Part two of our trip to London. The Chatsworth House, or to my fellow Pride and Prejudice fans, Mr. Darcy's Mansion! I can't say enough amazing things about this place so I'll keep it short and simple. It was beautiful, thought provoking, and every statue, painting and sculpture tickled my mind with creative pleasure. I hope you enjoy my photos for they only create a small taste of the exquisiteness of this house. Oh and if you missed our crazy driving adventures to this amazing house, you can read it here. 

 

 

 

“...Inside all of us is adventure. Inside all of us is... a wild thing.”

Alexa and I went for a walk up the hill from our village and we couldn't resist playing in the grass. I meant it when I said we are taking advantage of every sunny day we have left here in Germany. Days are growing shorter and colder and if this year's anything like the last, the sun will snuggle behind a blanket of heavy clouds for the winter very soon. 

Watching Alexa play in the grass in her fox onesie reminded me of Max from Where the Wild Things Are. She is my wild thing. I love her adventurous spirit and her curious nature. I hope it never goes away; I hope I never snuff it out or chase it away. Today my wild thing flung soil, licked leaves, and giggled when I tickled her cheeks with grass. Childhood isn't meant to be tidy. When I get lost in to do lists and never ending house maintenance I get to Alexa's level and try to experience the world as she sees it. That was my intention while capturing her today. Life must be experienced and how better to do it than by following the example of a child. Get dirty, roll in the grass, be a wild thing.

I love Pride and Prejudice. So much in fact that my niece and I in our shared obsession planned a trip for the sole purpose of seeing the breathtaking sights filmed in the movies! Yes, that meant flying to the UK and renting a vehicle where they do in fact drive on the opposite side of the road! Due to unfortunate circumstances, we missed our original flight and arrived a day late. So when picking up our car we discovered they had given our booking away along with every other automatic in the lot! So! Imagine this with me. My dear sister-in-law, not only drove on the opposite side of the road on the opposite side of the car, but she did it driving a manual with the stick in her left hand! Can you see it! Can you see the madness? I'm happy to report that we're all in one piece and that we only went down the wrong lane of traffic once...twice?... once. Regardless of the minute details, what I'm trying to say is Megan is pretty much a rock star! Enough said.

So while driving on the freeway from Stanstead Airport to Derbyshire was super mind boggling doused with a heavy douse of stress, the back roads to the Chatsworth House were like stepping into a fairy-tale! Especially this particular stretch! Miles of purple fields filled with lazy grazing sheep and little old houses, surrounded by crumbling walls on a misty day. Perfection! If not for our missing day and serious time crunch, I could have easily stayed there roaming and exploring those beautiful stretch of roads and fields all day!