London Recap

London Recap:

Time away from home: 17 weeks

Cities visited: 11 (London, Windsor, Bath, Brighton, Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Inverness, Lewes, Chawton, Sunningdale)

Castles/Palaces seen/visited: 14 (Buckingham Palace, Palace at Westminster, Kensington Palace, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Castle, Tower of London, Windsor Castle, Blair Castle, Hampton Court Palace, St. James’s Palace, Lewes Castle, Royal Pavilion, plus two others I can’t remember the name of)

Literary Sites visited: 17 (The Eagle and Child, The Elephant Café, Christ Church College, Blackwells, Hatchards, Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and Bath, The Pump Room, Charles Dickens’ House, River Ouse, The Globe, The Rose, The Conan Doyle, Mayfair, 7 Dials, Bow Street, Peter Pan Statue, Walter Scott Memorial)

Celebrities Seen: 12+ (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Julie Walters, Rupert Grint, Lloyd Owen, Roger Allam, Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Will Poulter, Matt Cardle, Rebecca Ferguson, Aidan Grimshaw, and more that I can’t remember)

Plays Seen: 18 (The 39 Steps, Romeo and Juliet, Design for Living, Comedy of Errors, Tiny Kushner, Henry IV Part 1 & 2, Merry Wives of Windsor, Les Miserables, Wicked, Tribes, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Tempest, Faust, Hamlet, Blood and Gifts, Romeo and Juliet, Midsummer Night’s Dream)

Trips to Spain cancelled: 1

Days of Snow: 4

Hours Spent Traveling(by bus, plane, train or car): 100+

Miles walked: Too many to count

Overall, this was a fantastic semester. A few hitches along the way, but I still had a blast. I think it was good for me to live away from home for so long. It gave me a taste of what life will probably be like after May. It also made me realize that there is a difference in knowing you are going to be some place indefinitely and having an exit date. I know that I have grown as a person and my understanding of the world has shifted and changed, which I guess was probably the point of the whole thing J

Frost

In honor of the first snow of the year here in London, my last Writing in the City creative piece!

PS I go home in 10 days!!!! (Before that though, I go to Spain on Saturday until Tuesday)

Cold. Cold that seeps into your bones.

Night. Night that comes before you’re ready.

As I sit by the window, I hide from the frost outside.

Barren. Barren trees that hibernate for the winter.

Solitude. Solitude that protects us from the cold.

As the fire crackles, I hide from the frost outside.

Glitter. Glitter from the frost that coats every surface.

White. White that falls from the sky to join the frost.

As I shrug on my coat, I hide from the frost outside.

Steam. Steam from my breath that dances in the air.

Roses. Roses that color my cheeks as they greet the cold.

As I step outside, I embrace the frost.

Frost. Frost that comes with winter.

Winter. Winter that lets the world sleep.

As the earth sleeps, the Londoners embrace the frost. 

Soundtrack of the City- Josh Groban Remix

So, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE Josh Groban. His new album, Illuminations, came out on Monday and I adore it. So, since my brain won't shut down and I still have two more creative pieces to get done for my Writing in the City class, I've done a remix of my Soundtrack of the City poem with lyrics from the new JG album since it's all I'm listening to right now (ok, except for occasional moments when I need a few Glee songs or Christmas music).

There's a pale winter moon in the sky

Coming through my window

Who puts the rainbow in the sky?

Who lights the stars at night?

Woosh woosh (Please Mind the Gap! Doors Closing.)

A lua que esclarece esse sol sem descansar jamais

Amar o quanto precisar que ame

Over mountains and sky blue seas

On great circles will you watch for me?

Lately all your sweet rhymes recreate me,

now comes the time when I'll need your truth to see.

sous un ciel bleu, ciel sans nuage

retournons la-bas

Shuffle, Click, Shuffle, Click

I drew my line across the sand

And set my flag in no mans land

You were the secret I loved keep

the name I would only sing in my sleep

Hoonk Hoonk! (Beep Beep Beep!)

