Following in Heidi's Footsteps in the Swiss Alps

I'm most in my element when I can combine two of my loves: travel and literature. I've written about it extensively in my 'a book lover's guide to' series, and earlier this month my travels once again transported me to one of my favourite childhood novels: Heidi by Johanna Spyri. If you're not familiar with the classic tale of the spirited girl who lives in the Swiss mountains with her grandfather and spends her days herding goats with her friend Peter then I highly recommend you check it out before exploring the scenic mountain trail at Pizol in the Swiss town of Bad Ragaz.

A Book Lover's Guide to Literary Edinburgh

I can't believe it's been four months since I was in Edinburgh, I really don't know where my time has gone! One of the things I have been planning since I arrived back, is a comprehensive guide to literary Edinburgh, combining all the places I visited that have a connection to an author, novel or reading in general. It's a pretty extensive list, but I managed to do all of the below (and then some) during my long weekend in this beautiful Scottish city – and I definitely recommend checking it all out if you can for a proper geekfest of the bookish variety.

Literary Edinburgh: Afternoon Tea at Colonnades in the Signet Library

It's been a while seen my last travel post because life has been crazy busy, but I am finally continuing with my Edinburgh series! As this blog started out as a book one I always love it when I can write posts with a literary connection and my Scottish getaway was filled with bookish inspiration. One of the first things I discovered during my research is that you can have afternoon tea in an actual library, how cool is that? We of course had stop by for a visit and it was one of the highlights of our trip. Not only were our surroundings in the Signet Library stunning, but the afternoon tea delights on offer were as scrumptious as they were inspired.

Literary Edinburgh: Book Sculptures

On my recent visit to Edinburgh, the majority of my plans (unsurprisingly) revolved around books. After all, Edinburgh was named the first City of Literature by UNESCO back in 2004 for a good reason. What I didn't expect, was quite how many bookish things and places I'd come across. Way too many for a single blog post, so rather than cramming them all into one piece, I've split up my bookish Edinburgh guide by: sculptures, people, food, places and book shops. And today I'm kicking it off with the mysterious book sculptures that appeared across the city a few years ago and are now on display in various literary location. 

A Book Lover's Guide to Literary Oxford

Oxford is steeped in literary history, being the birth place to imaginative places such as Narnia and Middle Earth, and having links to more contemporary reads such as Harry Potter and His Dark Materials too. The big book geek that I am, I of course made it my mission to see as many places in the city of dreaming spires related to literature, from Tolkien's Oxford home right down to what could've been the inspiration for Mr Tumnus to C.S. Lewis. And from the shop where the real Alice from Lewis Carroll's famous Wonderland books bought her sweets, to an impressive dining hall that looks to come straight out of Hogwarts. In fact, much of the gorgeous architecture and surroundings in Oxford look quite fantastical and it's no surprise it was the inspiration for so many imaginative worlds. 

A Book Lover's Guide to Literary Paris

Paris has a rich literary history, with the likes of Victor Hugo, Ernest Hemingway, Oscar Wilde, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Alexandre Dumas all having lived and worked there; the city of love leaving an indistinguishable imprint on their writing. On my recent visit to Paris I followed in the footsteps of some of the these incredible writers, soaking up the lingering literary brilliance they'd left behind as I visited places such as famous bookshop Shakespeare & Co and Victor Hugo's tomb at The Pantheon.