The Literary pursuit of travel - poetry and the other Potter

In this post I invite you to visit the land of the Golden daffodils, the Lake district. Located in Northwestern England, the Lake district has been immortalized though its most famous poet, William Wordsworth. I however had another favorite author in mind when visiting the lakes. Beatrix Potter, who had stirred my imagination with her beautifully illustrated Garden pictures in her tale of Benjamin bunny. It was this countryside that I hoped to see on this adventure.

I couldn't resist the temptation to do a short but still memorable day trip from London to do a ten lakes tour. After careful planning and perusal, this meant catching a very early Virgin train out of London at 6 AM headed toward Glasgow. I'd switch to the local lake district train at Oxenholme and get down at Windermere, the entry point to the Lake district. Here I had booked a ten lakes spectacular tour, after which I'd repeat the train schedule to get back in London late at night.

A cheery conversation on the train with a Scotsman about Cricket (He loved the 20-20 format) and a Cornish pie later, I arrived at Windermere, still feeling a bit tired from the previous day's traveling around Oxford and the Cotswold villages. This was a Monday but I had taken the day off to make the tour.

The tour was pleasant but it was a cold spring day with an occasional hailstorm. We took a cruise on Derwent water which was pleasant and dreamy. 

Post cruise, it was a quick lunch stop at Keswick which is a beautiful English town. I couldn't help having a scone for lunch as I walked past a shop selling the fresh out of the oven.

Post lunch, we stopped by the spectacular Honister slate mine and pass which was a sight to behold. It was amazing to see the towering slate columns on both sides. Here's a picture for scale.

We also stopped at Castlerigg to see the stone circle, a sort of miniature but just as old Stonehenge. It was very intriguing to see. Then we went on to see the Wordsworth graves and daffodil garden at Grasmere. 

As we stopped here for a while, I couldn't help but sneak off to the bookstore around the corner to see if they still stocked the Beatrix Potter books. I was not disappointed! I returned with a full collection of stories in my hands and a happy smile on my face.

It was then time to head back to England. In retrospect I'd have chosen a smaller tour so as to not pack my day full. The English spring was predictably unpredictable and did its part with the intermittent rain which can be freezing up North. This however adds to the magic of the place.

The Lakes definitely deserve a longer visit with the delightful hikes they have to offer, but if you are pressed for time, they can be a satisfying albeit long day trip to see the beauty of the rolling hills and enchanting scenery.

The literary pursuit of Travel - Bath and Castle combe

Here is the second installment in what I hope is a series in this blog. This time I take you to England which is the source of literature itself, in its very being. I am not going to write about London just yet, but instead will divert your attention to Wiltshire and Somerset.

I knew I wanted to visit Bath after reading the Austen books. Bath also features in the Pickwick papers by Dickens. Apart from that it is beautifully Gregorian with a well preserved Roman bath that gives the town its name and very scenic. Literature and history? what could possibly be perfectly more inviting?

I wanted to however see Castle Combe, often called the prettiest village in England (though there are several that could live up to that reputation) on the way to Bath. Therefore I got off the train at Chippenham and took a taxi ride to see Castle combe in all of 30 minutes, then got back on the train to Bath. Castle combe was indeed lovely but I think the Cotswolds give it tough competition any day.

It was a chilly spring day, and there was a misty rain in the air as I waited in line at the Roman baths. The baths have existed since the Roman times, when the town was called Aquae sulis. Most of the structure above ground level was reconstructed but the museum does show several artifacts dating back to the Roman times and the original temple steps can be viewed as well.

The hot spring seemed to slightly warm the cold air and you could also taste its water at the posh pump room. It was mildly sulfurous and had mineral overtones but was not as disgusting as was claimed. Right outside the baths is the splendid bath abbey.

After this, I decided to take a walk uphill to see the circus and the royal crescent as well as the Austen house and the fashion museums. The Romans had quite a penchant for building houses around circles, but this just made them all the more fetching. The fashion museum was quite disappointing after the exhibits I had seen at the Met in New York.

The other famous sight in Bath is Pulteney bridge over the river Avon, that is compared with Florence's Ponte Vecchio. It is indeed beautiful but the comparison is totally unwarranted. Both the bridges are lined with shops but I guess the similarity stops there.

Bath is definitely a site worth visiting if you are interested in beautiful architecture, scenic vistas and peaceful walks. Here is a list of books, all set in Bath for reading inspiration before your visit!

