Vasiliki, Greece

Vasiliki Bay, Island of Lefkada, Greece

Last minute decision making saw us booking a holiday with Ocean Elements to stay in their Surf Hotel for 7 days. So by Sunday afternoon I had another stamp in my passport and we was enjoying the beautiful view of Vasiliki bay. The plan was to take advantage of all the different toys that Ocean Elements includes in the holiday package from windsurfing to SUPing, kayaking to dingy sailing, as well as mountain biking. The holiday started off really well with a bike ride to take in beautiful views and explore the village as there was not really enough wind to bother with windsurfing or sailing.

Vasiliki Harbour

Vassiliki Bay

Day one was a highly usual wind day which made any wind activities incrementally difficult. The staff who had seen Vasiliki through more than one season told us that they had never before seen the wind do what we dubbed Vasiliki allshore! For those of you unfamiliar with wind let me explain: When sailing or windsurfing you need to know what direction the wind is blowing so that you can plan the direction that you are going to sail in to maximize the speed and ease at which you travel. So you may hear windsurfer talk of a "cross shore wind" which mean that the wind is blowing parallel to the shoreline which means the optimal windsurfing line is perpendicular to the shore which means you can easily and reliably get back to the same starting position. Vasiliki all shore meant that the wind was blowing in all directions at the same time, how? We have no idea BUT it meant that it made for some very confusing visuals. At one point I was sailing on the same tack (side of board and leading hand/foot) as two other people but we were all going in completely different directions. Normally Mark would be able to blame this phenomena on the lack of my ability, but this time all windsurfers were having the same issue! Everyone came off the water slightly confused and frustrated.

The second and third days were much better as the conditions were planing conditions. Yes I am now starting to plane!! So much fun! I don't quite have it cracked and I still fall in LOTS and turning still involves more swimming than windsurfing but I am getting so much better. I have graduated from the wobbles of last summer, the wave sailing in Brazil and am now beginning to plane and learn light wind freestyle! I went to all my lessons I am now considered a intermediate planing windsurfer which means that I am working on planing getting in the harness and foot-straps which will mean I can go fast! I am still trying to conquer a dry fast tack, but have also started to learn how to do a non-planing carve gybe as well as generally increase my skills overall. My instructors (Hannah and Emily) for the week were amazing and I feel like I learned SO much. I can't wait to go out again here in England even though it will be chilly in comparison. The second half of the week was not very windy at all so the had us practicing lots of light wind skills which is something I never really did before. It really slows everything down so that you can concentrate on what you are doing and the implications of that action. One of the other members in my group had a blast working our tails off at trying heli-tacks, back winding the sail, sail 360's, body 360's (my record was 8), and upwind 360's. Mark took video of me and I also created a new move a reverse 3 point turn. How I do it I have no clue! hehe it looks ridiculous. We also laughed our heads off to the point that we had other guest on the beach stopping and watching us. 

Trying to plane/blast

Light wind freestyle

Due to the light wind conditions and the fact that on Tuesday Mark hurt his leg and could not really take part in the I did a few things on my own. I went for a kayak trip to a secret beach which was such fun. One the way there I saw a school of sardines jumping for their lives. And on arriving to the beach we scared a bunch of naturalist's taking advantage of the secluded spot and hazy UV rays hehe! I have never before see naturalist be shy - not only did the cover up but the hid in the rocks and they were all at least 50 years old...maybe it was their first go at it? 

I also went for a bike ride that took us through the olive groves and through the back part of the village to another secret beach, only this time there were no naturalists.

The other adventure was a SUPing trip. There was no wind so I took out a windSUP (Stand Up Paddle baord with the slot for a windsurf sail) out to goof off on. I tried a bit of freestyle but only succeeded in looking like I didn't know what I was doing and got a bit wet. Then Hannah who was in the safety boat boat told me that there were dolphins out in the bay. So I went for about an hour paddle to try and find them. I did manage to see them but they were a way off, the crested through the water and then disappeared  So a tiny glimpse but I still loved every moment of the paddle. Being on the water is just were I love to be.

