London Calling

London Calling
For 15 years, I’ve dreamed of getting to return to Europe. I even wrote a whole book (known these days as A Summer in Europe) about a woman spending several weeks there, visiting cities from Rome to London and drinking in the amazing atmosphere of every fabulous site. I wistfully daydreamed my way through the creation of every scene… Most of all, I fantasized about getting to show my “baby boy” (who’s now a teenager) a few of the places I most loved across the pond. To take him to the spot where his dad and I got engaged. To introduce him to a few real castles, Jane Austen’s stomping grounds, the coolness that is the Tube and Cadbury bars made in the U.K.—because, yes, they taste different there and are SO VERY delicious.
Well, a few weeks back, my husband and I took a look at both the calendar and our son…and we realized in shock that it had been 20 years since my husband proposed to me on London Bridge. (Spring Break of ’92…sigh…where did the decades go?!) And that, in just a few more years, our son would most likely be away at college or have a job and little time for vacations with his old, sentimental parents. So, despite our busy work schedules, the difficulty in being away from aging family members (my father-in-law just turned 90) and the significant expenses involved, we did something spontaneous, impulsive and oh-so-exciting: We booked spring break flights to England!

Pump Room Pastries

Pump Room Pastries


To say I was anxious and holding my breath that all would go smoothly is an understatement. I haven’t been abroad at all since 1997. That was pre-parenthood. Pre-9/11. Pre-homeownership. Pre-published authorship. Even pre-email!! (Well, pre-email for me—I didn’t begin really using the Internet regularly until I joined RWA in 2002.) Pre-digital camera, too, since I’d loved my old 35mm and hadn’t wanted to give it up. So, I knew times had changed and I figured I’d encounter a few major differences while we were away.

JA's writing desk

Jane Austen’s writing desk

Truthfully, though, the lovely England of my memories was much as she’d always been. One might say, in essentials, she was unchanged… I did, however, get to have some new and thrilling experiences and, those of you here will appreciate these: visiting Winchester Cathedral, Jane Austen’s House in Chawton and the Jane Austen Centre in Bath!!

JA CentreThe Jane Austen Centre

The very nice Becca Hemmings, who runs the online Jane Austen Centre gift shop, was kind enough to order additional copies of According to Jane to make available for customers, and I signed bookplates for them so readers who might be interested can have autographed copies. I enjoyed a visit to the Centre while my husband and son toured the Roman Baths. We celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary by having tea/scones at the Pump Room and then we wandered around the famous Royal Crescent and visited a number of wonderful little shops, including the bookstore where my husband had gotten me my 1894 “Peacock Edition” of Pride and Prejudice all of those years ago!

Royal Crescent

Royal Crescent


We also went back to London Bridge…so my husband and I could celebrate the site of our engagement and ask our son to snap a shot of the two of us, 20 years later. You can compare and contrast below!!

We did many other things while abroad, too. My son—a castle nut—got to finally see some truly impressive ones. We Brit-Railed up to Conwy Castle in Northern Wales (gorgeous!) and visited the Tower of London (amazing!) and walked the walls of Chester (so cool!). We also went to the “Ceremony of the Keys” at the Tower of London one night, which is a tradition that dates back 700 years. (My world-history-teaching hubby was in raptures.) And we took trips to Stonehenge and Oxford, too. We rode on the relatively new Ferris wheel, called the “London Eye,” and saw the beautiful city at night, peeked in on Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (next time I’m traveling in summer so I can see a play there!) and had fish-n-chips with vinegar at a pub, just the way I love ‘em.

London Bridge - smallSpring Break 1992

 

London BridgeSpring Break 2012

 

