Cambridge: Light Rain and Hope Falling from the Sky

Cambridge. What a pleasant surprise. I am enamored by the beauty, the humility, the respect I feel upon campus. The second oldest English speaking university, the school is made up of 31 colleges and 114 libraries--all astounding and unique. Home of so many brilliant and life-changing people, Wordsworth, Ghandi, Hawking, Newton (and the great ancestor of his apple tree!) Rushdie, Forester, Turing, and Watson and Crick (first described the structure of DNA!) just to name a few.  The list is endless. A sacred place protected during WWII and still honored today. Light rain and hope falling from the sky...

The Mathematical Bridge--entirely built of straight timbers 

"I want to go to college here..."

The beauty of the Kings College Chapel  

A Misty Walk to Hadrian's Wall

In 120 AD, Roman emperor Hadrian orders a wall built to protect his territory--73 miles from sea to sea across northern England. And I am in awe to walk there today...

Now, a World Heritage Site--the ruins of the wall--which changed and grew over the years--and 14 forts is truly breathtaking.

Strolling up the vivid green hills alight in drizzle, passing sheep, tufts of wool, and sheep patties. Inspecting Roman structures, climbing and walking the wall within drops from the clouds. A moody sky and leftovers from so long ago. 

What is our legacy? What we will leave behind? 

 Warmed up by family--good fortunate and love all around (not to mention a few sips of apricot and pomegranate wine!)

Stratford upon Avon: Still Bustling in Celebration of Shakespeare

Stratford Upon Avon.

Follow the Avon north and we arrive at the birthplace of William Shakespeare! The town's character is alive, busy--still bustling in celebration of the iconic author, actor, and playwright himself. To walk through the town, following in his brilliant footsteps, is exhilarating. To visit his childhood home helps to form an idea of the boy he was and the man he became. I am especially drawn to the window pane, once outside his bedroom--visited and engraved by other famous writers such as Charles Dickens, John Keats, Walter Scott and Thomas Hardy. It is obvious how the richness of his work and the impact of the his language has truly changed the world.

Just a bit of the words he coined 

Shakespeare's bedroom window engraved by so many famous authors who visited 

Shakespeare's bedroom as a boy

The burial site at the Holy Trinity Church is quiet, calm and a place that centers me. The stained-glass allows color to trickle into shadows and the engravings in the window also illustrate the long-lasting power of story. Outside, in the cemetery, I am followed by ideas--Shakespearian ghosts and words that live in the air around me. Spooked and honored all at once.

Bath: Lasting Mystery, Forever Stories

The Roman Baths take my breath away once again. Eerie and full of ancient stories. Prayers and curses--requests for the goddess of Minerva for revenge, redemption, and support. Astounding Roman technology--aqueducts and saunas. Emerald water. A place of healing. A place of death. A drink from the deep in the Earth-- hot and metallic. Lasting mystery--forever stories.

The love of family, a welcomed respite and refreshing cider at the Abbey Hotel. A walk along the Avon--dark and hidden pathways. The abbey's brightness shines--its stronghold illuminated at midnight.

stones of wonder!