So although our last minute holiday wasn't everything we had hoped it would be. We still had a good enough time that we both want to return, but this time try and not get hurt so that I can learn to sail! Who knows maybe again later this year??? Time will tell.

Nice, France

The weathermen in the UK described it better than I could. "Although the summer of 2012 was predicted to be the hottest on record, instead we have had the coldest, wettest, and least sun during a summer on record"! As a result Mark and I decided to make sure that we had a real summer even it was just a short one. So we returned to the internet (our favorite travel agent) and started searching. Mark was on flights and I was on accommodation: destination Nice,France. For me it would be a first visit, for Mark a return to familiar grounds. This time rounds we shunned expedia and hotel site. In fact in general we have decided to not stay in hotels again, unless there really is not other choice. So I went on to Housetrip.com and after a bit of searching found a great little apartment in central Nice. It was within walking distance of the Gare du Nice (5 min) and only a 10 min walk to the beach. A modern lovely little flat with massive french windows with a Juliette balcony, a little kitchen kitted out with everything your heart could ever desire in a kitchen, lovely touches of home, books, simple, clean modern, fabulous! All this for the same price of a budget hotel. The only thing it didn't have was A/C but the host did provide with two large and powerful fans. All booked up we then began practicing our French phrases.

Arriving in Nice about 3 weeks later we were greeted with clear blue skies, azure blue sea, and hot sunshine! Landing was interesting as the runway is pretty much on the beach so up until just two seconds before touch down it looks like you are going to land in the Med! YIKES! Once again with my Canadian passport I collected a stamp while Mark only got a cursory glance and a wave through! hehe! We headed to the public bus, getting our tickets and taking out seat. Soon we were off. We drove down the promenade de anglais towards city centre. The sea sparkling on our left. So blue! It only took about 15-20min to get to the train station at which point we then began walking. We missed the street the first time, but soon righted our mistake. And found ourselves a bit early to the apartment and meeting point with the host. So we perched on the seats and had a bit of lunch; at 10:45. In our defense we had been up since 3am when we had breakfast. 

The host was lovely, and quickly and efficiently showed us the apartment, all of the extra that she provided. Then was on her way to recover from her night shift. We quickly unpacked and then headed out to explore. Mark was tour guide and I was photographer!   After a few false starts from my tour guide we made it to the flower market and out to the beach front. From there we climbed to the top of the old castle/fort ruins for the views of the beach and the town.

From there we spied one of the boats that Mark used to work on. What are the chances...which we later visited. We also discovered a man made waterfall impressive for it size given it it on the top of a cliff with very little natural water sources that we could see.

After visiting the yacht that Mark used to work on rather than going up all those steps again, we walked round the front taking in the war memorial and the view of the sea! So pretty! We then wound our way through a bit of the old town were we discovered a lovely ice cream shop. Yummy. This was to be come a regular daily treat regards of which bit of southern France we were in. A daily ice cream cone! So tasty. 

After our treat it was back to the apartment for a bit of a rest. As we had been up for ages and had walked quite a few miles already.  So we rested, found a food shop, made a bit of supper and then as the sun was setting headed out for a night time adventure. I had forgotten how much I love the night culture of these sorts of towns. The place was thriving the restaurants all tables spilling on to the cobbled streets that were pedestrianized. Each restaurant had different colored chairs so you could easily identify one from the other. so that other would find you and you were sure to remember where you had been. Families and couples strolled taking the lovely aroma's and the music that enticed you towards a chair of some colour....any colour. Shops remained open hoping for a bit more custom from those who wait until the cool of the evening to come out to look for a new pair of sandals or a post card to send home. The Flower Market had been transformed into a large out door seating area for the retuarant that during the day border the flowers. Artists, acrobats and buskers amuse those out for a walk as well as those enjoy a fresh french meal served under the stripped canvas of the flower market, a short walk from the sea. The grey pebbles of the beach had turned silver in the moonlight and people sat by the sea watching the waves crash in or trying to take a picture of the reflection of the moon on the sea. It was beautiful. I wanted to stay out all night. But even with a nap in the afternoon eventually we made our way back.

