What A Whitney Wants: If I'm Here, Then Where Is Mr. Darcy?

On the lookout for Darcy...

Like many women, I dream of the world of Jane Austen. Where gentlemen still exist and court women around. Where you can go on walks wearing classy dresses surrounded by nature's green greatness. And where a Mr. Darcy can ride in on his horse, like a real man, and sweep you off your feet. I was fortunate enough to visit the World of Austen for a day.

It started with going to the quaint village of Chawton where Jane Austen finished most of her great novels. We explored her church and then her home. I was pretty excited (that was definitely an understatement). It was awesome to be in the place that inspired all these amazing stories and to learn more about her life. There was an incredible energy about the whole experience. I was like a kid in a Cadbury candy store. I bounced from room to room saying things like, "Jane Austen ate breakfast here!", "Jane Austen warmed up by this fireplace!", and "Jane Austen probably stumbled on these steep stairs too!" I even sat down and took a jab at the piano forte, imagining that I was Marianne in Sense and Sensibility. It was pretty cra cra!

After tearing myself away from the Austen residence, our next stop was a place called Stourhead. This is famous as the estate where a fabulous garden is located. But this is not your typical grandma's garden…this is beauty at work. It is a gorgeous depiction of romanticism in a very rich person's estate. It was stunning. It wasn’t the uniform garden that I have seen at palaces. It was a purposely-untamed environment. However, its most famous role was in the newest edition of Pride and Prejudice starring Kiera Knightley. The scene where Darcy first proposes to her in the rain is here. Yes, freak out now, Jane Austen fans… And yes, I made a boy reenact the scene with me. Not that I had memorized all the words or anything… And I may have taken a quick jog across the bridge she runs over. It had grass on it, and the grass was greener ON the bridge. It was a very important day in my travels thus far.

After those grand adventures, we went to BATH!!!! Bath is beautiful. I want to live there. But, all you need to know about the Roman baths is this: The view from the bathroom of the Roman baths in Bath was fantastic (I love puns.) And I drank purified bath water (gross). Then we sprinkled the bath water on our heads so we could say that we took a shower in Bath...

Other adventures included looking at the Olympic sites that will be seen this summer. And we also toured Parliament which was AWESOME! And that's pretty much it! Have a great week! Next blog will be about my Northern trip!!!