I haven’t set foot on English soil since…the previous century. It’s not on the way to anything. I know, poor excuse. Here’s another: It’s too expensive. And the weather – I have vivid memories of days when I put in precious shillings into space heaters in cheap hotels to bring out warmth there. I was newly married and life was a bubble, but in Great Britain, it was always a cold bubble. Another vivid memory: me, knitting a scarf for my new husband when I was a mere child (at 23 or so) in the cold rooms of the Scottish libraries where he was doing research. I should have been working on my own dissertation ideas then, but instead I was hell bent on knitting a scarf. (I have never completed a knitting project since.)
So England hasn’t been a destination for me. Not even a stop-over. But when I realized that I had a law school task there to attend to this month, I leaped.
And I have to admit, I’m tremendously looking forward to it. Perhaps it is a nostalgia run. All those memories of afternoons spent drinking cuploads of tea and munching on scones with cream and jam in years where it did not immediately matter (these days one such cream tea would make my wardrobe obsolete, of that I am sure).
More likely, it is that England again emerges as quaintly novel. I had to read up on how to get from the airport to the city because I did not know. I read with fascination articles about the emergent culinary scene in London. It hadn’t really emerged when I was there last. At least not in my price range.
I am about to board the plane and I am full of enthusiasm. For England no less. I would not have written that ten years ago. Puffins. It’s all about the puffins.*
* This is a reference to the fact that off the coast of Yorkshire, there are puffins. I am determined to spot some.
5 hours ago
England might very well become my first European destination sometime in the next few-to-several months. If my boyfriend's job sends him there, I'll get to go too. All I'd really want to do is see some gardens and come home. I'm not sure if it's going to happen or not, but I've added "get passport photo" to my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think...somewhere recently I read about how categorically horrible the beds of Europe are from an American visitor's perspective. I immediately thought of you and wondered if you've been completely honest with your readers about the glories of Europe. Care to comment?
That's silly. There is no uniform bad European bed. There are, however, inexpensive hotels that are fine except for a poor mattress here and there. My advice -- read reviews, especially candid ones like on Trip Advisor. People are pretty quick to point out the flaws when they're unhappy at a place. Obviously I try to avoid losers. But I never praise a place on Ocean unless I really like it. True, I generally don't write scathing reviews either, I tend to simply not comment much on places that have disappointed me.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem here is the cost -- everything is so damn expensive. But you absolutely should do a garden trip. They inspired me many decades ago to get serious about plants.