Warsaw: We are off! (part 1)

So we decided in Feb to go on a short city break some where in Eastern Europe. We spent a few weeks researching and looking at the options before we settled on Warsaw. Using Expedia we booked in for the flights and the hotel for March 29- April 1. We got a good deal it was just over £500pp for a nice long weekend break.

Lessons I learned while booking this trip is that Expedia's top choices are not usally the best. I found that they sometimes were not that central or that nice compared to other options further down the list. So my advice DO not be swayed by a place being a "top pick" take your time and do a bit more research before settling on where you are going to stay. Google street view and Google maps proved to be very valuable tools.

Second really look at the flight details and look at all the options before settling on a flight. By being willing to be early birds at get a flight one hour earlier than expedia's top pick we gained 4 hours in Warsaw as the return flight left much later in the final day compared to the top pick. AND it was no more expensive.

Bags packed, parking arranged, E-tickets on my phone, passports ready we got up at 03:30 to head to the airport. The drive to London Heathrow was easy as there was no traffic on the M25. Our parking turned out to be business parking and we were literally 5 minutes from the terminal! (again the cheapest option...thanks to Money Saving Expert). We checked in to our flight on time and spent a bit of time wandering around the airport. It was our first experience flying with Polish airlines. Their check-in process was fairly simple, aside from their scrict cabin baggage weight allowances (our carry on's were weighed...first time for both of us that happened while flying). We had hoped to carry our bags on BUT due to the fact that our wheely bags weigh almost 6 kg when empty they did not come under the 6kg weight allowance. Oh well.

While waiting in the cue we noticed that we were going to be sharing a flight with somesort of boy band! hehe!! No one that we recognized...but then again we are not really up on boy bands. hehe. Finally when borading the plane we realized that alothough we had chosen seats together, without asking us they had seperated us. Worse though was the appoling leg room allowance, even I barely fit in the seat! Poor Marks knees where at his ears. Even though it was only a two hour flight it would have been a very uncomforatble two hours. So a quick word with the air hostess and she talked two passengers in the exit rows to change seats with us. We still were not sitting together, but at least we fit in the seats! The seat allowance on that plan was not designed for tall people...and I'm not that tall! Plus I got to sit by one of the boy band members! hehe. I was too chicken to ask who they were though.

Before leaving on this trip we had decided this trip to be more of a traveller than a tourist so instead of hiring a car in Warsaw to meet us at the airport we had looked up the Warsaw city bus maps on the internet. It looked fairly straight forward to travel from the airport to our hotel and I was pretty sure that even though we spoke no English we would be ok. However after collecting our bags at the Warsaw Aiport, Lotnisko Chopina w Warszawie looking around to signs that made no sense to me I began to get a bit nervous. We plucked up our courage and went into a small convince store in the airport as the internet had assuered us that these kind of stores sold bus tickets.

The lady behind the counter spoke no English! But thankfully understood "bus" so we got tickets and then found the bus stop. we got on the bus and again thanks to google street view we recongnized the last corner before our stop. It was super easy as it was a single bus ride with no transfers. After a short walk to our hotel we were checking in. Easy!!

The Wiltshire White Horse Trail

I'm not sure if you realize this or not but England has more than one white horse. I'm not talking the animal variety, I'm talking the white horses cut out of the turf on a chalk hillside. In Wiltshire there are 8 of these incredible hill carvings which are still visible. There are some that are new and others that are ancient.

Mark and I had arranged months earlier to go and stay with friends or ours who live in Somerset. Dale is interested in ancient things and so they decided for our walk we would do a portion of white horse trail by walking the Honeystreet and Pewsey Downs trail. It is an almost 7 mile walk that loops over the top of a hill giving great views (if the weather cooperates) down to a canal that has a pub for a bit of refreshment near the end of the walk.

