D'Orsay to Darcy

I finished my time is Paris with a visit to the Musee D'Orsay, which I must say, is probably my favorite museum. It was a train station in prior life and has these wonderfully tall ornate walls and lots of light and a beautiful giant clock at one end and the bones of the station are still in tact. Many of my favorite artists are here and the sculptures are amazing. These two were my favorite (the photo doesn't do them justice):

I decided to leave Paris a few hours early as everything is closed on Sunday and I was growing a little weary and lonely in that city. I took the Eurostar through the Chunnel to London and got to see (at high speed) the northern French countryside.

I was making my way to Hampshire, which I hadn't realized was so far from London. I was planning to take a taxi from the Waterloo stations, but I was told to take another train for an hour in order to get there. Lugging my two cumbersome suitcases up and down, bumping people as well as myself, and trying to catch the train before it departed, I was exhausted and at my wit's end when I finally sat down in the first avaliable seat. It took me about three minutes to realize that I was facing a young couple, about age 19 or 20, in full Anime costume. That made my day. The boy was a hot nerd type dressed like that popular Anime character that wears that banada thing on his forehead (no, I don't know the names or the shows, but I do recognize the characters) and the girl was that little kitty animal thing with the big gold balls on her ears. She was too cute. They chatted on and on about the two day convention they were just at and I scored come Poky off of them.

An hour later, I arrived at the station, found a taxi and in fifteen more minutes I was at the hotel. Oh my goodness - the hotel. It's the Four Seasons Hampshire and you can google it if you want. It's a former manor house in the Hampshire countryside where the future King Henry VIII met Catherine of Aragon for the very first time. The rooms are lovely, as one would expect, but the land! I'm kicking myself for not coming here earlier.

Then to top it all off, it just occurred to me that this is Jane Austen territory and my heart went pitter pat, as my dog-eared Pride and Prejudice, which I take with me on all trips due to it's compact size and security blanket like qualities, can attest. As soon as it is light out I'm going for a walk. I will not have time to explore the UK while I'm here, but I'm definitely going to explore these grounds as much as I can and nerdily imagine myself to be Elizabeth Bennett as I walk through the countryside.

People, don't just see the movies and think you know the story. Although most are very well done, you miss so much of the humor that way. Jane Austen, besides writing these classic stories that everyone copycats or reproduces for modern day (Bridget Jones Diary = Pride and Prejudice, Clueless = Emma), she is hilarous and her characters are just as applicable today as then.