Writing Retreat in England

I had the express privilege of traveling to Devon England for a writing retreat in November. It was hosted by Charlie at Urban Writers' Retreat. She spent the whole week overfeeding us with cake and vegetables and tea. The cottage was something out of Jane Austen. And the other writers were very interesting and fun to get to know.

I felt a little strange doing this. I'm not one to go somewhere just for myself. It was oh so fulfilling though. The vibe of just being around other writers was like a drug. I wrote a few blog posts, worked on a writing class that I'm taking this month, and finished a first draft of my novel. Overall, I wrote over 10,000 words in four days.

I learned that I can sit down and start writing at 9 am and keep writing until about 4 pm (with maybe a walk or tea break in between). I made some new friends that I can't wait to go back to England and visit again. It was the most relaxing and comfortable trip I've been on. I can't wait to do it again.

Jane Austen's England - My Birthday Surprise

It's Drabble Dienstag, but I've run a bit dry. So I'll just tell you about my most wonderful trip to England. My husband planned a surprise trip for my 25th birthday. We went to Jane Austen's house in Chawton.

This is her writing desk.

That was probably the best part of the best trip we've been on. It was thoroughly relaxing to stay in little bed and breakfasts. One was a farmyard and had the prettiest group of ducks.

He also booked a horseback riding trip just so I could be on a horse again. Of course they were English saddles so he had some balancing issues, and we are both still sore a few days after, but the scenery was stunning. We went to a Bath spa that night to try to relieve the overworked muscles. The warm pool at this spa was on the rooftop and had a lovely view of the city and abbey.

We spent the last day in a little village called Lacock where parts Harry Potter 1 and 2 were filmed as well as some of Pride and Prejudice. The town is owned by The National Trust and kept old-fashioned with no electrical wires or tv satellites. It was very quaint.

The door at the end leads to the mirror of Erised. It was uncanny how much it felt like we had been there before just from watching the movies.

The weekend was absolutely perfect and all the more special because my husband planned it all for me. Now I have to top it for his birthday...what will I do!?!

Trip to Good Ole London

Check out the fruits of my hard work, the categories widget on the right hand side of the blog (scroll down til you see the word cloud). I went through all my old posts and added labels so you could click on those words and find exactly what you're looking for.

Oooo, aaaaa, shiny!

Ok, onto photos from London. We went for a three day weekend to jolly London and walked, a lot. I came home with sore feet and a bag full of books (ah books).

The tourists need help with which direction to look for oncoming traffic. It was helpful, as well as hilarious.

A fuzzy hat guarding the royal jewels. Which were absolutely stunning.

The Millennium Bridge, the one destroyed in the sixth Harry Potter movie. It's right near the Shakespeare Globe Theater, pretty much the only thing I cared about seeing.

Classic telephone booth. I don't know who uses payphones anymore, but London would probably have a riot on their hands if they took away the telephone booths. As Albert said, London has probably the most in-use icons of any city: telephone booths, Parliament, taxis, English Bulldogs, the Queen...

The fountain in Piccadilly Square. We also saw Covent Garden, Hyde Park, Notting Hill, and Buckingham Palace. The city was crawling with tourists, but it was bearable.