Although it's something I've long wanted to do, if I gave myself any time to really think about taking an expensive trip while I'm unemployed and living on savings, I doubt I would find it a very good idea. So, at the height of my doubts, I went online and bought the non-refundable tickets.
Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved everything British. I didn't need any encouragement, but my best friend's mom is
British and she helped to strengthen that love and curiosity. I will never forget getting up with her family at 5 AM to watch the wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. I've been filled to the gills with tea for the past 35 years and I'm finally ready to see where it all comes from!!! (Well, okay, the tea doesn't come from there - I meant the custom!)I was, for many years before her death, obsessed with Princess Diana. I became completely enthralled with Jane Austen in my 20s. I love Shakespeare. And few things have captured my imagination the way Michael Hirst's movies about Elizabeth and his series The Tudors have. I have now read every reputable biography on Anne Boleyn, the other wives of Henry VIII and his children. The only logical next step is to GO TO ENGLAND!
For me, it is primarily a Tudor tour of England. I will start in London - specifically to visit the Tower on the anniversary of Anne Boleyn's execution. There are a ton of exhibitions celebrating Henry's accession to the throne 500 years ago and I bought a pass to all the unoccupied royal palaces. Then it's on to Kent to pay my respects at Anne Boleyn's ancestral home. It was also the home of Henry's 4th wife, Anne of Cleves, but is dedicated to Anne and her family.
Jane Austen's family is also from Kent and I can think of no place better to be on my birthday than a manor house in the English countryside!
So starting Monday, let the unemployment vacation begin!!!
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