Temple of Apollo...Mr. Darcy...and US - Day Five, Part Two

 How do you even begin to describe a place like this? It's especially difficult when my mind meanders over and over again to scenes of Elizabeth running across the bridge through the rain or Mr. Darcy's rejected proposal. And if I'm totally honest, it is because of those scenes that we even knew that Stourhead and its grounds existed.... 

 The Temple of Apollo sits above a glassy lake. It was perfectly quiet except for the rustling of leaves and sporadic raindrops. Everything about this place was breathtaking and the kind of beautiful that almost makes you sad because you know you won't experience a moment like it again.

 Jenessa's Keira Knightley moment

 One of my "can you believe where I stood?!" photos - I'm still so in love with the fact that we got to see this lovely place.

 so, so happy even though Jenessa was so, so sneezy

 

We even made friends while we were there. Too bad we didn't spot Mr. Darcy....

Fab Five

 Before these darling girls were the fab five, (love them by the way - so glad I'm not working during the Olympics)

these girls were the fab five...or that's at least how we referred to ourselves starting our freshmen year. I know the picture isn't the greatest (we were about to watch Phantom in San Francisco), but I was thinking of these girls this week and how lucky I was to have them as friends as I began figuring out life. From left to right it's Juri, Jennifer, Cassey, Lorraine, and myself. Love them and all our memories of crazy antics and endless hours spent laughing and talking about high school drama.

Beautiful Ruins

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A couple weeks ago a friend told me that Jess Walter's "Beautiful Ruins" was the book of the summer.  I walked straight to Barnes & Noble after we finished lunch to buy it. The man at the checkout counter said that all sorts of people had been buying this book. After all, it combines Italy in the 1960s with Hollywood then and now. It deals with love, disappointed expectations, responsibilities, movie magic, tragedy - the whole gamut of human drama.

And yet, it's not love for me. There wasn't that soft glow of a movie camera telling the story. Instead it was a glaring look at human frailty and failings. There were beautiful details and uncanny characterization. But just the same way that I want some of the girls to wake up on Mad Men and demand that their men treat them better, I could not get past the crass and the sad realities. Sometimes I want my stories to just be stories. I don't want to feel like these disappointments could have really happened.

All that said, I think I would still recommend it if you are an avid reader or you love the movies. I told my grandmother it was a must read because she lived through the drama that was Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. And the way that this book comes together at the end is surprisingly fulfilling after what was at times a very frustrating read. How's that for a contradictory review?!

Happy reading.

Stolen

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I sat down yesterday and read this book from cover to cover. It helps that it's summer and that my body is fatigued from running, so all I want to do in the afternoon is lounge. But the book really was that engaging. From the second you meet Gemma's kidnapper, you're intrigued by him - which is odd. I should have been repulsed or horrified. Instead, I wanted to know more. This is Christopher's greatest success in her book because we understand Gemma's revulsion and her captivation to the mysterious Ty. I can't say it's the best book I have ever read, but I know my students will love it. Definitely worth a few hours of your time.

Happy reading!

Gloucester Cathedral & Stourhead - Day Five, Part One

 Gloucester Cathedral is everything you'd expect from a European Gothic cathedral - vaulted ceilings, amazing stained glass, dark alcoves.... Inside it feels both holy and ominous - perhaps the pounding rain had something to do with the ominous feeling. Gloucester has a rich history...not to mention the fact that they filmed scenes from Harry Potter here. Surprisingly enough, we didn't know that when we chose it as a place to visit.

Stourhead and its grounds look like they are straight out of a Jane Austen movie, but inside the house, it's more modern (if modern is the late 1890s, early 1900s).  I got in trouble twice in this house - once for standing on a two hundred year old carpet and once for using a flash (which didn't really do much for having a good tone to the picture). Oops.

The inspiration for coming to Stourhead was Pride & Prejudice. This picture is just a teaser of what's to come in the next post....

ps. I'm just learning how to make the collages, and I'm not sure how to have my blog let me have a wider layout so click on them for a better look.

Downton Village (Bampton) - Day Four, Part Two

When people have asked about this trip, I usually say that it was unlike any European trip I've been on. The reason being that it was so leisurely. We ate our meals sitting down. Shoot, we actually ate full meals. Why? Because we weren't in cities. We weren't feverishly running up the stairs of a church and then racing to make the metro to a museum. Instead, we were driving through the countryside and following the whims that usually you only think about in passing. Visiting Bampton was one such whim. Why you ask again? Because the whole reason for visiting this small (very out of the way) village was that it is the backdrop for Downton Abbey's outdoor village scenes. Yes, we are that obsessed.

 My dad doesn't understand the obsession, but he graciously drove us (on the wrong side of the road no less) to Bampton. He was anything but cheap on this trip, but we got a kick out of this sign just the same.

 This is the church where *SPOILER ALERT* Mary and Matthew will get married. Don't worry, you already knew they were getting married. We just know that they're getting married for sure courtesy of a cute old man who lives next door to the church.

 Lavinia and William are supposed to be buried here.

 The cute old man's home is actually the house used as the Crawley home. He invited us into his gate and let us take pictures. He also told us that another Downton couple is getting married this season, but wouldn't say who.

 Wish we were throwing rice at Mary and Matthew here - cannot wait for the season to return!

 Bates and Anna filmed multiple scenes right here...not to mention the carnival scene, etc, etc.

 On the way back to Chipping Campden, we were still lost in our Downton dreams (okay not my dad, but the girls certainly were) and we had a bit of a fender bender....

 ...with a mail truck. Both cars from these pictures look just pretty good. Ours was a bit worse than you can see.

Good thing we were going home to this.

ps. Downton Abbey returns January 6, 2013. Not sure how we are supposed to wait that long. And can I just add how much I love Lady Sybil's dress? 

Blenheim Palace - Day Four, Part One

On this lovely Monday, I woke up all sorts of cranky. Jet lag and feeling sick will do that to a girl. The remedy to attitude and illness - a Diet Coke and hours spent wandering the Blenheim Palace and its amazing grounds.

Don't worry - this is not even half of the house front.

You know a house is impressive when the back is even more beautiful and detailed than the front.

This is my favorite "European" outfit of Jenessa's. Had to include this picture.

I could definitely get used to views like this.

~Hello Harry Potter~

There are no words.

From the decadence of Blenheim, we went to Bampton. Stay tuned....