Tu soffri come soffro

Quando è l’ora dell’addio

This is the time of our great undoing

This is the time that I'll come running

You see these hands?

They're millions strong

Life goes on, and on, and on

City of Ghosts

I know. I know. I'm terrible. It's been WAY too long since I updated. What can I say? Life here has been crazy, and, as is typical for this time of year, school has sucked away my desire to write anything. November sucks. BUT, having to do homework means I've written more for my Writing in the City class.

This poem is inspired by our trip to the Tower of London to see the Ceremony of the Keys. This 700 year old ceremony marks the closing of the ancient castle/fortress/prison each night. Most people don't know about it and it's a relatively short ceremony, but going to it allows you to see the Tower at night, which is seriously cool/mildly creepy when you think of how many poor souls were tortured/killed there. Hence, the poem.

CITY OF GHOSTS

London is a city of ghosts.

Night falls early and they come out to play.

Look to the ramparts and roofs.

That’s where they stay.

The mists roll in and the air grows crisp.

Among us move the witnesses of the past.

What have they seen?

These people whose lives were gone all too fast.

They’re not a frightening lot.

Lives lost can’t be anything but sad.

Perhaps they bring warning for those of us still here.

We live in a world that is mad, mad, mad.

Walk the city with them.

Listen to their tales.

They are the heart of the buildings.

They’re still here when all else fails. 

Eye of the Storm

A poem I wrote for my Writing in the City Class about Hyde Park

Peace. Comfort. Breath.

Verdant green. Soothing chocolate. Calming colors.

Walking along the path, the chaos of the city disappears.

People walk past, in twos or threes, alone.

A gentle noise. A peaceful hum. A silent purr.

Listening to the quiet, the chaos of the city disappears.

Children play, ducks swim, dogs run.

Across the congested road, around the crowded corner, below in the Tube, 

Buzzing activity is all around, but here, the chaos of the city disappears.

Cool grass. Gentle breeze. Nature’s perfume in the air.

Breathing in, breathing out, eyes closing 

With the rhythm of the park, the chaos of the city disappears.

Forget work. Forget worry. Forget whatever.

Being one, being there, being part of it,

Here in the Eye of the Storm, the chaos of the city disappears. 

A bench placed in a particular spot in Hyde Park
by the Serpentine because Rudolf loved it.

Random List 2: Literary BFFs

One of the blogs I follow had a guest spot asking “Who Would be your Literary BFF?” so that got me pondering (shocker, I know). So, rather than working on my novel, as I should be (in all fairness, I’ve written 11,000 words in the past 10 days, so that’s not too shabby, but still), I made up my own list.

1. Elizabeth Bennett from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Lizzie and I might be too much alike to get along, but I think we could have great fun together. We both enjoy reading and going on tramps around just to enjoy the solitude of it (I’m particularly fond of the latter activity now that I live with five other people). I also appreciate someone who can be snarky with me, especially about ridiculous people.

2. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery – In my head, Anne and I have been friends for the past 13 years or so. We go on rambles through the Haunted Woods and let our imaginations run wild. I think of Anne as my dreamy alter-ego. When I’m feeling particularly fanciful, I’m channeling my inner-Anne.

3. Skeeter Phelan from The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Again, a snarky friend. Skeeter can only put up with so much B.S. from stupid people and I can TOTALLY sympathize. On top of that, she’s a writer too, so we could sit around and talk about the trials and tribulations of writing.

4. Ella from Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine – Again, another long-term literary BFF. Ella’s sassy patience has always made me smile. She’s bright, funny and knows what she wants. I hate indecisive people.

5 Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser from Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon – I don’t know if we would necessarily be BFFs, but she would definitely be an interesting person to be friends with. Between the time-traveling and her knowledge about herbs and such, there would never be a lull in conversation.