I can’t believe our 9-day adventure flew by so fast, but it’s good to be home, if only so I can finally catch up on sleep and stop eating those milk-chocolate Yorkies with the raisins and biscuit bits as if there were no tomorrow. Someday, if we’re really fortunate, I’d love to do this trip again…perhaps with our (future) grandchildren for Spring Break 2032… I’m already saving up my pence for more Cadbury bars ;).

~~~
A recent review of Marilyn Brant’s latest novel begins: ”A Summer in Europe is an armchair traveler’s dream come true. Brant describes the sights, sounds, and smells of Europe with incredible finesse and really brings her settings to life for the character. Her writing is really wonderful, and her descriptions and attention to detail leave the reader immersed in their imaginations.” (If Marilyn were asked, however, she would say her imagination is powered by chocolate, which is why she eats so much of it!!)

p.s. What’s your favorite kind of candy bar??! I’m a Yorkie addict.

007 Marilyn Brant--clipped

Marilyn Brant

Marilyn Brant is a USA TODAY Bestselling Author of Contemporary Women’s Fiction and Romantic Comedy. She’s published eight novels to date, including ACCORDING TO JANE, which was a #1 Kindle Bestseller, won RWA’s Golden Heart Award and was named one of Buzzle.com’s “100 Best Romance Novels of All Time.” She also wrote PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND THE PERFECT MATCH, which was a Top 100 Bestseller on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. And her latest novel, a coming-of-age romantic mystery called THE ROAD TO YOU, is just out!

44 comments on “London Calling by Marilyn Brant”

    1. Sophia Rose
      Oh how special to go back with your family! I really enjoyed vicariously visiting England with you in your post and pictures.Thanks for sharing!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Sophia, thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and the photos. Every time I get to share a little bit of Europe with friends it’s a gift to me, too, because I love reliving the experiences :).Hope you have a wonderful day!

    1. Jakki L.
      A vacation to remember! It sounds like all three of you had a great time! I bet it was wonderful to go back to London Bridge and reminisce about spring break 1992 and your proposal! :grin:Oh, and the scones and tea look delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your spring break with us!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Jakki,We definitely reminisced about those old travel days and the years that had passed. I’m amazed that so much time has gone by… In my mind, I’m still that 20-something teacher (younger and slimmer!!), but I do think I’m happier now, so I guess the added years and pounds are worth it :razz: .Hope you had a wonderful break, too. I’m still looking forward to hearing about your zoo excursion with your kids!!

    1. Susan Adriani
      Marilyn, I am so envious! I’ve been trying to get my husband to take me to England for a long time now, but he keeps putting it off. I’m so happy that you got to go again – it sounds like you had such a wonderful time, and your photos were lovely. (My favorite were of you and your husband on London Bridge, then and now). It’s so nice that you wanted to share such a special trip with your son. He must be a great guy, and is very lucky to have the two of you as parents!Lovely review – I’ve always thought your descriptions were beautiful, too. :)

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Susan,*hug!* Thank you.My husband and I were second-guessing doing this right down to the last week because traveling is so expensive and full of challenges — it’s never easy to get away — but I hope you’ll be able to convince your hubby to just go anyway sometime. I know you’d love England and I’ll bet your daughter would, too :). I can say without reserve that it was an *incredible* learning experience for our son, which had been our biggest reason for wanting to go. If it expands his mind just a bit more, makes him more open and tolerant of other cultures/perspectives and gives him a greater understanding of world history and geography, it was totally worth every penny. He said he really loved it, and I could tell that was true ;).

    1. Karen Doornebos
      Marilyn, this is SO romantic! What a fabulous idea for your 20th anniversary-spring break-proposal! How sweet that your hubby proposed on London Bridge…I’m amazed at how much you did in such a short period of time. Kudos!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Karen, thank you!!It was romantic — when we slowed down long enough to gaze lovingly into each other’s eyes for about 5 seconds — then we raced around again :). I can tell you, I had serious blisters on my poor feet from all the fast walking to get to places before the closed and to make it to those trains before they took off! A *great* travel experience for sure…but not exactly a relaxing one, LOL.

    1. Beth Watson
