Traveling to new places - whether it's in person or through books (as OOM-er Stephanie wrote earlier blog post) Summer is a great time to expore new places. I studied abroad in London when I was in college and lived there for 3 months. I fell in love with the city, but hadn’t been back since. So I was thrilled to be able to finally go back for a visit with a friend.
London has such a rich literary history with authors like Shakespeare, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I was pretty excited when we passed 221b Baker Street, home to Sherlock Holmes!) ...and so many more! No wonder there are bookish treasures EVERYWHERE!
While walking down Portobello Road (one of my favorite things to do in London), I couldn’t help glancing at the tables with books. When we stopped at a coffee shop for a break, I noticed we were right next to Oxfam book shop! So, naturally, I popped in. Surrounded by second-hand books in this small shop, I stumbled upon an old copy of Peter Pan with a note on the inside cover dated 1953! It’s hard to make out the script, but I love that it is signed “with love & good wishes always.” Perhaps it was a gift from a grandfather to his grandson? We can’t know for sure…but for me, that’s part of its charm!
When we visited Harrods later in the trip, I wandered around one of the store’s bookshops (noticing a theme here?) and came across 3 different editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Part of me wanted to buy one (or all) of them, but I decided to take a photo instead after reasoning that I have copies at home and little room in my suitcase.
While on the underground with my friend and her sister, I learned she was also a Harry Potter fan. AND we just so happened to be switching lines at King’s Cross Station! Of course we had to make a stop at Platform 9 ¾! As we joined the group of people waiting to pose for a picture with the cart, I couldn’t help but smile at the number of people who stopped for this cool literary moment! (Brittany recently shared her photo from Platform 9 ¾ here!)
Brittany and Lia both sent me links to articles about book-inspired benches in London. I was on the lookout, but didn't come across any of them. On my last day, I thought I would return to New York without seeing any…but lucky me! We decided to cut through Bloomsbury Trail, where I saw a James Bond-inspired bench AND a bench for Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly, by Agatha Christie.
Have you had any book adventures this summer?