6. Honoria  Cynster from Cynster novels by Stephanie Laurens – I love the no-nonsense, quiet strength of the Cynster matriarch. She deals with a family full of stubborn, opinionated men without batting an eye. I would love to learn her ways from her, because God knows I need all the help I can get.

7. Margaret Hale from North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell – Sometimes I already think I am BFFs with Margaret in real life. Her quiet, but fierce personality reminds me of my BFF Katrina.

8. Jo March Baeher from Little Women trilogy by Louisa May Alcott – Jo probably would have gotten me in a lot of trouble, but she would’ve been a great BFF. We could stay up late together writing and bounce ideas off each other.

9. Ellie Harrison from Avalon High by Meg Cabot – Another sassy, no-nonsense girl. She also loves to read just as much as I do. I don’t know about the whole running thing, but being friends with a reincarnation of the Lady of the Lake would be fun, right?

10. Lucy and Peter Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis – Peter, well, quite honestly I would want to be BFFs with him and possibly date him. Mostly I would want to be friends with Lucy because she thinks like me and is into the whole believing is seeing thing. She’s a strong personality, which I like, but she’s also very philosophical.

Who would your literary BFFs be? Are they life-long friends or new ones you just met?

Touching Greatness

Anyone who knows me knows exactly how big a Jane Austen fanatic I am. I can’t really remember a time when Pride and Prejudice wasn’t my favorite book. If I could write six books that are half as good as hers, I will be able to die happy. I’ve posted numerous entries about my adoration of Jane, a woman before her time who still confounds literary scholars as far as categorization goes.

At the very top of my To-Do list while I was here (Ok, really my To-Do list for life) was to visit Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and on Thursday, I checked that off the list!!!! My friend Susan and I hopped a train out to the little town where the British branch of the Mommy Mafia (Tara) lives and she drove us down into Hampshire to make our pilgrimage to visit Jane. Hampshire itself is beautiful. When you think of stereotypical English countryside, you’re probably summoning up images of Hampshire.

Susan and Me in front of Jane's House

Jane’s house is wonderful. They’ve done a wonderful job of preserving the cottage she lived in with her mother and her sister up until a few months before her death. If the furnishings weren’t original, they were reproductions or furnishings that belonged to some member of Jane’s large family (she had 6 brothers and a sister). Along with a ridiculous amount of memorabilia once owned by the Austen family, they also had a very cool collection of hand-stitched dresses that are reproductions of Regency fashions.

But the best part, it must be said was The Desk. Set off to one side of the dining room, they have Jane’s actual writing desk where she wrote ALL of her novels. It’s positioned next to a window that overlooks Winchester Road, a major coaching road at the time. So Jane would sit there every morning and write. Or, if she had writer’s block (because I’m sure even Jane got writer’s block from time to time – it’s actually a known fact since there’s little evidence of her writing in the 10 years between leaving her childhood home at Steventon and settling in Chawton), she could look out on the road and the pub across the street and observe the people that went through. I can just see her sitting there, making up little stories about the strangers she saw, or gathering up gossip about the people she knew.

Back to the best part- I got to touch The Desk (!!!!!!) It was so cool to get to touch the desk used by one of my literary idols. I’ve only ever done that once before (Laura Ingalls Wilder’s desk at Rocky Ridge Farm), but I was quite honestly too young to remember it very vividly (sorry Mom and Carrie). In fact, we may have just gotten to see the desk. At Jane’s house, you can touch it. It was so awesome! Amazing! Wonderful!

Afterwards, we went into the little shop they’ve made out of one of the outbuildings that came with the house and, after MUCH deliberation, I got a coffee mug and a copy of Persuasion (which is now tied with P&P as my favorite book), as well as a key chain and magnet to remember my pilgrimage. Once that monumental decision was made, we went and had lunch at the pub across the street which has been there since the 1600s.

I must say, it was one of the best days I’ve had since I’ve been here (Thank you, Mommy Tara and Susan!).

Mommy Tara and Me in front of Jane's House!

P.S. Just noticed this is my 27th post- my lucky number! SOOO fitting :)