Comfort Reads discussion

Have you ever taken a literary trip? Do you dream about visiting a location from a beautifully described, historical or atmospheric narrative? Tell us all about it here!

Oh, I can't wait to read about members' trips. I have not, but long to do so. Many of mine would be in Britain, and while I was there I'd definitely want to go to Hay-on-Wye:

http://www.hay-on-wye.co.uk/

Who's been there? Even though I have some Welsh roots, I don't know the language at all, and I'm afraid what with the accents I won't be able to understand English either, even though I love the sound of the way it's spoken.

My two favourite literary trips were more in the nature of pilgrimages. In 1999 my husband and I (he was the chauffeur, I was the pilgrim!) went straight from Heathrow to Chawton, where Jane Austen lived and wrote. We then went to Salisbury to stand in front of the house where she died and to visit the cathedral where she is buried. From there we went to Bath, and spent time in the Pump Room and on a walking tour of Bath landmarks, including the Assembly Rooms and the house where Jane lived (and was very unhappy!)

On a subsequent trip in 2008, we went to Lyme Regis, because it had been my dream for years. Walking on The Cobb in the footsteps of the characters in Persuasion was just amazing: a literary dream come true!

We participated in another literary pilgrimage on the same visit to the UK. My daughter teaches drama and has a passion for Irish theatre. She was living in London at the time, as was my older son. Five of us (including my son's girlfriend) went to Ireland on a trip planned by my daughter to see places of importance to Irish playwrights. So we went to Leenane in County Galway because there is a play by Martin McDonough called "The Beauty Queen of Leenane". We also went to a town called Glenties in County Dongegal because it is the town on which Brian Friels based Ballybeg, the location of several of his plays, including "Dancing at Lughnasa". While we were in Ireland we did a bunch of other literary stuff: eg. visiting the tomb of WB Yeats, seeing Oscar Wilde's house in Dublin and visiting the Dublin Writers Museum. This trip made my daughter's eyes shine and while I knew little about Irish drama and history when I arrived in Ireland, I knew lots by the time I left. My girl's not a teacher for nothing!

Oh Kim, it sounds like both trips were incredible! I'd love to visit Bath and the Pump Room! Ireland has been a dream trip of mine for a long time too for other reasons but it sounds like you had a very special experience with your family.

Why Hay-on-Wye, Lisa?
I can add a 'me too' to Chawton. :-)

Hay-on-Wye is full of second hand bookshops, Darkpool, so I'm guessing that's why Lisa wants to go there. It's fantastic - a place for the ultimate bookshop crawl! On that same 2008 trip we drove from St Davids in Wales back to London via Hay-on-Wye, and spent about half a day there. I could have stayed for days!

Kim wrote: "Hay-on-Wye is full of second hand bookshops, Darkpool, so I'm guessing that's why Lisa wants to go there."

Yep; that's it. It's famous for its many bookstores. ETA: Even the link to the town mentions/lists their stores.

Ah! I managed to miss all of South Wales out of my trip. I was collecting cathedrals among other things, so would have loved to add St Davids, but it just didn't happen. Instead I was chasing Llewelyn Fawr around north Wales. Blame Sharon Kay Penman's Welsh Princes trilogy.

Kim, Both those trips sound fabulous, and exactly my cups of tea! Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Darkpool wrote: "Ah! I managed to miss all of South Wales out of my trip. I was collecting cathedrals among other things, so would have loved to add St Davids, but it just didn't happen. Instead I was chasing Llewe..."

Sadly, I missed out on North Wales! We've been to Llannelli (next door to Swansea) a couple of times, because my husband's ancestors migrated to Oz from there 150 years ago. Both times we've stayed in a B&B in Swansea, just down the road from Dylan Thomas' home. We went to St Davids for Easter because my daughter's best friend (who is married to a local boy) was living there at the time. We went to Evensong in the Cathedral on Easter Sunday, just because we could! It was lovely.

Lisa wrote: "Kim, Both those trips sound fabulous, and exactly my cups of tea! Thanks for sharing your experiences."

Just thinking about it makes me want to go again, Lisa. Having re-read Rebecca last week, I want to go back to Cornwall. And now I also want to go back to Devon and send time on the Moor, because of The Hound of the Baskervilles!

In late August I visited Yorkshire on a James Herriot tour. So beautiful!

When I went to London in 1998, I was thrilled, thinking that I would get to see many of the places I'd only read about till then. I went to Westminster and found it locked due to repairs. I peered at some of the graves in.... I forget the name but Marx is buried there. I visited Charles Dicken's house, but was bothered by an old man who kept trying to chat me up. Sadly I could not visit the Lake district , Bath and Avon. I dashed to Paris and immediately thought of the Bastille but found it had been knocked down and there was only a monument there.

Oh my goodness Priya! I think you'll just have to make another trip!

Oh dear, Priya, that does sound like it was rather disappointing. Often, with travel, if one thing goes wrong, others seem to follow!

BTW, if you saw where Marx was buried, that would have been Highgate Cemetery.

Priya, There are entire books about disappointing vacations. Unfortunately, it sounds as though you could be a contributor. I'd be so disappointed, especially since given how infrequently I'm able to travel, chances are it would be my one and only trip to each location.

Thanks all of you. Yes, I definitely need to go back, but thanks to the net, this time with more prep.

I would love to go to Prince Edward Island on an Anne of Green Gables tour, or to visit places from the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I visited PEI when I was about 8 or 9 with my grandmother. We saw the live theatre production and had a lovely time visiting all the related sites.

I read the first few Anne books when I was a kid, but I wasn't as crazy about them as I was about Little Women and the Katy books. I would like to go to Prince Edward Island, though. Friends of my son (she's Canadian from Halifax and he's South African / Brit) have just moved there and she'll be teaching school. Living the life of Anne!

