Searching for Mr. Darcy

A group of six of us--friends from the ward and all Air Force medical wives--went on a tour sponsored by Outdoor Recreation where we went "Looking for Mr. Darcy." We got to see some of the sights where Jane Austen lived and worked and some places where they filmed some of her movie adaptations (and also Harry Potter, but that was a bonus!). We started in Chawton, where her brother inherited an estate, and Jane and her mother and sister went to live for several years. We got to see the actual desk (teeny tiny) where she wrote and reworked Pride and Predudice and several of her other novels. We then went to Winchester where she lived her last 6 weeks after taking so ill (they still don't know what she died of, maybe Addison's or Lymphoma) and is buried in the Cathedral. Our last stop of the day was Lacock Abbey and town, where they filmed Harry Potter 1 & 2 and some of the Jane Austen adaptations. It was a really cool little town.

The next morning, we went to Bath, where we visited the Jane

Austen center, and some ladies took a tour of the town, but our little group did some shopping! Our last stop on our way home was Steventon, where she was born and her father preached in the church. The rectory where

she was born has burned down, but the church still stands. It was so fun to spend a girls' weekend with great friends. And we even managed to spot Mr. Darcy a few times!