...when you take pictures of books and then post them all over your blog! I decided it would be fun to show more of the literary side of my trip to the British Isles, since literature plays a huge part of their culture and history, and because I'm an English major and freaked out every time we saw a famous author-based landmark or piece of work. I felt sorry for Laura a couple times when I asked her to take a picture of me sitting on a book or whenever I went crazy over an old house (keep reading and you'll see what I'm talking about), but being the good friend that she is, she definitely humored me and my English-major ways!
So here are more pictures from my trip to the United Kingdom, this time focused around famous authors and books I was able to see. This is also an opportunity for me to show off more photos. =) Enjoy!
The British Library, the largest library in the British Isles. It is also a museum of some of the most important pieces of literature ever. It's where I...
sat on a large metal book,
and saw Jane Austen's writing desk and original manuscript of
Persuasion. I also got to see original works by Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Lewis Carroll, and many many more.
A room in the British Museum. I almost died at the sight of so many books! (It was also a very pretty ceiling.)
Oxford! This university had a tremendous impact on hundreds of famous writers, poets, scientist, etc. we read about and study today.
One out of hundreds of libraries at Oxford. No, the statue is not of Shakespeare, although it certainly looks like him.
In Oxford: this is where JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis used to meet and edit each others' manuscripts! They called it "The Bird and the Baby."
Christ's Church at Oxford, where Harry Potter was filmed. The walls are covered with portraits of every famous graduate from Oxford, including Lewis Carroll, Tolkien, etc.
Bath! We only drove through it, but I had to include it on this post. Jane Austen fans will know why.
Tintern Abbey! William Wordsworth made these ruins famous through his poem. In fact, we actually sat on the grass and listened to our educator, Michael S Wilcox, read "Tintern Abbey" to us as we looked at it! This was definitely a highlight for me.
The library at Warwick Castle. Are you drooling yet?
Medieval Writing.
Me trying to pull the sword from the stone at Warwick Castle. I'm not sure what the connection was between the castle and the legend, but it was fun to try!
This is where William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon
Trinity Church in Stratford, where Shakespeare was christened...
...and buried. But isn't this amazing!? I got to see Shakespeare's grave!!!
Anne Hathaway's cottage. All these sights in Stratford-upon-Avon made reading
Loving Will Shakespeare even more real (see old blog).
One statue among many of Shakespeare's famous plays
This was really neat! It's a wishing tree we stood under in Stratford. There were the cutest wishes written from children...one almost made me cry!
I got to see William Wordsworth's grave and the house where he grew up!
John Knox's House on the Royal Mile in Edinbourgh, Scotland
This is the cafe where JK Rowling wrote
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. After a walk along the Royal Mile, Laura and I had lunch there!
Still in use today
The house where Robert Louis Stevenson grew up
Fun pub
I
really wanted to go inside the Dublin Writers Museum, but it cost too much. Instead, I got some beautiful pictures from the outside. =)
Trinity College in Dublin, where the Book of Kells and other old books hand-written by the monks are kept.
This was the most AMAZING library I have ever been in! It's located at Trinity College and is two floors filled with old books. It also had busts of famous writers and large spiral staircases like in
My Fair Lady. No, I didn't actually take these pictures--cameras weren't allowed--so I had to find these photos online. So beautiful.
Oscar Wilde in Dublin. This statue portrays his personality perfectly.
