wanderlust wednesday

Lacock Abbey. The village of Lacock, Wiltshire, England. March 2013. 


One of my first Wanderlust Wednesday posts featured photos from this magical place.

The village of Lacock, other than having a name that makes me giggle no matter how many years I mature to, is a charming 13th century village in England. We had the pleasure of visiting it in the middle of a multiple-stop tour from London. We were only stopping in the village for a quick lunch break, but Dustin and I broke from our tour group and guide (with her permission) to go tour Lacock Abbey instead. It had special importance to us, being one of the main filming locations for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 

The abbey is country chic. While we were visiting, there was an art show of some kind going on, featuring various statues and sculptures around the property. It was quite providential that the one in the middle of the intricate courtyard happened to be a unicorn. We weren't mad about it.

The abbey was fairly quiet and had very few other visitors while we were there, which made it particularly easy to imagine we were touring a section of Hogwarts. The abbey was used to film several classrooms in the first movie, including Snape's, Quirrell's, and the room that held the Mirror of Erised. It was also used for a few hallway scenes, including the moment when Harry first hears the basilisk outside of Lockhart's office in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. 

It was an exhilarating visit. It was very difficult to tear ourselves away from our imaginations when we knew it was time to meet the group again. I am personally thankful that my husband is an extrovert and was able to request this time alone for us, and that our tour guide was so kind and susceptible to adventurous spirits.

(You can read the original travel post over on my first blog here).

Read all Harry Potter posts.

the notebook: cypress gardens

I don't often blog with little to no writing - I love to talk to you, and be silly, and relate my personal style to daily life and travel and funny encounters.
As I was compiling these pictures, though, I just remembered what a perfect day this was. What a perfect compilation of moments, gliding along these dark waters. The experience was a mixture of romance, surrealism, fragility, beauty, and fear of crocodiles.
This time, I think I'll just let the pictures speak the story for themselves.

the notebook: a day in charleston

I'm not even going to ask if you've seen The Notebook - I'm just going to take it as a given, because anyone who hasn't at least seen the iconic love story between Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams is a kind of creature I don't really understand.

We had the opportunity two weekends ago to go to Charleston, SC for a day and a half.
It was a quick trip, but it was just long enough to soak up much of the magic that surrounds Allie Hamilton and Noah Calhoun.

Charleston is a pretty enchanting city.

The fascinating (and tragic) history, the quaint streets, the southern charm, the waterfront, the food.

The fact that it was also the setting for many iconic Notebook scenes is just a really, really big bonus.

Dress: J. Crew, Purse: Target (shop!)

A lot of what we saw was the embodiment of Noah and Allie's first date.
The theater, and of course the place where they danced and then plopped down in the middle of the street to watch the lights change.
It's one of the most beloved scenes. Such simplicity, such romance.
I was glad I looked up the cross streets beforehand, because we were walking around during the daytime and I never would've recognized it. There isn't actually an overhanging stoplight there, either. It's quite different in the film - but the one thing that stands out is this amazing baby blue building.

I'm not gonna lie - I legitimately wanted to try and finagle a way to risk my life and lie down in the middle of the road later that night. 

The problem was, once we parked our car at the hotel that afternoon, we couldn't move it, because it was $20 every time to go in and out of the parking garage. So we had to stick with walkable places within a mile or so and this intersection was several miles away. It was just too far to go back to. 

Still, I thought about it and wished for it. But it just wouldn't be the same, without that overhanging stoplight, without Dusty beside me (who would have had to man the camera), and obviously with the additions of the rush of modern oncoming traffic. Puts a damper on things.

There are so many little corners of the world that I will not go.
Sweet little towns I will not see, darling cupcake shops I will not sit in. Tiny boutiques and gourmet restaurants, historical buildings and crumbling bits of history. Times and places and textures I will never touch.
I may never go to Charleston again. This tiny window of a visit may have been the only chance we ever get, and while sometimes I wish we could have had a bit longer, the sweet brevity of it may have been the best part.
Maybe the charm of a town is its many mysteries.