(all photos by Jeane. Click all images to enlarge!)
I've always wanted to travel and visit
Europe (ie.
London, England;
Paris, France, and
Rome, Italy to name a few
European countries), but didn't know when or if it will ever happen anytime soon. Though I knew someday I will eventually go and visit at least one of those beautiful and picturesque European countries I've often wondered about (and had dreamt of visiting and seeing them in person), but only had the pleasure in seeing them in pictures or my favorite movies, lol. I thought it will probably be a long time before I ever get an opportunity and a chance to go there. Interestingly, my sister and her family were thinking of visiting her in-laws for a week or two. So, I asked my sister if they wouldn't mind me going along with them. I told her I would really love to go with them and they said, yes, of course. Our original plan was just to visit
Bakewell,
Derbyshire and
London,
England, but as we started booking for our plane tickets four months earlier prior to our trip,
Scotland was added (as friends of my brother-in-law lives there and had invited us to visit them in their new house), and just a month prior to our trip,
Paris,
France was added at the last minute. I got super excited (but kept it quiet, so as not to jinx it and besides any unexpected delayed or cancellation can occur at anytime...I so didn't want that to happen in my first European trip...) as it got closer and closer to our trip (I finally got to tell everyone, big sigh of relief, lol), prior to that I had to renew my soon-to-expire passport and had to request 2-week vacation from work, packing for the trip, and other stuff I was busy doing in preparation for my first overseas trip in a long time. As September came near, and it did fast, my excitement went overload especially when I finally departed the U.S. for England.
Before I share and show you
my photos (and itinerary) from my
first ever European trip, here's a lil' interesting story I thought I'd share here about my eldest
sister, who married her own
Mr. Darcy from
Derbyshire (yes, he's from
Bakewell,
Derbyshire) back in
2002 with
two wedding dresses and
ceremonies, one here in the
U.S. and the other in
England and was called, a
Blessing in Bakewell (for the rest of his family and friends who couldn't make it to the actual wedding ceremony in the U.S.) a year later. So, in
2003, the blessing ceremony took place in Bakewell, Derbyshire where my parents and aunts and uncles were able to attend. Unfortunately, I didn't get to go with my parents as I was busy with school and work at the time. Interesting though that I didn't really felt sad or disappointed that I didn't get to go with them back then. I guess I was too preoccupied with a lot of things, school, work, etc. and at the time, the new
P&P movie wasn't even announced to be made yet nor were the inn at
Lambton and
Pemberley scenes filmed in that location (
Haddon Hall and
Chatsworth House)...and who knew it would be going in production a year later in 2004 and that Derbyshire would be one of the filming locations. I was not a big P&P fan back then either as I am now or started to back when the
P&P movie with
Keira Knightley and
Matthew Macfadyen was released in
2005 (read my
Confessions of a P&P Blogger post for more on that). I was even unaware that they filmed in my brother-in-law's hometown of
Derbyshire and that
Chatsworth House was used as
Pemberley and that
Jane Austen actually mentioned
Bakewell,
Chatsworth House, and
Derbyshire in the book until after I've seen the amazing
2005 P&P movie version, re-read
P&P novel (and actually finished it, which I couldn't seem to finished it until after I've seen the 2005 movie and it inspired me to re-read and finished it as well as the
BBC miniseries...and lead me to find out more about
Jane Austen and her
5 other novels...but
P&P novel and its various adaptations especially the
2005 movie, remains my all-time personal favorite), and read more info about the P&P movie's production info and filming locations online.
Anyway, when my parents came back home from their wonderful
Bakewell, Derbyshire/UK trip (they went to London too) back in 2003, they took lots of photos and brought a
tour video about
Derbyshire. Also, my dad brought his video camcorder device to record and document their
Chatsworth House tour experience as well as a
tour guide book and lots of
souvenirs from Derbyshire and London. After viewing in awe and admiration of the photos and videos my parents took from their trip, it was then when I started to dream and imagine visiting that stunningly beautiful countryside in Derbyshire and thought if I ever have the chance, money, and opportunity to travel to Europe, England would be my first destination. Besides I've always seen England in my favorite period and British films. Also, I thought I will go one country in Europe at a time.
Fast forward
seven years later, who knew I was able to have had the chance and opportunity to travel to Europe myself (which I definitely went and grabbed this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel when it came my way)...not just
England, but
Scotland and
France too,
all 3 beautiful European countries in one holiday/vacation. I certainly would not miss this amazing opportunity.
