England

Although I spent most of my days in London buried in maps and books, I was luckily able to make time for some other English adventures as well. I immediately found the Dickens House Museum in order to pay homage to this beloved British writer and stare at the desk at which he wrote A Tale of Two Cities, my favorite book of all time.

I combined my family’s tradition of attending a production of the Messiah every year (which I continued at Eastman at college) with my obsession with Queen Victoria and Prince Alpert and allowed myself one Christmas splurge: to see the Messiah at the Royal Albert Hall performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Goldsmiths Choral Union, English Concert Chorus, and the Highgate Choral Society-the choir was so big they began to spill into the audience seats! I sat in-between two other “messiah diehards” (One English and one Sri Lankin) who spent the entire concert pseudo conducting along with the Maestro. I hummed my favorite parts the whole tube ride home and decided this majestic concert makes it into my “Top Ten” experiences of all time.

I was able to visit friends from Voronezh in Bath, who took me to one of their Russian classes at University of Bath where I ran into other Russian classmates from last year. I attended my first kickboxing match to cheer on a friend, stepped back in time at the Jane Austen Museum, ate delicious Cornish pasties, and experienced my first English Christmas a little early with “Christmas Crackers”. Here we are wearing our Christmas Cracker crowns!

Of course, as a former classics major, my favorite part about Bath were ..the baths! I went in the late afternoon, so by the time I was ready to leave, dusk had come and gone and the torches were lit.

Isn't Bath the most beautiful?

I also met my Bath friends in Oxford a few weeks later. Unfortunately, I only went for a day but was still able to take in the beautiful sites-Christ Church, the Bodleain library, Tolkien’s house (!!!!) and finally the Eagle & Child, the favorite pub of Tolkien and Lewis, where we sat for dinner and imagined Tolkien and Lewis sitting a few tables away from us with the rest of the Inklings.

To continue the literary theme, my final English trip was to Stratford-upon-avon where I toured Shakespeare’s birth house and Anne Hathaway (his wife)’s childhood home and gardens. Although it was December, the gardens were still beautiful, and I took the scenic paths through gardens and parks to wander a smaller town, enjoy a break from the huge city of London, and indulge in tea and scones with clotted cream. Here is a shot of Anne's cottage. 

Most of all, I enjoyed exploring London during the Christmas season, with its the festive lights and all of the free Christmas concerts at outdoor markets and train stations. After a lovely Christmas celebration with my London housemates, I was ready to come home for the holidays!