Look what I´ve found!

I found this book vending machine in Parla train station the other day. I´ve never seen one in my life. Good idea dor people that have to commute everyday.

DAY 58: Keats House

Today was raining all day. I hate this weather! How could be cloudless at night but today looks like this?

Again, my plan to go to Richmond has to be postponed.

But Hampstead is great, and always has some place to visit, even on a rainy day.

I went to Keats House.On my way there I had to fight with my umbrella against the wind. Surprisingly there were many people there visiting.

The house is small. But if you like Keats, and take your time in the details you could be there almost for 2 hours.

Keats began to visist  this house (known as Wentworth Place) in 1817, and in December 1818, after the death of his brother, Keats came to lodge in the smaller half of the house with his friend Charles Brown. It was in this house that Keats met and fell in love with Fanny Brawne.

As I entered, I found my favorite thing in the whole house: the engagement ring Keats gave Fanny. She wore all her life, which seems so sweet to me.

In every room you can find his poetry and some letters to read. One of my favorite letters was written to Fanny, and while reading it I almost started to cry, it was so beatiful, and he loved her so much. And his words as he was in pain all the time aching for love are beatiful.

In Keats parlour, you find the room where he worked and wrote. With a Shakespeare´s portrait he hung up on the wall, and a great window to see the garden.

In the basement you can see the kitchen, and even read about the meals they used to have then, and some recipes also.

I think is a very nice place to visit, specially on a rainy Sunday afternoon. And a plus!, your ticket is valid for a year, and you can visit again. 

A very romantic afternoon...

Fanny Brawne´s room

Fanny´s engagement ring

Keats´ room

Keats´s parlour

The Julie and Julia project

Have you ever watched a movie that inspires you?

Well, lately I´ve been feeling a little worn out, like nothing could catch my attention, and everything seems too much work. All that I loved is kind of lost in the daily routine and everyday worries. It doesn´t matter, I continue doing things that I like. Somehow, stop painting is one regret I have. But I never find time to do it, and I don´t really know why. And this movie really inspires me to do things I enjoy and paint again!

The other day I watched Julie and Julia. What a great movie!!!, I loved it! Julie is kind in my situation, she´s not entirely pleased with her life, and she´s turning 30.She needs to find some goals and make a change soon. She loves cooking, and when her husband gives her the idea to blog about it (which she loves) and her Idol and roll model Julia Child (an important icon in American cooking) it seems like a perfect task to take charge of her life back .

The plot develops between 2002 in NY and the early 50´s in Paris. Mixing Julie and Julia´s stories.  Julia arrives to live in Paris with her husband. She loves eating and she loves food. So she decides to start taking French cooking lessons. But she wanted the real deal, so she takes a French cooking class for professionals in the Cordon Bleu. With some friends she stars writing a book of French cooking for the servantless American people. And that book and its recipes become her life during 8 years working on it, and then, opening for her the possibility of teaching people how to cook. The couple is really in love (I must admit I felt a little envious about that…), and her husband is adorable. And when on Valentine´s day he says to her: “you´re the butter to my bread and the breath to my life”, even if it sounds cheesy, I found it lovely.

Julie starts writing the blog. At first, not even her mother reads it. But she enjoys the cooking so much that she doesn´t care if she leaves half of the payroll at Dean and Deluca buying ingredients. And the meals she prepares look delicious!

And so the story goes on. Julie´s house is great, I mean, the style is great, I´d decorated my entired house like that if my flatmate let me. And her style, her clothing: so fancy and funny! She wears a lot of brooches like I do, and she has some really good ones. And the food looks  so delicious that I´ve already decided that “Mastering the art of French cooking” by Julia Child is on my X-mas  wishlist!

I recommend it. It´s a fantastic story. And, yes, it´s inspiring for me.

Naps and cups of tea

Considering I´ve been working the last 24 hours, I think I deserve some rest...
I walked home from the Hospital this morning, thought some sun upon my skin would be good (vitamin D related  tip!), and then, despite the boring it may sound, I took a nap borrowed from death.
Sunday afternoon, all your friends with something to do, really lazy to take off from the sofa to go to the cinema to see Norwegian wood (as it was my original plan for this afternoon...) spent the time drinking Tea and watching the "original" Sabrina. Being still a bit upset for running into some people that used to be your friend and now seem no more than a stranger to you,  and having some speech prepared for those occasions and then words got stuck at your throat o your mind with nothing to say at all...
Well it´s OK, I´ve survived once more.  I´ll read a little (Atlas de geografía humana, or Atlas of Human Geography by Amudena Grandes, I recommend it) and then get some comforting night of rest.
See you then...