      Marilyn what a wonderful trip! Did I read this correctly, you just planned this trip in a matter of weeks? Wow, quite spontaneous! Makes me want to whisk my hubby off to Paris this month. :-) How great that your son got to experience this with you. I love the two pics of you guys on the London Bridge. Very romantic that it’s the same spot he proposed. That is so cool!!! I’ve never made it to Jane Austen’s house. Hope to get there one day…My favorite candy bar when I’m in Europe is Milka!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Beth, I saw the Milka bars at the Tube station but didn’t get one this time! Darn! Now I want to go back for that… ;)And, yes, you read correctly. We booked our flights about 4-5 weeks in advance, but we got full insurance cancellation coverage because we were so concerned something might happen with either my husband’s father or my parents and we wouldn’t be able to go. We didn’t book *anything* else until about 5 days before the trip when I ordered BritRail passes, and we didn’t choose our hotels or various activities until we got to each city.My husband had picked up the latest Rick Steves guide and we mapped out a possible itinerary, given the number of days we had available, but we tend to make lots of changes when we travel, and we didn’t know what the weather would be like. It turned out to be warm and sunny — we were so lucky — and that allowed us to do a little more than we thought we might. We’d each chosen one “must-see site,” though, and for me that was Jane Austen’s house!!Hope you and your hubby go back to Paris soon — I’d love to read about your adventures there :).

    1. erika brunmeier
      Marilyn sounds like it was everything that you hoped for !!! Makes me want to go and explore Europe. Should we plan a trip ? Can’t wait to hear all about it. Have a great Easter and I will talk to you later.

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Erika, it was really a great experience! I enjoyed it just because I’ll never stop loving Europe…but the BEST part was truly seeing how much our son loved it, too. So, YES!!!! You should definitely plan a trip. (Maybe it would be easier in just a few years when your boys are a little older and can walk for longer, though! Even our resident teen complained a bit about that…)Hope you have a wonderful Easter, too, and we will talk very soon!! xox

    1. Susan Kaye
      Thanks for sharing the great photos and insights on your trip. Jane would be proud of you doing it for love’s sake. Well, and the fact that kids just keep growing older no matter how hard you try to make them stop!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Susan,You are so right about how fast the kids grow!! Truly, I can’t believe I’m the mother of a teenager. I know I’m going to blink twice and find that he’s a married father ;). As for Jane, it was such a privilege getting to see her home and imagine her there writing my favorite book of all time… I hope she somehow realizes how influential she’s been!

    1. Nicole Basaraba
      Ok, not that I need any more chocolate living in Belgium, but I so want a Cadbury bar from the UK. I think its so romantic and fun that you both went back to London 20 years after your engagement. Its a book-worthy romance. :smile:

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Nicole,That Belgian chocolate is pretty awesome, too!!!As for the book-worthy romance, on the days when my hubby and I were completely in sync with our plans, it was wonderfully romantic! On the days when we both wanted to run the show but had different ideas of how to do that…well, let’s just say our trip edged dangerously close to a murder mystery :razz: .

    1. Danielle
      It sounds like you had a great time. Loved the photos!Now I need to plan a trip there. :mrgreen:

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Danielle,Ohhh, you definitely need to plan a trip there if possible!!!And thank you :). I’m so glad you enjoyed the pictures!

    1. Mary Simonsen
      Time does fly, doesn’t it. I’ll be married 36 years in June. Like you, our first time in England was in 1982, before kids, before writing, before a lot of things. What a wonderful place for a proposal! So glad you got back to England. I’m going shortly.

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Mary,I’m so thrilled to hear you’ll be going there for a visit, too!! I hope you’ll share the experience with us and post many photos. (Please eat a Yorkie for me!!) And, wow, congrats on nearly 36 years of marriage — that is wonderful ;).

    1. Margaret
      I loved my trip to England and would love to go back. I love the pictures of you and hubby. Such a nice keepsake. I love chocolate as well and am sure that blood no longer runs through my veins just liquid chocolate. Favorite hmmm… I love chocolate covered almonds. There are a healthy choice with nuts aren’t they? Okay I tried lol! Any chocolate will do really!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Margaret, you and I are definitely on the same wavelength when it comes to chocolate!! Chocolate-covered almonds are a health food if I’ve ever heard of one…and I dare any doctor to disagree ;). I’m so glad you had a wonderful trip to England, too! Despite the jetlag, exhaustion and general malaise that comes with a long flight, we had barely touched down in Chicago and were already daydreaming about going back to the U.K. again…

    1. Kristin
      Ohhhh…Bath, the Tower, the Globe, WALES!!!! And you want to hear about DC & the band? I’m glad you had what sounds to be a wonderful trip. Thank you for sharing! I’ll be in touch soon to tell you about mine.

        1. Marilyn Brant
          LOL, Kristin! Yes, I *do* want to hear about D.C. and the band!! Will look forward to your email ;). And thank you — it was an exciting trip for all of us, although, it never fails that I catch a cold whenever I come home from vacation. Glad I get to type today and not have to talk with my constant coughing and sniffling!

    1. C. Allyn Pierson
