vote for speed! I actually learned about it recently on Instagram @Tabletopfamily. I also play with my 8 year old son.
So, so lovely! Thanks for sharing. Every time you post one of these recaps I feel like I’m getting a glimpse of people living in a Rosamunde Pilcher novel. And, so random but I grew up eating off those same blue and white plates which just makes it all see even more cozy and familiar. It’s so wonderful that your family can enjoy each other so much and keep your beautiful traditions alive.
That photo of you and your dad is everything!
Your yearly Cornwall posts have me itching to visit there!! Would love to hear more about the ‘logistics’ behind these type of family trips- how are dates decided? Are rooms shared? Who pays for groceries? I’m always so curious how other families navigate this!
my cousin Jeremy and I typically figure out a date that works for our two families, since we’re the ones with kids. then my dad will always join us, and the English cousins/aunts will join for any days they’re free (sometimes that’s just the weekend; other times, the entire week or two). lulu’s two sons (and their wives/kids) get to stay at the big yellow house because of course she wants her boys and grandkids close to her :) then, the boys and I will rent a cottage (along with another couple or my dad, etc) in the village, usually right across the street from my aunt’s house. there are lots of cottages for rent in the summer. they’re super affordable compared to NYC or other places we’ve visited in the U.S. — for example, our four-bedroom cottage this year was $1500 for a full week (so approximately $200/night for all four bedrooms), and it was sooooo pretty. for groceries, people always contribute to the main house — bringing lots of produce, bread, wine, cheese, cereal, yogurt, etc — and I’ll often pick up the tab when we have dinner at the pub or grab lunch at a restaurant, since I’m not a great cook. hope this helps!! joannaxo
Oh, I’m freaking out at the cost for the week. That is cheap. We recently had a weekend away in Bright, Victoria (Australia) for my brother’s 60th and for a two night stay every place was wanting about $1,200.00 – that’s 2 nights, middle of winter (it is near ski fields).
It’s important to note that the price of places is much higher once UK school holidays start- which this later than the US. This year summer break starts on the 23rd July. I can guarantee that cottage will be probably double in late July+ August! Anyone visiting the UK from the US will find better deals outside of then, and also to avoid half terms as well.
So many game suggestions. We board games we love are Dixit, Telestrations, MonsDRAWsity, Sushi Go Party.
Lovely post! Do you ever see yourself relocating to England at some point in the future? Hope the rest of your summer is dreamy :)
we think about it, but it’s a little tougher now that I’m divorced, because my kids’ dad is American, so it wouldn’t be as easy for him to move with us. but it’s definitely sometimes I daydream about :)
Your beautiful aunt and Julia Bird…older women, makeup free, happy, something to aspire to!
I always look forward to this post. ❤️
I adore this. I love how you’ve written about the beauty of constant things and the heartbeat of your life, the half an avocado in the fridge. I’m really missing some similar times at the moment and want to bring them back. Things change and things also stay the same and sometimes you need to let it flow and other times make that effort to keep it all going (like the flight and the drive and the stomach bug) because it is so so worth it.
Beautiful pictures. Besides Uno Flip (which we love), we like Dos, SkyJo (easy for young to old), The Game, Saboteur, and I’ll always be a fan of SkipBo, double Solitaire, Rummy and Crazy 8.
Just learned Skip Bo from a 4 and 7 year old and was hooked!! Definitely a fun and easy card game for all ages. (Was in the opposite situation the week before with the card game Hanabi with cousins–do not recommend!! Just thinking of my 70 year old aunt’s side eye being forced to learn by her son has me in tears of laughter)
Hi Jo! would you be able to share where you found Anton’s wetsuit? I’m always looking for higher visibility options for the ocean… aaaand my daughter’s nickname is currently orca – she’s just like a little whale in the ocean, diving and surfacing. (I searched the brand but didn’t find anything similar.) Thank you!
Lulu has a few wetsuits for the house that all the kids share through the years — I’ll ask her for the brand!
Cornish Mum here with my oldest similar age to Anton! Always makes me appreciate living here when I read about your trips. Brand is orca which tends to do triathlon/swim wetsuits so fairly niche! https://www.orca.com/en-gb/kids/wetsuits?srsltid=AfmBOooGyiFlscBZxdkgJovP0X3nwgdtbylxGXIYwDriOlx2bA-Pq7Bi
Some card games I love: Phase 10, Spit, Spoons (so fun/challenging with a big group!) and Bullshit (prob best to change the name if playing w kids ha ha)
Cribbage is our family vacation game – good for 2, 3, or 4 players. But if we have 4, I’m always pushing for Euchre like a good Michigander.
Euchre!! Just had a rousing game out here in Indiana.
My husband is from Michigan, and he taught me to play Euchre almost 30 years ago. We live in WA (where it doesn’t get dark until almost 10 in July) where we have raised our 7 kids—all play Euchre, including the newest additions to the family! My son comes home tonight and will request Euchre at least once this weekend.
Are these Toby/anton’s first cousins? Or are they your cousin’s children? I wasn’t sure if your brother had children? Did Lucy and her daughter come? What a fantastic family reunion. That height wall is absolutely the sweetest, what a big and happy family!! When is Freddie making the trip? 😉
looks like such a lovely trip ! also, who is the cute guy in the striped shorts on the boat ?? 🙃
Yes can we get a Week Of Outfits with this person?? Hopefully all shorts looks if not too much trouble. A PSA to men these are the shorts women want.
yeah, that guy is HOT
Literally same question — I need those shorts!! Undecided if for myself or my husband haha.
Hahaha, I came to the comments to see if anyone else admired this cutie in the striped shorts! Seconding the outfit post request!
The rare photo of Joanna making an obscene gesture, yes! That house is pure magic, even with The Disease, and I love that the branches of your family orbit around it over the decades like planets and moons. Its gravity is palpable in the way you come back from Cornwall with your feet planted. <3
I’m always struck by this gesture when I see it in happy photos. I think North Americans think the peace sign works both ways, with back or palm of hand… but in this case, maybe Jo is purposely giving the “up yours!” Haha
hahah yes I’m doing the peace sign or kind of a “party” sign — I didn’t know it was ever the “up yours” sign! hahaha
Check in with your English rellies on your hand gesture if you think it’s a peace sign / rabbit-ears-for-photo thing 😂
I wish I could give you a metric to represent how much your blog has impacted my life (in terms of clothing, relationships, how I do my makeup, the movies I enjoy, the list goes on!), but truly, I think the one thing that has influenced me the most is your relationship with your family abroad! Your Aunt’s wonderful home and the traditions you keep, as well as your ability to stay close despite the distance–it’s really had an impact on me. I have quite a small family these days, and we’re rather scattered, but this gives me so much hope.
This is like a cool breeze and a dish of ice cream and a good book. So comforting to just see happiness, and beauty. Despite everything.