Back to School

Just arrived back on campus after a fabulous summer holiday. My travels took me to Glasgow, Edinburgh, Rome, Istanbul, and Cappadocia, then back to China. I think what made the journey most special were the relationships--I got to meet my fiance's family in Scotland, then got to spend time with my mom in Italy, and then moved on to a truly magical and romantic time in Turkey with just my fiance. And of course, along the way, new friends from different cultures were made. I feel so grateful for all of it! Time now to get settled back in, and start thinking about not only the new school semester, but new poems, as well, and to start planning the Nepal trip for winter holiday. Also, I'll post links to the photo galleries once I finish editing everything. It's good to be back! 

So much for hiatus...

I wasn't planning on spending much time blogging while on holiday, yet here I am...posting away! I've seen so many points of literary interest though, that I wanted to share.

While in Edinburgh, I visited the home of Robert Louis Stevenson, a pub named the Conan Doyle (near Arthur Conan Doyle's house) and saw a statue of Sherlock Holmes. Also saw the grave of philosopher David Hume up on Calton Hill. And fun fun fun was the Frankenstein Bar, a themed restaurant/pub located in a renovated church. Then, there was the Jekyll and Hyde pub. And the Sir Walter Scott monument in Princes Street Gardens. Wonderful and magical! I love Edinburgh, and want to move there.

In Rome, I've visited the Keats-Shelley House, the graves of Keats, Shelley, and Corso, and the Casa di Goethe. I also found this cool statue of Victor Hugo in the Borghese Gardens, below. Saw the Stendhal Hotel, and the Dante Cafe, and apparently, there's a Lord Byron Hotel somewhere. Still looking for the Lord Byron and Goethe statues up in the Borghese Gardens (no fear, I'll find 'em!), and the Gogol House on via Sistina. Went to Babington's Tea Room, near the Spanish Steps, but I'm still looking for Antico Caffe Greco (an old haunt of writers). 

Whew! So many things to see and do...and I've still 10 days left in Rome, before heading on to Turkey for a couple of weeks, where I've already scouted out more literary highlights. What a summer!

Statue of Victor Hugo, Borghese Gardens, Rome