Day Fifteen: It's a Mr. Darcy day...

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In the morning before we left, Tim ran to the store and picked up some snacks and goodies for our journey, and surprised us. Including some money for us to use in Italy for a gondola ride. He was such a good host and we felt super blessed. We said our goodbyes and Tim took a polaroid of us to put in his "guest book," and then we hit the road.

Today our journey was Jane Austen themed, and more specifically Pride and Prejudice. We visited two estates on our way to Bath, that were used in the filming of Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Darcy's house, Pemberly. The first was Lyme Park and then Chatsworth.

Lyme Park

"Nestling on the edge of the Peak District, Lyme Park was once home to the Legh family and, in its heyday a great sporting estate. Step back in time to the Edwardian era - Lyme's 'Golden Era'. Enjoy lavish interiors, try out the piano, read a book in the library, or take the children to dress up on the stage. Delicate items restrict the opportunities for photography but the stage in the Long Gallery can be used to take pictures of visitors of all ages in fabulous fancy dress."(http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/lyme-park/)
At Lyme Park there is a statue of Collin Firth (who played Mr. Darcy in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice) coming out of the lake. These statues were made in honor of, what was named, most memorable dramatic scene in British television. The funny thing is, there is no scene of Collin Firth coming out of the lake soaking wet, as the statue portrays. He does go for a swim in the lake, and then, on his return to the house, he runs into Elizabeth Bennet, and he is slightly wet but no where near the tight clingy shirt portrayed in the statues. Bellow is a clip where Collin Firth explains the "memorable" scene to Jimmy fallon. I also included the original scene from Pride and Prejudice so you can see for yourself.







Despite how ridiculous and inaccurate it is, it was still fun to see, and pretend for a moment that Mr. Darcy really existed in real life.

Chatsworth

 "Chatsworth is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, and has been passed down through 16 generations of the Cavendish family. The house architecture and collection have been evolving for five centuries" (http://www.chatsworth.org/)

Chatsworth was used in the filming of the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice as Mr. Darcy's home, Pemberley.

When Lizzy tells her sister that she has fallen for Mr. Darcy, she says, "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley" 

 It is a beautiful estate, the rooms that are open to the public are beautiful, and you are allowed to take pictures, which is rare for estate tours. Also, there is a free talk about the history of Chatsworth outside the main entrance, at five past 11, 12, 1 and 2 (although I couldn't find any information on their web site, we did do this and I found a Trip Advisor Review, with good information about touring the house and the free talk).











Here's a behind the scene video of Chatsworth House in the filming of Pride and Prejudice. 




We love Mr. Darcy!

Bakewell

After visiting Chatsworth we had dinner in the town of Bakewell. We tried the Beef Stew in Yorkshire Pudding ("Yorkshire Pudding, also known as batter pudding, is an English dish made from batter consisting of eggs, flour, and milk. The dish is usually served with roast meat and gravy and is a staple of the traditional British Sunday roast" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkshire_pudding). The stew was good, but I wasn't a huge fan of the yorkshire pudding, but when in England. We found a pub on one of the main roads in Bakewell, The Wheatshef, that had a deal for 2 beef stews in giant Yorkshire pudding for 10 euros. 

We also tried the famous Bakewell Tart. Which, I guess, is different than Bakewell Pudding. Both are desserts, but the tart is made with a shortcrust and the pudding is a puff pastry. We stopped into Fredrick's Ice Cream parlor but ended up getting the tart not ice cream. The tart was pretty yummy and a good treat as we got on the road and headed for Bath.

For the next three nights we stayed in a small town of Derry Hill with the Aylens; the parents of Jen's friend from YWAM. They were wonderful host, had dinner waiting for us when we arrived. We had wonderful food, wine and great conversation. They were such warm, welcoming people. 


Catch up on all the days:

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