The literary pursuit of Travel - Along Lake Geneva

The idea for this post has been brewing in my mind for a little while. As a child, my only option for journeys to places unknown were through books and wild stretches of my imagination. I managed to, through my reading see quite a bit of the world, and what can be more fun than to (re)visit those places from childhood figments of imagination?
This has inspired me on several of my trips, so much so that the literary vein runs strong through my sojourns. One such trip took me to the shores of Lake Geneva on an April morning in 2012. I combined the trip with a scenic rail journey through the alps.

I took the train to Montreux aiming to see Chateau De Chillon, but wanted to do most of the journey on the scenic Goldenpass rail, which requires quite a few train changes at Bern, Spiez and Zweisimmen to be precise. The Swiss precision makes these changes within minutes of each other pretty easy, except for at Spiez where a platform switch made me run like the wind to catch the next train.

After my first gasps of wonder and awe at the alps which managed to amuse a German artist enough to befriend me, the train weaved through scenic countryside to offer vistas of Montreux from high up.

Montreux is a riviera town on Lake Geneva which is quite heavily French. It is fancy but not as flashy as the alpine towns we passed on the train like Gstaad. I had a simple lunch of crepes (what else) on the riviera.

The riviera is delightful to walk in and my swiss pass let me board a boat bound to the Chateau from Montreux offering vistas of the french alps on the other side of the lake.

I knew of this little castle on the lake from Henry James' Daisy Miller where the outgoing Daisy goes with Frederick on a first date, highly frowned upon back in the day. The Novella itself is quite pleasant to read with several undertones touching on innocence, societal perceptions among others.

Chillon did not disappoint, it still ranks very high among the Castles I have visited. The level of defense that went into its fortress is amazing. As a literary bonus, you can see the poet Byron's name graffitied into the dungeon walls by Byron himself when he wrote the most popular work about the Chateau, The  prisoner of Chillon.

After this, I decided to take a bus to another literary town, Vevey. Vevey is known to most people as the birthplace of Nestle and the place where Charlie Chaplin lived his last days. The Chaplin graves are still in Vevey. It features in Daisy Miller as well as another favorite novel of mine, Little Women. Laurie falls in love with Amy as they cruise around the lake at Vevey, and that was quite enough inspiration for me to warrant a visit!

The bus travels down the main roads of Montreux via the casino to Vevey in about 15 minutes. It is a delightful town with a nice market square on the lake and more splendid vistas.

After this, I decided to do a whistle stop at Lausanne, the Olympic capital of Switzerland, a 15 minute train ride from Vevey before catching a high speed train back to Zurich via Thun. Lausanne has a pretty old town which demands a steep but rewarding uphill walk.

Tired after a full day of travel, I headed back to Zurich to call it a good night.

Book reviews

So here I am back again, with perhaps a ton of things to say after my long hiatus. I have done so many things over the past few weekends, read quite a few good books, watched my share of movies and worked hard as well, that this would promise to be a loong entry if I do not filter through what I have to say.. so here goes.

Let me go over the few books I read; the one similarity between most of them being their Asian origins. I thank the five hour long journeys across three states over the course of two weekends for introducing me to them; The first was "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri.

I do not need to introduce this Pulitzer prizewinning artiste, but for some reason the plight of Gogol and his unfortunate name made for a much more pleasant and intriguing read than her "the Interpreter of Maladies". I loved the shattering of the stereotypes, the longing for a loved home back in a familiar country, tacitly expressed over chaat made from rice puffs. I could relate to the Gangulis in more ways than one, Ashokes' happiness over new opportunities, the start of a new life in a new home so far from home, Ashimas' initial apprehension which ebbs so much over the course of time that her old home becomes a stranger, all the ones she knew being gone a long time ago. She cries over the home she loves in a land that was once alien but is no more. Certainly the things we miss the most over the course of life are usually the ones we take for granted. Gogol resonated with me long after I put the book down. Of all the characters in the book, the protagonist was the least expressive, but managed to convey the most.

The second book was a comic strip novel called Persepolis; the author Marjane Satrapi had described Iran and the revolution so beautifully through her childhood eyes. What was it like to be at war, lose loved ones & live through it? What was it like to live in a country that did not support a free mind?

