We want to do England, Italy, and Greece/Turkey in the relatively near future. Of these trips, I think Livy would like England least. It would be the trip where we would mostly be looking at books (British Library), at pictures of people who wrote books (National Portrait Gallery), at places from books (Bath), at places where books got written (Keat's house at Hampstead Heath), at places where people who wrote books once lived (Straford-Upon-Avon), and at dead people who wrote books (Westminster Abbey). Livy doesn't even read books yet, and none of the ones she especially likes to hear have much to do with England. :)
However, I think she would like clambering over ruins and seeing the places where our favorite mythology came from (Greece and Rome). I think she would like Macchu Picchu (another place on our list), and I think Turkey would be exotic enough to make it fun for her to wander around in. I don't see her being amazed by London, which is a lot like any old city, unless you really like English books. :)
Plus, England on the train is kind of a romantic trip. There will be time to hold hands and stare out windows as English fields speed by. There will be time for reading poetry aloud on the way to the place where that poetry is rooted. There will be time for conversation and for peaceful hours of nothing to do. Livy would hate that crap. Aaron and I, on the other hand, would like it a lot.
So England seems the perfect trip to do now, when we have lots of time and no Livy accompanying us. Perhaps Macchu Picchu next summer? I'm not sure when it will be comfortable there temperature wise, but in my dream, it will be fairly cool next summer when Livy, Aaron, and I climb up. Then maybe Italy or Greece/Turkey next Christmas with Livy?
So anyway, I think it's England, and I'll know for sure when it sinks in just enough and feels just right.
6 comments:
I love England at Christmas! And it is one of the more romantic places for books lovers. Are you going to visit Hay on Wye? Good travels!
With a side trip to Paris, maybe?
You will love the British Library!
Just a heads up: I've done my fair amount of travelling on our national rail network. It's a good service for the most part, but I should warn you... it's not exactly romantic. I mean, you can visit the Bluebell line about an hour south of London itself and go on a brilliant old historic line but... eh... I've been on AmTrak and those trains are FANCY. British trains are much more for just shuttling from place to place - even if that journey's 7 hours long. You've got loud kids running around, sometimes the smell of a broken toilet, and it's not uncommon to have a vagrant/drunkard/scotsman on the train.
That said, I've informed the Queen you're coming and we look forward to having you.
My parents went to Macchu Pichua year or two ago and loved it, but they said it was extremely physically demanding. Everything is walking everywhere, uphill and downhill, at high altitudes so there's not much oxygen.
Stopping by from An Unschooling Life.
You are the second travel blog I've come across. We would love to travel with our children someday.
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