The Boys

I was quite excited as according to Dale and Gail, we were going to walk literally over the ears of the horse, not just view it from a afar. So rather than whizzing by at high speeds driving on the motorway. I would get a nice long look at one of these great English landmarks. Saturday morning we woke in the guest bedroom of Dale and Gail's the night before we had sampled Dale famous pizza night and they featured a seasonal treat wild garlic leaf pesto!  Even better the pesto had been made by Dale from leaves he had foraged...YUMMY. Needless to say I at least had some calories that needed burning off.  So after a fab breakfast we all loaded in Dale van. We chatted the whole way and then there it was off the the left of our window as we drove into the village of Alton Barnes.

From where we parked you could see the horse off the in distance and as Dale told me that we were going to walk to the top of it I knew the calories would fall off me! As we started the walk Dale told us that the horse that we were going to walk to the top of was constructed in 1812 by a guy named John Thorne so a newer carving. Turns out when I did a bit of research this John Thrope guy was a bit of a con artist as he took the money (£20) and a horse and ran! He was later hanged. So instead the guy that Thorne commissioned to do the work, used the plans drawn up by Thorne, and did all the work, his name was John Harvey. So the guy who wanted the horse carved, a Mr. Robert Pile, had to pay for it twice.

It was a beautiful day, the sun was shinning and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. We still grabbed extra layers and loads of water as the hill is quite exposed and with English weather anything could happen. Within minutes though I was down to my shirt sleeves! It was unseasonably warm for March! As we climbed the view was a bit obstructed by the haze created by the heat. But the view was still stunning. And the greens!!! I know that the human eye can see more shades of green than any other colour BUT this was stunning.

Soon we were at the top of the horses ears! It was funny. I had been looking forward to seeing it up close but when you do you find yourself wishing you were a bit further away as up close it just looks like a bit of a exposed chalk. Oh well it was still neat to know that I was standing on the top of his ears! Supposedly according to Dale they placed the wooden frame around the horse to help prevent erosion from changing or destroying the horse itself. Further there were stakes in the ground above the horse which they use to tie into so that they can weed the horse periodically so that it will always remain lovely and white and viewable from a far. So even though it looks like nothing spectacular from up close from a distance it is beautiful!

The boys flying a kite and Baxter trying to ignore the kite

For a bit of a break we decided to try and fly our parafoil kite. Neither Gail or Dale and tried it before and we had a lot of laughs. Unfortunately there was not much wind which made flying the kite a hundred times harder! However Gail, I would say, did the best of the beginners. Poor Baxter (their dog) didn't know quite what to make of the kite but it was not his favourite thing! hehe

As we headed down the hill toward the canal we went by a ditch (aka "earth works"). I know big deal right! But it actually was as it was a man made ditch that had been made by some ancient landowner as a way of displaying his wealth and power! A ditch!! It was called Cross Dyke. It was quite impressive given it was dug out by hand and that there was no reward for it just the cheif/king proclaiming to all who happened upon it to say, "wow the guy who had this built must be rich and powerful!" I find it incredible and interesting to learn about how people lived and the things that showed the world that they had "made it."

Cross Dyke

The walk continued down to the canal as we got closers to the pub the noise of the locals out enjoying the beautiful summer day in March! We decided that we had worked had enough for a bit of a rest and a treat! We found and picnic table and the boys went in to sort out a treat for us. Within a matter of minutes both Gale and I had our hiking boots off and our bare feet in the grass it felt absolutely delicious!!! Like we were grabbing a bit of a cheat of and early summer.

Mark, Baxter, Dale, & Gail

Cheesy chips in our tummies we finished our walk and hopped back in the van. The walk and the sunshine got the best of Mark and he dozed a bit on the drive back. However he perked up when we went past a Tesco enough to make sure that we stopped and purchased an ice cream treat. YUMMY! thank you Chokabloc for making such a yummy treat.

Wales

The second weekend in March I took a Friday off, joined Mark and his Mum in a car headed for Wales. While we always have fun the purpose of this trip was not sightseeing or relaxing it was to be a part of a 14 person work crew for a bunkhouse in Wales, Tyle Mogrug.