You can read all about my trip and view photos below. I wrote all of my unforgettable journey and
first European experience in a lil'
Journey notebook I carried with me while on holiday and here I thought I'd share with you some
excerpts of them with
my amateurish photos (but hey, at least, they're mine, hehe!) I took from my own digital camera (my sister, who's a much skilled photographer than I, has tons more breathtaking and beautiful photos she took from her own very expensive and professional camera of all the beautiful sights and the places we've visited that includes me in a lot of shots, but she's been busy and haven't sent me copies of them yet...still waiting, lol. I did see some on her FB page, but I wouldn't want to use them here though without her permission first. So, I decided to just use my own photos taken by my non-pro-photographer-self as they didn't look too bad, and I didn't have to worry about asking someone's permission as these photos were taken by me, myself, and I...lol...and I can do with them whatever and however I want. Not too mention, I'm not in them to distract you or the beautiful sights of those places, lol) to guide you.
***My busy 2-weeks itinerary in Europe (September 2010)***
Sept. 9th - We had a
pleasant trip to
England. We arrived Thursday morning at
Manchester airport. We rented a car and drove to
Bakewell, Derbyshire to stay in my sister's in-laws home for a few days or so. As we drove to Bakewell from Manchester airport, we passed by the beautiful sight of
The Peak District. (where Britain's first designated national park,
The Peak District National Park lies).
view from The Peak District
For this trip, especially my very first European trip, we had lots of things to do and places to go (or visit), which we had already planned ahead. So, when we arrived in
Bakewell,
Derbyshire we already knew exactly what we were going to do and which places we were going to see (and of course, with the help of some very nice and wonderful friends and GPS navigator along the way, and off we went and had a very fun road trip in
Derbyshire,
Yorkshire,
Lincolnshire,
London, and
Scotland)...
Bakewell sign at a town centre and
Derbyshire HouseA nice view of Bakewell from up the Hill (from where we were staying!)
Interesting
Bakewell mention by
Elizabeth Bennet to
Mr. Darcy in one of the
Pemberley scenes in
P&P novel (this was the scene in the
movie and various adaptations of
P&P when
Lizzie was surprised to see
Darcy in
Pemberley)...
Mr. Darcy took her place by her niece, and they walked on together. After a short silence, the lady spoke first. She wished him to know that she had been assured of his absence before she came to the place, and accordingly began by observing, that his arrival had been very unexpected -- "for your housekeeper," she added, "informed us that you would certainly not be here till tomorrow; and indeed, before we left Bakewell, we understood that you were not expected in the country." - Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice novel; Volume III, Chapter i/Chapter 43, page 245)
Sept. 10th -
A lovely day in Pemberley aka the beautiful
Chatsworth HouseChatsworth House (exterior)
Chatsworth House (
Visit Chatsworth's official Blog here! It
won two top tourism award last month, by the way!), used
as
Pemberley,
Mr. Darcy's
home in
Derbyshire in
P&P movie and
Pemberley House as described in
Jane Austen's
P&P novel...
"...and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road with some abruptness wound. It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; - and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted. She had never seen a place for which nature had done more, or where natural beauty had been so little counteracted by an awkward taste. They were all of them warm in their admiration; and that moment she felt, that to be mistress of Pemberley might be something!" - Pride and Prejudice novel (Volume III, Chapter 1 - Chapter 43, Page 235)
Besides
Bakewell and numerous
Derbyshire mentions,
Jane Austen also mentioned
Chatsworth as well as
Matlock,
Dovedale, or the
Peak in
P&P novel:
"...According to the present plan, were to go no farther northward than Derbyshire. In that country, there were enough to be seen, to occupy the chief of their three weeks; and to Mrs. Gardiner it had a peculiarly strong attraction. The town where she had formerly passed some years of her life, and where they were now to spend a few days, was probably as great an object of her curiosity, as all the celebrated beauties of Matlock, Chatsworth, Dovedale, or the Peak." - Pride and Prejudice novel (Volume II Chapter xix; Chapter 42, page 231)
Speaking of
Chatsworth, the first place we went to see and had a
grand tour was
Chatsworth House (aka
Pemberley House,
Mr. Darcy's home in
Derbyshire in
Pride & Prejudice movie). There was a
Dowager exhibition, a special celebration going on at
Chatsworth House in honor of
Deborah, the
Dowager Duchess of Devonshire's
90th birthday this year. So, a lot of
new displays including a
Treasures Display in
North Gallery, newly
restored courtyard (which opened for the first time), a
contemporary art, new and
restored galleries, etc. that were on display there this time that were not on display previously.
1) A welcome to Chatsworth sign by the entrance door 2) a model of Chatsworth House
The grand staircase and baroque style painting ceiling as seen in P&P movie
1) A Violin at the door (looks real, but it's actually just a painting!)
