Cotswolds Galore

This morning, I must admit I was feeling a bit glum about the day. For one thing, my shoulder and neck were killing me (making for a poor night of sleep) and for another, the rain was coming down steadily. I was also a bit gun-shy about driving after some of yesterday's frustrating go-arounds. But, after a large breakfast and pot of tea, as well as downing some Tylenol and lying on the bed for another 20 minutes after breakfast, I decided to buck up and go for it. Stop 1: Lower Slaughter, which, despite its unattractive name, is a beautiful little village, even in the rain.

Local shop

Even with rain and mud and plenty of puddles, I couldn't resist walking this little footpath for a ways: 

I was rewarded with the sight of some sheep along the way:

Then it was back in the car to drive to the next town. By now, I was feeling more comfortable with the whole driving thing (all those miles I logged in Scotland a couple years ago were starting to serve me well), and the sun started to break through. I think some of my glumness the last day or two has been all the rain and grey days I've had since starting my trip. Seeing/being in the sunshine immediately perked up my spirits. And how can you not love a drive that looks like this?

taken through my windshield

I actually pulled over and jumped out of the car for this one

Next stop: Chipping Campden

I walked around a bit, but didn't stay long as several buses pulled up and unloaded about 200 tourists. So, back on the road again

About twenty minutes later, I was in Broadway. The clouds were rolling in, so I decided it was the perfect time to go have tea and read a novel on my Kindle for a bit.

They even had gluten-free scones, which my stomach was very happy about. It did all right with the waffles and beer in Belgium but was starting to protest by the end.

Next stop: Stow-on-the-Wold

where I  bought more Tylenol (or the English generic of it) and saw the cutest tiny raincoat ever

Then back to my base, Burford, to drop my things and walk around a bit more. After all that cream and scones (I ended up having two), I figured this steep hill would be a good little workout for me.

Along the way, I decided to choose what house I wanted to live in. So, this one...

or wait--this one!

There were dozens I saw today that I wanted to live in, but when I looked at a couple displays in different real estate agents in the various towns, it was clear I'd need to have anywhere from $700,000 to over $1 million to afford one of these places. Charming don't come cheap. But it's fun to imagine for a little while, at least.

View going down the hill

Most shops around here close up right at 5:00pm (or 17:00, as they say here), which is very different from the U.S., where shops want to make the most of daylight hours and make some more money. One shop was still open, however, and it happened to be one that had a couple items I really liked and purchased. The store owner was a really friendly woman about my own age, Clare, and we chatted for a while. She gave me some great suggestions for my time in Wales that helped me figure out some things I was on the fence about. And it was just nice to have a pleasant chat with someone.

Random item of the day: the cars here are really weird--the engine sort of shuts off every time you stop at a light, and then you hear a little ignition sound as you take your foot off the brake, and it kicks into life again. It was very disconcerting yesterday, but today I noticed other cars driving around me doing the same thing as I walked through all these towns and villages--going silent at stops and then sputtering to life. And these are new cars, mind you. It must be some kind of conservation mechanism. If it saves me on petrol (which is quite expensive here), then good on it!

And now I shall head out for some dinner and then work on figuring out how to pack with some of my new purchases. Tomorrow, I'm off to Wales!