The Cotswolds

Somewhere in the back of everyone's mind, there's a preconception of what places are like, molded, no doubt, by period dramas and pencil sketches of a world that was. Fortunately, such places still exist. The Cotswolds, which is a little region of England that stretches roughly from Bath to Oxford and upwards to Cheltenham, absolutely oozes quintessential English charm. Little cottages, serendipitous landscapes of rolling hills, with the occasional church spire poking above the surrounding countryside, it's an absolutely delightful area.

And so that's where we spent the better part of our Easter weekend, heading out on Good Friday, meandering through small towns with names such as Lovell Minster, Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Bourton-on-the-Hill, Bibury, and Upper and Lower Slaughter. It's all amazingly compact, and worlds away from London. We basically just wandered for the weekend, before heading back. My personal favourites were Broadway and Lower Slaughter, but there were several other little charming villages that we didn't stop in that were tantalizingly off the tourist trail. I'd love to hike around the area for a week or so.



And that brings us to what is likely the end, for now. The rest of today will be consumed with final preparations, tomorrow I return to work to finalise the admin-type stuff, and they will shut off our internet tomorrow evening. We may be able to check in while we are in Ireland, but in all likelihood, this is the last post until we are Stateside. So, until then...