Harlaxton 2016: Chawton, Winchester, and London

By: Veronica Johnson

Our third day in London has come to an end, and boy was today (Sunday) action packed! Yesterday in class we talked about Jane Austen and her novel Persuasion, so today we visited the places we had learned about. Our group spent our morning in Chawton, our afternoon in Winchester, and our evening in London, so we were traveling all over the place and walking a lot!

We left early this morning en route to Chawton, where we had a picnic on a church lawn, visited the graves of Jane Austen’s mother and sister, and toured Jane Austen’s house. Chawton is probably the most British-looking place I have ever seen: we were surrounded by thatched roofs, sheep, chickens, and horses.

We later went to Winchester, where we visited the Winchester Cathedral (the church where Jane Austen is buried) and completed the Keats’ Walk (the path that John Keats would walk daily). Along the path was a stream that a group of us waded in when we had completed our walk. The water was very cold, but it was very clear so we could see straight to the bottom of the stream: something scarcely found in Kentucky. When we got back to our dorms, we split off into groups to eat dinner and explore new parts of London.

The highlights of my day were watching crazy things unfold on the bus to Winchester, wading in the water at the end of the Keats’ walk, getting ice cream in Winchester, and trying a new restaurant called Cha Cha Moon in London!

A couple of days ago, my friends and I were talking about how crazy it is that we, as teenagers, get to travel across the world and explore new places with our friends. Being able to study abroad while still in high school is such a cool opportunity, and I am very grateful to be able to see the world while completing a college course. I am definitely looking forward to the rest of our time in London, especially going to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater to see The Taming of the Shrew!