Mark's Dad used to be the the chairman for committee that ran the charity that is responsible for this bunk house. We continue to go periodically to help out on the working weekends. The Cynon Valley Cottage and Bunkhouse is in the middle of nowhere, which is perfect for what it does...host groups that are enjoying the outdoors. From scout groups to hiking individuals many stay here as it is on the edge of the Breacon Beacon which makes it perfect for hiking, biking and getting away from it all!

Now up until this trip I have been extremely fortunate and had not yet experienced stero-typical Welsh weather. When we came out of the local food shop armed with the bits and pieces needed for supper and breakfast the next morning...I got that experience. Grey and rainy. So the drive up and over the hills it to the Cynon Valley was not as spectacular as before as you couldn't really see much more than grey mist, fog and rain! 

Supper was made as Sue had done all the hard work before leaving England. Supper finished we all retired to the lounge area where a fire was burning bright. The guys all swapped stories of what the bunkhouse (affectionately referred to as the hovel) and the role that Mike had in turning it from the hovel it was with sheep dung piled up so high the front door couldn't be opened to the 3 star bunkhouse it is now.

Off to bed. Bunks for Mark and I. The next morning I awoke to clump, clump, clump....BANG. As each person...ok lets be honest...MAN, staying our side of the bunkhouse plodded down the stairs slamming the door to make sure the rest of the working party awoke! Soon all was well, as is tradition the chairman of the charity knocked on Mark and I's door with a mug of tea for me and a cheery good morning for Mark! It was again grey, misty and generally miserable. After breakfast two of the work crew sat with Sue and I and gave us very detailed instructions on how to get to the nearest Travis Perkins (a hardware store) in nearby Aberdare as well as a shopping list of things they wanted us to get for them. 

Caerphilly Castle and the Welsh hills beyond

Sue and I at Caerphilly

So we got in the car and I used my handy android smart phone to look up the address and then plugged the post code into Mrs. Garmin and we were off. No troubles no dramas we arrived at the Travis Perkins armed with a list of parts and tools that we were to get using the chairman's trade card. Unfortunately they did not have everything they men wanted. So we spent the next 15min with the VERY helpful staff member who located all the items we needed at nearby Caerphilly. I was very happy to hear this as on a previous trip Wales I had been to Caerphilly and it has the most beautiful castle! So off we went. The lower in the valley we got the more beautiful it became! Soon the sunroof was open and the windows were rolled down. Very easily we found the Travis Perkins and got all the required parts for the work team. Job done! Before doing the shopping necessary for the next few meals and heading back to the bunkhouse, we decided we needed a reward so we had a quick exploration of Caerphilly castle where I was the guide! That was weird...being in a the UK and acting as a guide for Sue! he..he...Tour and photographic evidence taken, as we knew the guys would never believe us. We stopped in a local cafe for a coffee and a cake YUMMY!

Caerphilly Castle, outer moat

Back at the bunkhouse the men were all VERY please to see us! And helped us bring in the food. They were happy to see we got the parts, but as predicted they did not believe we had been to Caerphilly! Not even the pictures proved it!! It took the dated receipt for the parts before the chairman would believe us. 

Caerphilly Castle, inner moat

They were all quite hungry and took turns "helping" us in the kitchen to speed the homemade soup we were making for lunch! In the afternoon the sun came up and Mark, Sue, John, and I took a moment and a bit of a walk to remember Mike. The rest of the afternoon was a cleaning extravaganza as we got the bunkhouse back into good condition. The work crew mainly all stopped at 16.00, but that is when Sue and I began. I have never made such a large tagine in my life! enough to feed 14 hungry people. It went down a treat! Even the couscous which was a new experience for some. It was good fun but hard work! Thank I now have a little better appreciate for what cooks and chef's do! 


Sunday we were all prepared to spend another day working as is the tradition. There is usually a promise of a walk which never happens due to the amount of work that needs to be done. But things and the bunkhouse have come SO far that the entire work team went for a walk. Well everyone except us. We had no idea that the promised walk now happens and had not brought the right gear. So instead after walking to the most beautiful sunrise and the bleating of the sheep we did a few final things and then hopped in the car. We decided that we would do a little exploration of Cardiff. 


