For the better part of two weeks now, we’ve been walking and riding around London – stopping here, there and everywhere in an effort to learn all about London and its literary history. Tomorrow actually marks the halfway point in our trip, and it occurred to me as we were taking the ferry down the Thames this morning that when I looked at building after building, I did so with familiarity. With each building, cathedral or bridge that we passed that I recognized, I realized just how much I have learned already. The materials that we read prior to the course are all coming together now, and connecting with the places we’re visiting, and creating a literary picture. With every day and every field trip to some place of interest, that picture becomes increasingly clearer and more defined.

Today, for example, when we were at the Tower of London, getting the lesson in history from the Beefeater, I realized that I already knew some of what our expert lecturer was saying, and that tickled me. So, tonight, as we went out to dinner, and dined at “Rules,”  the oldest restaurant in London – and one in which Dickens had visited – it felt as though our trip had been so productive. And, we’re only half-way done. There are still so many things left on the agenda – so much more of London to see, inside and out.