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| Writer, Ditty, at The Tower of London. |
When writer Elizabeth Ditty was asked why she was so drawn to the city of London, she simply responded with a quote from British author Samuel Johnson. According to the veteran in literature, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” For Elizabeth Ditty, these are not only words of wisdom, but words to live by. A writer in her own right, Ditty has traveled to London twice in six months alone, and though she has yet to schedule another trip, she definitely plans to go back. “In a perfect world,” she says jokingly, “I’d have a flat in London, an apartment in Paris, my house in Kansas City, and maybe a beach villa, too.”
Though travel is for enjoyment, Ditty also travels abroad because it helps inspire her writing (which ranges from short stories, poetry, novels, and finally to screenplays). She pulls energy and inspiration from the Old Smoke, and beauty and creativity from the City of Love. In the three weeks she spent abroad this year, she filled an entire moleskin notebook with observations, notions, and stories. This is quite an impressive feat because “those usually take me a good year to fill up.” An example of an idea that sprouted from her immersion into the English culture comes from one of the most popular tourist attractions in London. “I’m actually in the very beginning stages of planning a short film inspired by a human statue I saw in Trafalgar Square,” she admits.
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| Ditty at Trafalgar Square. |
In her travels, Ditty has kissed the tomb of Oscar Wilde, seen more legitimate theater than most people have in a lifetime, and in a more bizarre experience, been lovingly referred to as the “bouncy” American with “one playful eye” from a stranger jogging by in Covent Gardens. With the good (and bizarre) comes the bad, however, and though beautiful and inspirational, London and Paris are by no means vacation utopias, and Ditty has had less than perfect days in her homes away from home. After getting lost twice on her way back to her hotel on a particularly cold day in December, Ditty was on edge and a bit nervous about successfully arriving back at her hotel. “It was snowing, I was freezing, and I was exhausted,” she remembers, “and I wanted nothing more to crawl into bed and turn off my brain ‘til morning. Unfortunately, my sense of direction had other ideas.” Though she did eventually circle around Big Ben enough times to find her way back to her hotel, she is hesitant to refer to that particular rendezvous as one of her finest moments. However, though this might not be one of her finest moments, it certainly does give example to the adventure a tourist might get into on the crowded streets of London or Paris.
Though Ditty may have had her less than perfect moments on the streets of London, she sums it all up to her woes being a small price to pay in order to experience the beauty of the city. “Europe is very proud in a lot of ways because it’s experienced so much,” she says. Though she does not consider herself an expert, Ditty was kind enough to suggest some lesser-known treasures that a fellow traveler might like to visit while in London. “I highly recommend catching some West End theatre. You can get very cheap tickets for day-of shows at the TKTS booth in Leicester Square. I think a lot of people tend to go for the big stage musicals, but the stage plays are really what I’ve enjoyed the most,” she begins. “There’s also the highly entertaining street theatre in Covent Garden, the various markets in different boroughs, and really simply walking around and immersing yourself in the energy of London. There’s really no better place to simply people-watch!”
It’s easy to understand why an American (or anybody, for that matter) could become inspired by the radiance and beauty of London and Paris, as the architecture alone is so tragically different from the modern and harsh skyscrapers of her hometown of Kansas City. But for Elizabeth Ditty, life across the pond could never be her permanent home. “The truth is," the writer begins, “as much as I love spending time in Europe, and as much as I’d love to do a lot more traveling, I think I’ll always consider Kansas City a sort of ‘home base.’ I think that’s probably a very ‘Dorothy’ thing to say, but it’s the truth.” Though it’s likely that Elizabeth Ditty will be traveling overseas many more times in the future, for her there really is “no place like home”.