2) A Lady in a Veistat Veil (as seen in P&P movie)
1)
Cascade Fountain2)
Emperor and Seahorse Fountains (as famously seen in
P&P movie) 3)
Garden (one side of it)
1) The Duchess books and DVDs
(The Duchess starring Keira Knightley)
2) Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice novel
(with a tie in cover from P&P movie,
JA related novels, and P&P movie on DVDs)
3) The Complete Jane Austen Novel (P&P movie cover)
4) The Complete JA novels, P&P novel,
and
JA inspired novels (including
Laurie Viera Rigler's
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict)
The Sculpture Gallery
Mr. Darcy's bust (as famously seen in P&P movie)
is on display inside the Orangery shop at Chatsworth House
Mr. Darcy's Bust is now sitting pretty on display at the
Orangery shop (next to
the Sculpture Gallery), as you can see from my pics above ^ from my recent
Chatsworth House visit...all
THANKS to
Sandra, who started the
Bring Back the Bust! Online Petition (to save
Mr. Darcy's Bust from being removed from
Chatsworth House permanently) last summer (
May 2010) and of course the
331 P&P fans (myself included)
around the world who
signed the petition. So, a big
thank you to her and fellow
P&P fans (as well as the wonderful
staff at
Chatsworth House) for keeping the
Darcy bust there or I wouldn't have been able to see it and took those pics as I did when I visited there 'cause that was the first thing I thought of and wanted to see the moment I entered
Chatsworth House, lol. So, yeah...
thanks a lot
Sandra and fellow
P&P fans!
On our way back home after our fun 4-5 hours tour of the beautiful
Chatsworth House, we passed by
The Peacock at Rowsley, who became home to many of the
P&P stars (including
Keira Knightley &
Matthew Macfadyen) and crew (including director
Joe Wright) whilst they filmed
P&P movie on location at
Chatsworth and
Haddon Hall (
Visit Pride & Prejudice Country for more
P&P filming locations). But before we went home, we stopped by for an afternoon tea at
The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop.
Sept. 11th - We went to visit my brother-in-law's eldest sister in
Matlock (Derbyshire)...
FYI: Elizabeth Bennet mentioned to
Mr. Darcy in
P&P movie, in one of the
Pemberley scenes that she and her
Aunt and
Uncle (
The Gardiners) were going to
Matlock. She said, "
Tomorrow we go to Matlock."
Mr. Darcy replied, "
Tomorrow?"
Did you see/read Matlock on the sign?
Unfortunately, that ^ is the only pic I have...lol.
Sept. 12th - We visited another sister (of my brother-in-law) who currently resides in
Scarborough, North Yorkshire (England) with her family.
An interesting mention of
Scarborough by
Mr. Darcy in
P&P novel when
Elizabeth Bennet asked him about his younger sister
Georgiana...
"Is your sister at Pemberley still?"
"Yes, she will remain there till Christmas."
"And quite alone? Have all her friends left her?"
"Mrs. Annesley is with her. The others have been gone on
to Scarborough, these three weeks."
- Pride and Prejudice novel (Volume III Chapter xii; Chapter 54, page 322)
We spent about 4-5 hours in Scarborough...Then, from Scarborough, we drove to
Falkirk (which interestingly lying to the north west and north east of the cities
Edinburgh and
Glasgow),
Scotland to see friends and stayed there for 3 nights!
Sept. 13th - We took a train to spend a day in
Edinburgh (Scotland)...and went to see the beautiful
Edinburgh Castle. We ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe and went home where we spent the rest of the night watching
Princess Bride and
P&P movie (yep, we ended up watching these two movies after we had a fun conversation about our time in
Chatsworth House and talked about
P&P movie).
Edinburgh Castle
1) view of Edinburgh's downtown 2) Hard Rock Cafe
Sept. 14th - On this day, we were going to see
Loch Leven Castle...
We made it to
the pier, but it was canceled due to it being so windy (not too mention, it was rainy there as usual). There was no boat ride scheduled for that day, unfortunately...so we went to small
Castle Campbell instead...
Sept. 15th - We left
Scotland around noon and drove back to
England and stopped by the city of
Lincoln,
Lincolnshire for a night stay at a friends' house. This was an unexpected addition to the places we've stopped by or visited just before going to
London.
To Be Continued...
Part 2 will be in the next post, coming up very soon!
A lil' blog update and announcement to mention here. First of all, don't worry, I am not going anywhere nor am I moving this blog to a different host. Rest assured, I've only just been working on keeping this blog updated as best as I could as well as added new things to keep you all updated on all things P&P/Jane Austen related topics and, of course, the 2005 P&P movie version we love, which this blog is most devoted and dedicated to. I just want to let you all know that I've updated some side bar contents/sections and pages of this blog and a lil' announcement, which I will get to in a bit. For now, check out the following things I've been working on.
Bakewell sign at a town centre and Derbyshire House
