A Bus Ride Through Denali National Park
When my father said we’d be on a school bus for about eight hours in Denali National Park I was a little concerned. After all, eight hours driving down the interstate feels long and tiring, with moments of boredom and needing to stretch your legs, and that’s within the confines of a more comfortable car than a refurbished school bus.
The Audubon Museum and Nature Center
If you turn off a highway in Henderson, Kentucky, not far from the Ohio River and the Indiana state line, you find yourself quickly leaving behind gas stations and familiar fast food chains and instantly surrounded by trees. Next, and rather improbably, you find yourself parking your car outside of a French château in the middle of the Kentucky wilderness. It’s as if you managed to travel back in time and across an ocean without ever leaving your vehicle. You’ve arrived at the Audubon Museum and Nature Center in the John James Audubon State Park.
Whitby
Whitby is an absolutely delightful seaside town on the North Yorkshire coast, most famous for its abbey ruins, connections to Dracula, and Captain James Cook. At least, those are the things I know it best for. My first introduction to the town of Whitby was in the pages of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Books Set in Switzerland
I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Switzerland twice in the past two years, and here are ten books I’ve read that take place in some part of that beautiful country. They capture something of the history, culture, or literary inspiration in landscapes of mountains, clear blue lakes, and bell-bedecked cows. I organized this list by year of publication, and it has books for children, travel memoir, and mystery.
Books that Take You to Scotland
Near the end of 2023 I decided to return to picking a monthly reading theme, and for January 2024 that theme was books set in Scotland or written by Scottish authors. Here are a few books I’ve read over the years that transport you to the land of kilts, bagpipes, and Highland mist.
Leakey’s Bookshop in Inverness
While on holiday near Drumnadrochit on Loch Ness, my family drove a half hour up the A82 to Inverness where I spent much longer than a half hour browsing the many, many shelves of Leakey’s Bookshop. It is a second-hand-booklover’s dream located in a converted Gaelic church built in 1679. Stained glass windows, a spiral staircase, and a large wood-burning stove add to the charm of thousands of books.
A Holiday on Loch Ness
In August of 2017 my family and I took our summer holiday in Scotland just outside the village of Drumnadrochit overlooking Loch Ness. Our Yorkshire friends warned us of rain and midges, but contrary to expectations, the weather continued sunny the entire week. We were able to eat dinners at the picnic table overlooking the famous loch, kayak on the water, and walk in the Highlands surrounded by heather.
P.G. Wodehouse Quotes
P.G. Wodehouse was born on October 15, 1881 in Surrey, and in honor of the 142nd anniversary of his birth I’m sharing ten quotes from his books. I realized this year that in answer to the question, “Who would be at your ideal dinner party?” P.G. Wodehouse topped my list by a long shot. I am constantly amazed at how clever and funny his writing is. I’m especially impressed with his similes and allusions. When my reading palette needs cleansing I reach for Wodehouse.
5 Books with an Ominous Tone
Many people enjoy reading more mysterious or spooky books around Halloween, and this book list is inspired by my reading Thomas Hardy for the first time earlier this year. The title—The Distracted Preacher and Other Tales—initially made me laugh; I definitely wasn’t expecting what I encountered. This collection of short stories and novellas surprised me, and I thought it would be a fantastic choice for October. Its ominous tone reminded me of a few other literary novels.
Ashdown Forest, the Real Hundred Acre Wood
When I visited Ashdown Forest, the real Hundred Acre Wood of A.A. Milne’s beloved Winnie-the-Pooh stories, in August 2020, I was on a quickly executed and minimally planned trip across the English Channel from France just before the borders closed again due to rising cases of COVID-19. Years earlier I read online that it was possible to play Poohsticks on the very bridge (albeit rebuilt in the pattern of the original) where A.A. Milne played with his son, Christopher.
Night at the Museum: A Look through the Louvre
There is usually at least one day of the week where Louvre opening hours extend; at the moment it appears to be open until 9:45 p.m. on Fridays. That is right in the middle of Parisian dinner hours, and it is a wonderful time to meander through the capacious and ornate halls in the quiet amongst much fewer people than you’ll find in the morning and afternoon hours. I went one May evening from about 7:30-9 p.m., and it was my most memorable visit.
Books that Evoke an English Summer’s Day
While it’s true that English summers can have their share of rain and cold, there are also sure to be many picture-perfect days of warmth, buttercups, and grazing sheep. It’s the perfect time to visit a country house and have tea in the bursting-with-color gardens; take a long walk on a public footpath; or spend the day exploring a new market town or village.
On Staying Home, or Bird-Watching in the Pandemic
If you had told me prior to 2020 that I would be required to stay at home for fifty straight days, I would have thought that would be impossibly difficult. But to my surprise, when I was really shipwrecked, I found everything I needed—birds to watch, blossoms unfurling, cherries ripening, snails crawling, books to read-aloud, conversations with my fellow castaways, bread to bake. We never made it around to crowning a king or queen, but I’m sure we could have.
Bluebells
As the winter months inched toward spring, I noticed the people around me keeping time with the season by the flowers that slowly appeared, and they taught me to do the same. In February I saw my first snowdrop. By March the crocuses were popping up all golden and purple. The daffodils arrived in April, and the golden rapeseed fields were glowing in the sun by May. June brought buttercups and wild garlic, along with primroses in the hedges. I became so in tune with the rhythm of the flowers during my three years in North Yorkshire. But somehow, during that first spring, I missed out on hearing about the bluebells.
My Canterbury Tales
My own personal Canterbury tales don’t include thirty-one pilgrims, and my goal wasn’t the shrine of Thomas Becket, though I did attend an Evensong service at the cathedral and walk by the site of his murder, but for the three years I lived in France I made my own yearly pilgrimage to Canterbury. It became the last stop before my family and I took the ferry from Dover back across the channel, and I made so many memories walking the ancient streets amidst centuries’ old buildings.
Paris Bookshop Tour
Most visitors to Paris find their way to the historic English-language bookshop, Shakespeare and Company, but this familiar landmark across from Notre Dame is only the first stop on my Paris Bookshop Tour.
Surprise View in Keswick
If you drive about three miles outside of Keswick up the Borrowdale Road, you’ll cross the famous Ashness Bridge and arrive at Surprise View. From the top of this cliff you can look over almost all the Derwentwater and beyond to Bassenthwaite Lake.
Burnsall, North Yorkshire
Season 3 of All Creatures Great and Small is airing in the United States now, and when I saw that the wedding was filmed at the church in Burnsall, it took me back to January 2016 and the rainiest two weeks of our sojourn in North Yorkshire. Gone was the drizzle and mizzle. Here to stay was a settled downpour that just wouldn’t end.
Top 10 Books of 2022
t’s the beginning of a new year, and so like any reader I feel compelled to look back over the previous year’s reading and pick out my favorite books. I started out with a list of twenty-five titles and then made myself narrow it down to ten.
Four Books Featuring Expats in Paris
Last year I made a list of some of my favorite books set in Paris, and today I’m recommending four more books that capture some aspect of Paris—food, diplomacy, neighborhoods—through the eyes of the expat or traveler.