I've been home long enough to reacclimate to life, and to a life that is not in England. I've maintained some English behaviors to retain the feeling of vacation as well as the Englishness I adopted, such as simply drinking tea instead of coffee. With all fantastic vacations, I can't help but reflect on the past two weeks of living an English life.
What struck me most profoundly was how much of history is literally everywhere and a part of every day. Churches that are many hundreds of years old are a part of people's modern lives. The daily bustle across a market square is carried out in similar fashion today as it was over a century ago.
Existing within these spaces brought history from the page to life. Simply being present heightened the experiences of the history that was built by the giants of English architecture or inhabited by royalty. It is one thing to know what happened and where and when, but to stand in the room where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert slept (at Burghley House) or where King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn dined (at Hampton Court) incorporates the senses and allows the imagination to take over to truly be, turning history into reality. Being surrounded by the artifacts and evidence of the longevity of this island nation's history and it's people was truly unique and awe-inspiring.
Thank you all for reading the blog and accompanying me on this journey!
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