Cardiff is just on the inside of the sea coast. It boast a brand new stadium, a newly developed docks are, and an old castle. We did a drive through Cardiff Bay (the docks area) and they did a fabulous job down there. Lots of new buildings with interesting architecture and loads of space and pathways for people to wander. Then we headed into town. Found a place to park and went for a walk. It was a gorgeous day and we enjoyed being out and about. The castle looked impressive from the outside and a famous wall of animals! Which were fun to snap. We then returned to the park and found a sunny bench where we watched the world of Cardiff go by while enjoying our picnic lunch.

Castle clock tower

One of the many animals on the wall

 After lunch, we needed to get on the road if we were going to miss the traffic. I hopped behind the wheel giving Mark a break as he had done the majority of the driving so far. It had been a great weekend.

The Cotswolds...Part Two

Phew....BUSY!

Back to the Cotswold story...sorry to leave you hanging for SO long. Day two dawned bright and beautiful. The day promised to be even nicer than the day before. We had our second lovely breakfast this time I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon YUMMY! While Mark had his second full English. After a brief chat with our hosts and a second consultation with the oracle of all things we were off. The second day's journey was decided to use the map only despite the missed turns and the momentarily lost moments from the day before. We had had SO many adventures minus Mrs. Garmin so we left her locked in the glove box.

Goals for the day were to find Broadway Tower, Rollright stones, and Burton-on-the-Water using as few main roads as possible. So leaving Charlton Kings we headed first towards a place called Guilting Power after going through Guilting Power we got lost! We ended up in Winchcombe. Whoops!! Turned out to be a great mistake though  as there was a lovely castle, Sudeley Castle (which was closed) and a few beautiful vistas. We walked round the outside of the castle and took a few photos before getting in the car to then try and figure out how to get back on the right road to Broadway tower.

Historic Houses in Winchcombe

Our view of Sudeley Castle

Queen Katherine Parr's view...while minus Mark!

Well I know you will find this hard to believe at this point but rather than stay on the main road we left Winchcombe found a single track road and got on it. Now I had no idea how to get from where we were to Broadway tower, but neither of us wanted to go on the boring main roads. So winding our through beautiful English countryside through Temple Guilting (which is almost due north of Guilting Power...meaning we completely doubled back on our selves...hehe), up to Cutsdean Ford, and then Snowshill. Snowshill was a beautiful tiny little village boasting of a few houses, an iconic phone box and a pub. A booming metropolis compared to Taddinton, long may these villages remain less discovered!

Snowshill church yard

Snowshill Pub

 Sometime after Snowshill I directed Mark down the wrong road yet again, which took us into the town of Broadway. Now we were planing on going to Broadway but not until after Broadway tower. But it REALLY didn't matter. Broadway is a gorgeous village with the kind of shopping that Mark and I were expecting in Cheltenham. It was full of odd little shops in ancient buildings. More than once even I was ducking to avoid low ceilings! It was amazing to get to see the inside of some of these buildings. From the outside the look very straightforward and simple but the inside of them is a maze of adventure, massive wooden oak ceiling beams, and the oddest angles of ceiling meets wall meets floor! It was hard to focus on the beautiful things for sale as these shops gave you a free tour of the inside of the classic Cotswold stone houses!

Broadway tower was next. As we approached it there were also signs for a Nuclear bunker, but being out of season it wasn't open. Broadway Tower was, but we decided not to pay the extra money to climb the tower as the view from the ground were stunning. Besides with no wind cover it was VERY chilly and as we were now beginning to start to be conscious of the distance (calculating getting lost once or twice) that we needed to cover IF we were going to make it to all our other stops. So it was a whirlwind walk round the base of the folly before jumping into the warm car. 

