Yes, Gladys, I’m on the midnight plane from Georgia. All thanks to Shauna and Jeff who generously invited me to share in another travel adventure with them. This time to London and the Cotswolds.
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The flight was all I could hope for: punctual and successful. My only complaint, and it’s a minor one, was that the cabin air was so dry that my hair had gone into airplane mode: flat and fly away.
Several hours into the flight, I saw the first hint of light across the cabin ceiling, I opened my window shade and watched the world below until we landed. We passed clouds, puffs of white, roughly of equal size, as far as the eye could see, perfectly spaced as if they were laid out on a grid. It was almost surreal, as though nature had arranged itself into a giant masterpiece just for me. We passed rolling hills, forests, tiny villages, lakes, rivers, a castle(!), countless windmills and fields of bright shiny solar panels. We were flying between the sun and the ground and, as we descended, I watched the shadow of our plane grow larger and larger across the landscape until it attached itself to the plane as we landed. Sky and earth meet for one fleeting second. It was beautiful.
The drive to Cirencester was pleasant, we passed fields of sheep and horses just outside the airport, then rolling hills until we reached our first stop. Shauna seemed undaunted by the fact that the steering wheel and oncoming traffic are on the right side. Traffic signs like “Give Way,” with emphasis on the word “Give” speak to British sense of suggestion. It’s so much nicer than the command “Yield.” “Thank you for driving carefully” was another sign. There is no road rage, actually it’s more like road kindness. More about that later.
We spent our first night in the Admiral Sir John Talbot Inn, walked the streets and browsed the markets in the town center. Ate lunch/dinner at The Malt & Anchor, an award winner for its fish and chips, many years running. Shauna had a chicken pie with mushy peas & chips, Jeff, the award winning specialty of the house, and I had a stupendous green salad with fresh octopus, squid and mussels. The M & A deserves its accolades.
Cirencester was originally a Roman outpost called Corinium, There is much to explore tomorrow.
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After a hearty breakfast at the Admiral Sir John Talbot, we walked to the Corinium Museum, one of the most interesting archeology museums I have ever seen. It covered a wide span of the history of the Cotswolds, dating back to the Romans AND the civilizations that predated them, like the Neanderthals(!) So much to take in, my blog here cannot do it justice but their website will surely whet your appetite: www.coriniummuseum.org. I love love love this museum. It also covered every aspect of life through the ages so if you were only interested in say, jewelry & makeup, there was an exhibit about that. Tools and weapons, etc. In other words, something for everyone. Even user friendly interactive exhibits for children. Heck, I played with some of them! Archeology can be fun. The spaces were very thoughtfully designed, some with large mosaics that rivaled those of Pompeii. The List of Wonderful Things To Say about this museum is too long to recount here.
On our way to Bourton On The Water, we must have seen easily 2 or 3 dozen common pheasant, in the road, on the shoulder and in the adjacent fields. They are such beautiful and colorful birds and they were everywhere! We drove through the picturesque village of Bibery, where we took a leisurely stroll. I couldn’t help myself, I bought some Christmas decorations in one of the shops. I know Charlie is upstairs groaning but secretly happy that I bought something. We’re spending tonight and tomorrow night at The Lantern on Marshmouth Lane in Bourton On The Water, It’s a beautiful 3 story house, my cozy and adorable bedroom on the ground floor has more charm than I can adequately describe, curved ceiling, a muted beige-cream-white decor, plush bed with a mountain of pillows, a small writing desk, romantic lighting. Oh, Jeff and Shauna’s room is nice, too.
Dinner at the MouseTrap, a wonderful restaurant in town. J and S had the Sunday roast, I had sea bass. Another GREAT meal. Years ago, the Brits had a global reputation for being terrible cooks. Not anymore.
On our way home, it was dark and rainy, we misjudged the narrowness of the road and accidentally wound up with the front left tire hanging over a small ditch along side the road. Impossible to see in the pitch dark. And the rain. We were trying to decide what to do when someone drove up behind us and said he had to get though as he needed to be at the radio station in 20 minutes. He barely eeked his car through the narrow space and drove away. Jeff and I unloaded the suitcases and walked them to the house. We did not know it, but in the meantime, Mr Radio called Kevin, a neighbor on Marshmouth Lane, who bailed out the car with his pickup truck. All within minutes. You know, road kindness. Thank you, Sir Kevin of Marshmouth Lane in Bourton On The Water.