Janna Meets Jane: 09/23/23

“I could not sit seriously down to write a serious Romance under any other motive than to save my life, & if it were indispensable for me to keep it up & never relax into laughing at myself or other people, I am sure I should be hung before I had finished the first chapter. No - I must keep my own style & go on in my own way; and though I may never succeed again in that, I am convinced that I should totally fail in any other.” - Jane Austen, letter to Cassandra

8:15 Drove 10 minutes
Drove by Winchester Cathedral - Jane Austen's burial place and old beautiful cathedral

Winchester Cathedral

Our car barely squeezed by the black posts on the left. One of many too-small streets around here.

Drove 30 minutes to Breakfast at the Austen Café

I had to order full English Breakfast
at least once so Mom could try
the baked beans. They tasted
like... baked beans.

11:00 am Tour Jane Austen's House (We were an hour late but they didn't care)

Jane Austen lived here for the last eight years of her life. While here, she wrote and had published all six of her globally beloved novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Today, Jane Austen’s House is a cherished museum with an unparalleled collection of Austen treasures

It was such a privilege to visit this house. What a special place our Jane had where she finally felt settled and at peace enough to write her deliciously rich and funny and romantic and entertaining novels. As we sat listening to narration in the kitchen about her life in this house, I had the feeling she is aware of us and of how her gifts have impacted so many around the world. That thought makes me glad, and I am happy that she was given the honor of being buried at Winchester Cathedral.

The brilliant Jane

Mom and I think it's entirely appropriate that
Jane Austen is on the ten pound note!

Her very house where she lived her last eight years

In this sitting room, Jane first read aloud her book
that had just been published and delivered to her
home - Pride and Prejudice. Mom and I sat
on the sofa and read the first couple of pages of that
delightful book and smiled and laughed.

What beautiful handwriting Jane had!
Letters to her sister, Cassandra.

Shawl made by Jane, quilt made by her mother and Cassandra

We rock this look

Jane Austen's donkey cart

The Bake House

Drove five minutes to Sainsburys for London snacks and chocolate presents

Drove 2 hours to get Petrol - construction traffic was stop-and-go much of the time. Yuck. And the closer we got to London, the busier the roads got. We drove a mile in a tunnel under the Thames River, so that was interesting. I figured out how to pay the toll online later.

Drove fifteen minutes to London City Airport, where we found the car hire company closed, so we left the keys at the airport (which was also closed, but there was a security guard there). That VW Passat was wonderful but I was not sad to say goodbye.

Back in London...

“Here I am once more in this Scene of Dissipation & vice, and I begin already to find my Morals corrupted.” - Jane Austen, letter to Cassandra, from London

Took an Uber to Radisson Blu Edwardian Kenilworth London hotel

Oh my goodness, WORST TRAFFIC EVER. I don't even want to write more about it because I'm so mad that the traffic made us miss our West End play. Our drivers were Naveed from Pakistan, and Alexandru from Romania.

We had a late leisurely dinner at our Radisson hotel restaurant. It was lovely to relax after such an exhausting day of traffic. After super delicious food and fancy dessert, we hit the pillow hard.