Capability Brown's Tower (aka Broadway tower)

View from Broadway Tower 

Supposedly you can see as many as 16 different counties from here, but it was too chilly to stop and try and figure out how many I could see. Next was on to the Rollright stones. Due to the fact that our day was quickly coming to an end we decided it would be best if we stayed on the main road. I know boring, BUT there were too many things that I wanted to try and see in such a very short time. So down the A44 we went stopping for a quick shop in Merton on the Marsh were we found a lovely old book store with a resident dog so you know it was a good shop! and had a quick bite to eat. Then on to Little Compton where we had to leave the main road in order to get to the stones.

Most people have heard of Stonehenge and want to visit them. What less people are aware of is that there are lots and lots of stone circles all over England. Most of which are not the major tourist attraction that is Stonehenge. I have been lucky enough to actually get to see Stonehenge many times (hard to miss as it is on the side of a main road on the way to Salisbury). Even more lucky I have also been to see Avebury which is a stone circle that goes around an entire village! As well as the Woodhenge which is thought to be an earlier Stonehenge. Well according to the great oracle the Rollright stones are the third most famous stone circle in England. First thing to say is that the difference between most famous and third famous means that we

A Rollright stone

completely missed the signs and the stones the first time we drove past. Now this might be understandable if there was lots of other things around this area, but the ONLY thing on this small little road is the Rollright stones and we still missed them...I think  we must have been tired as there was in fairness to the national trust a BIG green sign. Now as for the stone circle; legend has it that it is not possible to count all the stones and if you manage to do it you get a wish full fulled. The sun was fading and the stones were pretty but to be honest I wasn't feeling the magic of these stones. Avebury definitely something special about those stones, and the same for Stonehenge but not for me for Rollright. Maybe I'm getting a bit to used to this sort of special thing and maybe for me they are just old stones now...hehe...Am I becoming a "local"?

The next town answered that question for me rather quickly! Burton-on-the-Water has to be one of the prettiest little village I have ever seen! If it was in America you would think it had been constructed just for the tourists. It was very easy to imagine it HEAVING in peak season. Thankfully we were there in off season so we had to share it with locals only. I tried to take some pictures of it but didn't really mange to fully capture the essence of the place.

Instead bear with me as I try to describe it. There is this village made from honey coloured stone. Its buildings are simple rectangles and yet there is a beauty in the clean lines that have stood for hundreds of years. There is a waterway which divides the town. It is clear and shallow and mainly serves as a place for the local ducks to pretend to hunt for plants and algae while secretly hoping for small children to feed them bread. Across this waterway at what seems like ridiculously close distances are picturesque arched bridges. Some for cars, some for pedestrians and some I think merely for the beauty of repetition. We happily strolled thought this impossibly perfect village and managed before the shops closed to get our  tourist magnet, a teapot (in the shape of a VW van), and a spice rack! Don't ask....

Where else but England is the "new" part of the in from 1938?

After Burton-on-the-Water it was time to head back to Detmore house. As we drove though more little roads I relished in the views. Here more than any other place that that I have visited so far in England, it is so easy to see and believe in the England of the Bronte sisters as well as Jane Austin. The land was still visibly divided up in manors and small pretty villages that sprung up to support the wealthy in those manor houses. Here being wealthy meant being a landowner and having others farm the land for you. I felt like I was gazing into the past.

Our final day in the Cotswolds started the same as the others sunny with a fabulous breakfast. This time I had the cooked full English and Mark had the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. We left Detmore house having had a restful wonderful time. We made our way towards home once again winding through tiny roads taking in the view. Stopping for lunch in Cirencester another beautiful Cotswold market town. We slowly wound our way back to Surrey. As the landscape changed and the buildings changed from honey stone into redbrick a part of me felt that I had been to another country not just a new county and was now returning home!

If you ever go to the Coltswolds, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. As scary as it might seem, turn of you chosen GPS device, pull out a map (even if it is old and out of date) and just have fun! You will get lost, but by doing so you may be as lucky as we were: and find a countryside full of nodding snopdrops in full bloom, hidden villages unknown to the multitudes of tourist that frequent the area, and meet a goose who thinks he is David!