Lee, I'm so glad you started this thread. Kim, what amazing trips you've had. Priya, you deserve a do-over. I need to gather my thoughts on where the literary places I want to go whenever I get to go to Great Britain, my dream destination for literary sites. I know I will take in some moors, such great settings for so many books, especially my favorite, The Hound of the Baskervilles. Imagined London: A Tour of the World's Greatest Fictional City by Anna Quindlen is a book I want to read before going.

When I visited Key West in Florida a few years ago, I went to the cottage(belonged to friends of his) where Robert Frost spent his summers in his later years, after his wife's death. Since he's one of my favorite poets, it was just so satisfying standing where you knew he stood, walking where you knew he walked. Also in Key West, of course, is Ernest Hemingway's house, and it was fantastic. Viewing the apartment above the garage where he did his writing was amazing.

Donna wrote: "I would love to go to Prince Edward Island on an Anne of Green Gables tour, or to visit places from the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder."

Yes, PEI for me... I love Anne, though Katy comes a close second, as does Jo

Prince Edward Island is very pretty. The earth is very red and when you drive through the countryside the patchwork green fields and red earth really look beautiful. It's been well over 30 years since I visited but the beauty struck me even as a child.

Kathy, this is a wonderful idea for a thread and I thank whoever it was that prompted me to start it. It's so fun to hear about everyone's experiences.

You're still young yet Simran, you can do it all!

You're no granny yet, either, Lee!

I'm going to Australia and Japan some day soon, but without a literary itinerary in mind. Unless checking out a manga cafe counts?

I hope there is travel in my future like there was travel in my past! I've had a 10 year break without going anywhere and now I'm itching to show Maggie the world! We'll have to try and save for some "educational" trips, heehee.

Field trip! :D

Jeannette wrote: "I'm going to Australia and Japan some day soon, but without a literary itinerary in mind. Unless checking out a manga cafe counts?"

A few years ago, I had a literary trip in my hometown. I had just read Thomas Keneally's The Playmaker which is set in the early days of the colony in Sydney. I went down to the area around the harbour and re-imagined what it was like 200 years ago in the context of scenes from the novel.

I did the same thing after reading another Australian novel, Eleanor Dark's Waterway, which is set in and around Sydney Harbour in the 1920s / 1930s. I took a ferry trip to the suburb which is one of the locations in the novel and once again, re-imagined it with the novel in mind. Great fun!

Well, lots of manga and anime are set in and around Tokyo, so I imagine I could turn a trip to Tokyo into a literary trip, too. I seem to recall a blog that showed scenes from an anime, and the locations they were modelled after. Riding the bullet train, visiting Akihabara, going to a school festival -- it would be fun.

Lots of educational stuff here in San Francisco, Lee. ;-)

Lisa wrote: "Lots of educational stuff here in San Francisco, Lee. ;-)"

Oh, I'll be coming one day. I can't wait!

There's nothing wrong with little chunks here and there! :-)

Simran wrote: "I've wanted to see it for years but haven't made it there yet. "

It's beautiful and there is tons to do. But it's very expensive if you want to enjoy all it has to offer. Luckily, much, including the scenery, is free.

I'm supposed to be going to San Francisco in February next year. But for various work-related reasons, the trip may have to be postponed. :(

Kim wrote: "I'm supposed to be going to San Francisco in February next year. But for various work-related reasons, the trip may have to be postponed. :("

Hopefully not too long a postponement if that is what happens.

San Francisco is a lovely place to visit. I've been several times over the years. My husband and I had lunch with a friend at a winery one time -- we bought wine and cheese and bread and ate outside. It was a perfect day in August.

SImran, I have friends in Melbourne, and Kim is in Sidney, so those two cities are definitely on my places-to-see list. When the trip comes closer to the planning stage, I'll be checking those travel guides, and asking my friends (including Kim) for recommendations. You can't never see everything the first time through. I still haven't seen everything I want to see in Germany, and we go every year!

There are lots of great places to visit in the US. I haven't been to many of them myself! And, everybody has their regional favorites: New England, and Boston in the fall; the Great Lakes and Michigan's Upper Peninsula; Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Glacier National Park; Blue Ridge Mountains; everyone should drive through Texas once, and visit the Alamo!

simran, What are the types of things to see and do that you enjoy?

Jeannette, When I was nine for a few months we lived in a hotel apartment right across the street from the Alamo. So, we went there often. That was fun for my nine-year-old self as I had a strong interest in Davy Crockett. ;-)

San Antonio is a wonderful city to visit. The Riverwalk is a lot of fun, too. We ate dinner on the river promenade, and were serenaded by a mariachi band. I can imagine the Alamo being a thrill for a Davy Crockett fan! King of the wild frontier..... (remember that?)

Oh, yeah, I definitely remember that song! ;-)

Did you have a coon skin cap? I think my brother did? (I hope it was synthetic.)

Jeannette wrote: "Did you have a coon skin cap? I think my brother did? (I hope it was synthetic.)"

I think I had a toy gun. :-( Cowgirl hat, no coonskin cap. Those must have been synthetic, don't you think?!

Most likely. Fur would have been expensive.

My mom claimed I sang "Davy Crockett, killed in a bar, when he was only three" when I was younger. ;)

Well, in the song bear is kind of pronounced like bar. ;-)

Have never known anything much about Davy Crockett. However, I did watch Fess Parker being Daniel Boone. Once I even saw him being Daniel Boone, dubbed into Cantonese.

I also watched Annie Oakley, which I loved. I wanted to be Annie Oakley and at age three I had an Annie Oakley hat. With yellow plaits.

I had a crush on Fess Parker as Daniel Boone. No appeal to me now, but back then...