      I could never use Jane’s writing table- where would I put my laptop, reference books, box of Kleenex, cough drops, snacks, telephone, cell phone, printer, and various and sundry miscellaneous “important” junk which collects on the top of my desk. Speaking of which, I think I need to get a larger one…I saw a study last year that “proved” that people with messy desks are more productive…I can tell you that I am going with that!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Carey, I *know*!! I’d need to expand Jane’s tiny little desk by 10x its size in order to fit half of my things on there… And I’m *sure* that study about the productivity of people with messy desks is right on the mark. :razz: Love that excuse!!

    1. AngieK
      Beautiful! I was lucky enough to visit London in 2000. I really want to go back! Congrats on your wedding anniversary, Marilyn!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Angie, thank you!!I’m so glad you got to visit London, and I don’t blame you at all for wanting to go back! We’ve only been home for 48 hours and I’m already fantasizing about returning… :grin:

    1. Monica P
      Wow what an amazing trip! Never been to Europe but I hope I’ll get there someday. Til then I’ll have to keep re-reading ASiE. I bet your son thinks he has the awesomest parents ever, to just spontaneously go to England for spring break! He’s a teen so he may not say it (God, I cringe when I remember some of the things I said when I was that age!) but he’s thinking it. ;)Thanks for sharing – love the pics!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          LOL, Monica!!I can only hope our son thinks of us as “tolerable” these days — he’s not quick to verbalize anything we might interpret as praise of our parenting ;). BUT, I will say, his facial expressions showed his awe and amazement through much of the trip, and when we asked him what he thought of a number of sites (specifically, the Tower of London, Stonehenge and a play we took him to see in London…), he raved about all three and said they were “SO COOL!” That was all I needed to hear!Got my fingers crossed that you’ll get to go to Europe sometime soon :).

    1. LeslieGB
      Hi Marilyn,It sounds like a wonderful trip and very romantic to return to the site of your proposal. I loved the pictures. Unfortunately my husband has no desire to travel to England, but my daughter who also loves Jane Austen, is ready to be my travel companion. Thanks for sharing your itinerary. It gives me some great ideas.

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Leslie,You are most welcome! I hope you and your daughter will be able to take a trip there soon and I’d love to hear what your choice of itinerary turns out to be!! For us, we started our loop in London then headed to Chawton/Winchester then on to Salisbury/Stonehenge then Bath…Oxford…Conwy and Chester…and finally back to London again. If we’d had a few more days, I would have loved to add in the Lake District, too, and show our son Stratford. Gives me another reason to want to go back :).

    1. Nina Benneton
      Oh Henry is my favorite.I’m so glad you got a chance to return to the scene of the crime 20 years later!That Pump room tea! Yum. Now you made me want a glass of the pump room water!

    1. Marilyn Brant
      Thanks, Nina!!I remember having the Pump Room water last time… This time, I stuck just to tea and pastries :).

    1. Candy M
      Hi Marilyn, I think it’s fantastic that you got to go and spur of the moment, too! Incredible! I’m glad everything turned out well! I’ve never been and would love to go sometime.I’m a big fan of dark chocolate!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Candy, thank you!!It was really exciting to be able to do this trip and to pull it all together so quickly (the upside to such limited weeks of preparation was that I had a lot less time to stress out over everything, LOL). I hope you’ll get to go — I know you’d love it! And YUM on dark chocolate…I’m a fan, too! :)

    1. Alyssa Goodnight
      I oohed and aahed all through this post! Sooo jealous! But what fun for you and your family! I have tried those Yorkies, and they are among my favorites too. Delicious combination!

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Alyssa, thank you! I know what a privilege it was to get to do this. Part of me still can’t believe we really went… And I’m glad I’m not the only one who loves those Yorkies!! SO addictive. ;)

    1. Pamala Knight
      Marilyn, you and your husband look just as fabulous in the current pictures as you did in the originals. I’m sure you had a great time revisiting the places that hold so many wonderful memories for you. Especially since your son was able to see where his parents began their journey together. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us. *hugs*

        1. Marilyn Brant
          Pamala, you are a big sweetheart and I appreciate your kind words…even though I know the camera can’t hide the added years and pounds ;). (I wish!) It was such a joy to get to take our son there. I thought of you and the trips you’ve taken to Ireland several times while we were away, marveling at how you’d handled the long flights and transitions with two kids, not just one. Can’t wait to get to chat with you in person sometime soon and catch up on everything!!xox

    1. Vera Nazarian
      What a lovely adventure you’ve had, Marilyn!Major envy on all the stops, and… I am sorry for being such a Doctor Who nerd, but when I saw the red telephone booth, my first thought was the blue Tardis! :)

    1. Marilyn Brant
      Vera, thank you, and LOL about the Doctor Who reference! I have a friend (Pamala Knight!!) who’s been telling me I need to watch the show. I’m just afraid to start because I suspect I’ll really like it and get hooked :).Wishing you a wonderful rest of the weekend!

