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.
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.
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.
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.
MusÉE Rodin
The Musée Rodin in Paris is home to one of the most recognized sculptures in the world, Le Penseur, or The Thinker as I grew up calling it. It was one of the most thrilling pieces of art for me to see in person while living in Paris; I returned to the garden on multiple occasions. With its long tree-lined walks, outdoor sculptures, and roses in the spring, it’s a pleasant place to spend an hour strolling or meeting a friend for coffee in the café.
Sutton Bank on a Summer’s Night
James Herriot once said that the view from Sutton Bank is the finest in England, and it is hard to disagree with his assessment. Summer days are long in North Yorkshire, and when the sun is shining carpe diem is the order of the day, so one night after dinner my family and I decided to seize the golden hour and drive up to the top of Sutton Bank for a walk and to enjoy the view.
Grosmont Station
If you are visiting Whitby on the North Yorkshire coast, the nearby village of Grosmont is also worth a visit. You can easily drive or take the North Yorkshire Moors Railway steam train April through October.
Driving From Paris To Normandy and Brittany
There are many fun weekend trips worth making into Normandy or Brittany when you’re in Paris, and a trip to see the medieval wonder of Le Mont Saint-Michel is the foundation of a March road trip I took in 2019. In three days, my family and a friend saw three unique places: Saint Céneri-le-Gérei, Mont Saint-Michel, and Saint-Malo.
Walking Around Haworth, Home of the Brontë Sisters
The village of Haworth in West Yorkshire is famous the world over for being home to Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, also known as Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell when writing under pseudonym. Visitors flock to the parsonage every year to see the ordinary yet special place that fostered the imaginations and writing of these extraordinary women.
Richard the Lionheart, Castles, and Limoges
Last January I went to stay at a friend’s house in the Dordogne, and on the drive down noticed a sign for the Route de Richard Coeur de Lion. I was immediately intrigued, and this bit of history—along with a desire to check out Limoges porcelain—became the basis for my birthday outing a few days later.
North Yorkshire Coast
I’ve been reading The Moonstone* by Wilkie Collins with my book club the past couple of weeks, and I wasn’t aware until I started reading that it begins in Yorkshire at a house on the coast. Collins doesn’t give a specific location to the house, but I went digging through my digital trove of pictures from around the North Yorkshire coast for pictures that conjured up the atmosphere of The Moonstone to me.
Ripley Castle Deer Park
Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire has been home to the Ingilby family for over 700 years, and according to a sign on the property, the fallow deer have been grazing here for perhaps even longer!
Château de Chambord
Construction began on the château in the early 1500s at the order of King François I who chose the salamander as his symbol, and we see this slithering amphibian represented all throughout the castle. My favorite features are the gorgeous windows that let in so much light, and I’m looking forward to seeing the “double helix” staircase inspired by the designs of Leonardo da Vinci.