Now that Downton Abbey is treating us to another season of eye candy, I'm thinking again about the time I spent in Yorkshire and remembering England's golden light.
Is it just my imagination or is the British countryside tinged with an amber-hued hint of history and atmosphere?
Walking the moors with Jane, seeing the landscape through the eyes of a local made it all so much more special...
Oh, those hedgerows.
And the signs so funny to the American eye.
Jane laughed kindly at my admiration of the daily little things like backyard gardens and brickwork buildings. I think I sketched in excess of a dozen shovels, fields full of sheep, and page after page with higgledy-piggledy maps of flower beds as I peered past picket fences.
The entire time I felt as if we were on a movie set. So who can blame me for snapping what seemed like an endless number of photos? The entire rural part of Britain is ridiculously compelling, with eye candy at every turn.
Oh, England, you have stolen my heart.
Downton Abbey is not enough.
And if the land itself were not enough, England's people are irresistible.
I admit to occasionally pretending to photograph a friend so that I can snap a photo of a captivating stranger. Not polite, I admit, but sometimes one can't resist!
People are so fascinating.
England's landscapes, the golden light and lavish countryside full of stone walls, sheep in the fields, and cups of steaming tea beckon. They are whispering my name.
While a visit in person is out of the question at the moment, a trip down memory lane and the blogs of other travelers will suffice.
Armchair travel and planning the trip we'd like to take... "someday"... can be infinitely satisfying on a winter afternoon.
I believe it's time to sketch a tea tray again and think happy thoughts of Yorkshire.
Do tell! Are you an Anglophile, too?
