Playing tourist: Day trip

Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath...in one day.

Windsor Castle is the Queen's residence. It's gigantic, old, and lovely. And it has some of the most crazy beautiful interior decorating I've ever seen. Unfortunately, it also has a strict no photo policy inside the castle, so you don't get to see any of that. But the exterior is nice too.

As our tour guide said, "When we get to Stonehenge, some of you will be having deep and profound thoughts, while others of you shiver and drink coffee. It means different things to different people."

Bath is such a pretty little town. And we were lucky enough to see it in the sunshine. It's famous for its hot springs (and the Roman baths that made use of them), but I was probably most enamored with the impressive stone architecture.

Snow.

Heathrow cancelled almost 400 flights, trains were delayed, and panic ensued this weekend, as London was crippled by a fierce snowstorm that brought the city its first snow this year.

Now, based on the chaos it caused, you might be picturing something like this:

  

Notice that the ground floor apartments are barely visible...

But you would be wrong. That picture is the entrance to my apartment complex in Illinois after the Snowpocalypse that hit our area and surrounding states a couple of years ago. We got a foot of snow in one afternoon, and I still went to work the next day.

No, this was the snowfall that wreaked havoc throughout London over the weekend:

A whopping several inches. Enough snow to make a footprint, and yet somehow enough to cause Europe’s busiest airport to grind to a halt.

Still, snow does make London look particularly picturesque. My parents were in town, and we decided to brave the “blizzard” and play tourist while the rest of the city hid indoors. 

I’m glad we did, because this is what we saw:

Isn't it lovely? It certainly makes winter feel worthwhile.

 

CTRL+Z

I've never been a big celebrator of New Year's. My family just never got into it. And I guess I don't really understand the hype either -- this concept that at the first of the year, all our mistakes are washed away and somehow we magically get a fresh new start; a blank page. As if there's something special about this particular stroke of midnight. As if it's a reset button. CTRL+Z.  

Nope, not buying it.

Sounds cynical? Let me explain.

I don't think new beginnings are reserved for the start of the year. I think they're always up for grabs, if you want them. Worst month of your life? Well guess what: the next one is full of potential. You made a mistake today? Tomorrow is your chance to get it right. Your morning was terrible? This afternoon is going to be full of sunshine.

Tennyson said, "Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering 'it will be happier...'" And he was right. But why stop there? Sure, there's hope for the new year. But it's for the whole new year. You don't need to wait till the first of January to believe for better days.

Let's be hopeful the whole year through.