Traveling to London (4 July)

Happy Fourth of July! Here I am in the country we declared independence from. It’s provided an interesting perspective for me. I look at this beautiful country and think, “Why did they leave this?” Truly the people in our history were inspired. I think of the Mayflower Compact, grateful for those people (like my good ol’ ancestors, John and Pricilla Mullins0 who were willing to give up some of their personal freedoms for the good of society as a whole—they made a covenant with each other. I’m grateful for our nation that made the Restoration of the Gospel possible. I hope you all enjoy the fireworks and your freedoms today.

The patriotic trio and me

As we made our way to London today we made two stops: Stonehenge and Chawton (where Jane Austen lived). I was surprised that Stonehenge is just right next to the highway—it seems so random. But it was neat to see. It’s about as old as the Pyramids of Giza, and apparently some of the stones (the blue rock) was quarried in Southern Wales and taken there first on the River Avon (which I ran along in Bristol) and then heaved over rolling logs to its present location. 

Jump for joy . . . the Druids marked solar patterns! And my hair looks crazy.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Jane Austen’s House in Chawton. It was a beautiful village and it was neat to see many of her family’s belongings. I learned about her daily pattern: She would wake up and practice piano before breakfast. In the morning she would write, in the afternoon she would walk with her sister (for a few hours!), and in the evening she would sew. So simple! I contrast this to my life that’s planned out in thirty-minute increments. I think I can take a leaf out of her book.

Flowers in Jane Austen's garden. Yes, I'm my father's daughter.

The highlight of my day occurred in their entrance way, where I got to play my favorite Clementi Sonatina (no. 3) on a Clementi original piano—from 1810! I could have played forever. I love Clementi.

And now we’re in London. We are in a really nice place (Kensington) near to Hyde Park. We got oriented a little bit, went to the Tube (the subway) station to buy 3-week passes and went grocery shopping. Now we’re just settling into our flats. All 20 of us are in one flat with a large shared kitchen and separate bedrooms. It’s so strange to be here in London! You know how I’m not a big-city person? Well, I think I’ve mellowed out a lot. The city doesn’t stress me out at least. Of course I haven’t really done anything in the city, yet, but we’ll see. Classes start tomorrow [yikes!]. I’m excited to have a good night’s rest tonight!