Iam now reading "The House of Blue Mangoes" by David Davidar, A book I have fallen in love with even over the first hundred pages, for it describes to my the very villages I grew up in, the very same traditions & customs, long tucked back in a corner of my mind, slowly emerging through the magnificent Imagery. I recollect the festivals of my youth, the temple fairs & my anxiety to get there before they sold out, Chitra pournamis (full moon day celebration) on the river banks, swimming against the current & ex foliating with the soft river sand, drining fizzy rosewater and sweet coconut water, running through the irrigated rice fields in a shiny silk skirt and so many such little memories, smells, tastes made during times I faintly recall. My mind wanders so much that I pause for a whole fifteen minutes between chapters sometimes; slowly churning up those childhood days and perhaps unique experiences. It makes me quietly wish for a pensieve to store all our most cherished memories to revisit when we wanted to, but then I realize not too soon that the pensieve does already exist in our minds & hearts, and it's what brings back the small bits of joy into our minds to ruminate over..Memories do sweeten as we revisit them...

Another weekend

Has arrived and is almost over. I remember a time when Sunday nights would make me gloomy at the prospect of a long week ahead, after all those movie nights and game-filled days. These days the gloom is gone. So is the thrill on a Friday morning, over a highly anticipated weekend.

Of Course, Saturday mornings are always good, meaning that I can roll out of bed as late as possible and quietly sip a cup of coffee for a good half hour. But after that, is when I get restless. It is a new feeling, alien to me, something that I knew not when I was surrounded by friends.Somehow, in Boston, even a trip to the pharmacy or the grocer was fun. I loved my solo walk and back to the whole foods around the corner, now it seems rather like a mundane chore. I wonder why?

This Saturday was a lot of fun, as I spent it with my friends & their parents.. An otherwise long day became short thanks to the delightful company and interesting conversation...

I have gone back to my books, thanks to the graduation present I got from my friends. "Rebbecca" by Daphne Du Maurier.. This book was reminiscent of Jane Eyre, yet there was a mystique added to the well told story, a very English feel. Manderley remains in your mind long after you turn the last page. You are also left wondering about the elusive Rebbecca..

I am now reading "The Memory Keepers Daughter". It is extremely poignant and touching, bringing to your attention the joy and agony of parenting. To each of us, our offspring is simply the most precious.. Will you not want your precious child if she is not perfect? What if you were giving her up to protect another loved one? The book brings to life the truest of human feelings, loss, pain, regret, love... and redemption.

Memoirs of a geisha

I just completed reading the book. Quite an interesting read; The movie comes out on the 9th of Dec; Hope I can see it before I fly to India on the 10th. I loved the imagery. Zhang Ziyi looks really nice. I like "Mameha" too.

I saw the GoF a couple of weeks ago. It WAS the best Harry Potter movie shot so far, without doubt.

7 more days of co-op, and then off to India for a nice winter break!

Fantasy worlds

Watched the full trilogy .. LOTR. I read the book about two years ago, and I must say that the movies were not a let - down. They were as interesting as the books themselves, if not more so. The imagery was wonderful, it seemed to have been created straight from one's mind.
I had gone to see the Lord of the Rings exhibit at the Museum of Science last year, but sadly I was not able to connect it to the movies back then. I wish it would run for a second time. It would be interesting to see Narsil, or Galadriel's flowing gown :-), or catch a glimpse of boromir in the boat (I remember that quite well).
Orlando bloom looked great as Legolas, much better than the sorry figure he cut as Paris in Troy.

I'm reading prince Caspian now, the fourth book of 'Narnia'. Narnia is not as dark as our other wizarding world. I noted some striking similarities to HP.

Striking Similarity between HP & Narnia

1. The last name of the Narnian kings/queens was "Pevensie". They go to the inbeween world, which has pools to enter different lands.... Reminding me of the "Pensieve" which is an anagram of Pevensie!!!!


Similarities between LOTR & Harry Potter (This is a long list.. with spoilers)


1. In HP, Voldemort splits his soul into 7(likely) horcruxes.. In LOTR Sauron puts his soul into the One ring.


2. Character similarities:

1. Harry ====> Frodo. Frodo has to destroy the ring, Harry the horcruxes.

2. Ron =====> Sam.

3. Dumbledore =====> Gandalf. (Gandalf appears to have died but returns.. can we hope the same for dumbledore??). They are similar in appearance as well.

4. Dementors =====> Nazgul.

5. Wormtail =====> Wormtongue.

6. Both Harry's parents & frodo's parents are dead. Both of them are brought up by their uncles.


more to follow....................

Books & Movies

Read the first book of 'Narnia'. A good read, but was more for the children. I saw flight plan this sunday. It was good. Jodie foster however bored us to the point of irritation in the first half, with her olympic sprints through the flight. One of the trailers was interesting - "Memoirs of a Geisha". Came to know that it was based on a novel. I looked it up on Wikipedia (My dictionary of sorts). Hope i'll get to read the book first.