    1. Lúthien84
      Visiting England and setting foot on Jane Austen’s house in Chawton, Bath, London and Winchester Cathedral remain the top of my bucket list. I’m so happy, delighted and envious that you and your family did make an impromptu visit there. Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures with us. :grin:

    1. Regina Jeffers
      Envy, thy name is Regina. Your vacation was a dream trip for many of us who love Austen.

6 comments

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  1. I can get Yorkies for you here in Canada…………just sayin’ 🙂

    1. LOL!! Oh, Elaine…I’m SO tempted to take you up on that!!!
      Sadly, I have no willpower whatsoever when in the presence of a Yorkie! The fact that I can’t get them here in Illinois (at least not as far as I know) is probably the only thing that’s keeping me even remotely on my diet. I’d stand no chance otherwise… 😀
      *Hugs!*

    • Anji on February 17, 2014 at 6:15 pm
    • Reply

    Hi Marilyn, I just found this post from your link on Facebook today. Sounds like you had a great trip over here not quite two years ago.

    Next time, come up to the North as well. Abigail Reynolds can tell you about the joys of Yorkshire. York itself has castles, dungeons, museums and a Minster to rival any cathedral in Europe and, like Chester, you can also walk the City Walls. Out in the countryside, there are ruins of old abbeys (Fountains, Rievaulx, Jervaulx) and the natural wonders of the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors.

    Further North, there’s Holy Island and Lindisfarne, Hadrian’s Wall, the Lake District. And, on a P & P note, there’s the Peak District, which is south of where I am but worth seeing. Chatsworth would have to stand in for Pemberley, which I believe it has done at least once for dramatisations.

    I’m old enough to have been able to go to Stonehenge when they still allowed the public to wander around right under and beneath those huge stones. Totally awesome! Been on the London Eye, too, and can heartily recommend it. Ours was a daytime trip in autumn and brilliantly sunny.

    Sadly, I’ve only been to Bath once, on a trip for an interview when I was applying for a University place. Never had the chance to go back and didn’t see much of the sights when I was there, just drove past Royal Crescent. Would love to see all the JA places and visit the Roman Baths.

    Finally, to chocolate. I don’t think I’ve ever met a chocolate bar I didn’t like! My favourite sort has to be anything made by Thorntons but a bit pricy for everyday(!) eating so usually it’s Cadbury’s (or Green & Blacks if I’m feeling like something a little bit out of the ordinary).

  2. Anji,

    First of all, thanks so much for your lovely long comment 😉 .

    Second, I totally agree with you about not having ever met a chocolate I didn’t like, LOL!!! I may enjoy some more than others, but I’ll eat them ALL!

    Finally, as for travel, on that trip my husband and I took back in 1992, we were trying to see as much as possible, so we flew into Manchester, rode the train up to the Lake District (I recall visiting and loving Windermere), then continued up to Edinburgh before going down to London. We did stop in York briefly and I remember walking the walls up there!! We made a few other quick stops — somewhere along the way we saw Cambridge and Stratford — but not for as long as I would have liked. I would really love to see York again and show our son the beautiful Lake District. And then, of course, I would love to get to visit other sites we’ve not yet had a chance to see — like Chatsworth, the Peaks, and more.

    You live in a GORGEOUS country! The history, the scenery, the people (and, yes, the chocolate!) are really wonderful. And, if my son has his way, he’d like to do some kind of study/work program in London someday… He loved it so much, he’d love to go back for a lot longer 🙂 . He promises he’ll let us visit him if he does!! xo

  3. Hi Marilyn. I enjoyed your post! I was fortunate to travel to England, August 2012. We visited the locations where the 1995 miniseries was filmed, spent the night in the home that was Hunsford in the miniseries. After the tour we stayed several more days in Bath. I loved all the places you mentioned. I would walk to the Jane Austen Centre from the hotel. I loved Bath, The Royal Crescent, the Pump Room, all of it was beautiful. Your post brought back my many memories too. I also hope to go back again some day! It is such beautiful country.

    As for chocolate, I’m not sure what is my favorite. For simple chocolate, I love Butterfingers but I also love Ghirardelli chocolates too. Never had the Yorkie! I would like to try one!

    Thanks again for a great post.

    1. Janet, thanks so much for taking the time to visit and leave a comment!

      I’m so glad you had such a wonderful trip in 2012 as well. That must have been fascinating getting to visit some of those locales where the miniseries was filmed and to stay the night in “Hunsford” — wow! What a cool experience!!

      As for your chocolate choices — I’ll admit, I snitch my son’s Butterfingers whenever he comes back from trick or treating, LOL. I love those!! And Ghirardelli…yum. Those delicious squares of theirs with the caramel inside make my mouth water 😀 . They’re my husband’s *favorites” so, whenever we have a bag of them in the house, it’s gone within 24 hours…

      We may need to get Elaine to send us BOTH Yorkies!!

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