The Cotswolds

We awoke yesterday to a lovely gray and rainy day perfect for enjoying the outdoor splendor of the Cotswolds. Our luck had finally run out and the sun retreated not to be seen. Naturally getting up was a little rough but by 8:45 Lacey and I were downstairs with the others in the lounge. After fetching Nori, who thought the coach left at 9:30 instead of 9, we were on our way.

It became immediately apparent that our guide Liz was going to get on my nerves. Most people were sleeping on the coach or listening to their IPods or reading like me. However, she decided to come on and start talking. She talked the entire two hours up to the Cotswolds. Ok, I get it, it is her job to guide, but seriously what do I care about the abandoned Seagrams building to the left of the highway? That had no value unless I am a beverage enthusiast or something. Some of what she said was interesting like when she pointed out a pub in Hurley that had been frequented by Cary Grant, but other things just seemed to be needless blabber. Plus she kept asking questions and expecting us to answer, which of course we didn't, since most of us were thinking about ways of throwing her from the coach. Oh wait, maybe that was just me. She also made a smacking noise at the end of most of her words and added the syllable "uh" to the rest of her words. Seriously not nice to listen to for hours.

We finally escaped Liz when we arrived at our first stop, Burford, the Gateway to the Cotswolds. We only had an hour so me, Lacey, Brittany, and Nori went to Huffkins Bakery for pastries. I finally had a scone and it came with butter, clotted cream, and strawberry jam. Seriously delicious. We wanted to order everything on the menu, especially their extensive cake menu, but we restrained ourselves. After Huffkins we wandered down Burford's one and seemingly only street to look at some shops and admire the picturesque Cotswold stone buildings. We also came into contact with the most annoying bathroom sinks I have ever encountered. There were three buttons on the side: soap, water, and air. However, you had to wait for one to stop to move on to the next one, thus the whole process was rather prolonged and irritating. Good job Burford, good job.

Our second stop was much more exciting, at least for me personally. I returned to Bourton-on-the-Water after 7 years away. Honestly, not much has changed. There was still the Mad Hatter where we had lunch, though no one was dining outside today as it was raining. I led a group to the Dragonfly Maze to laugh again at people's confused attempts to solve the riddle. I went straight for the center as I already knew the answer and waited in the pavilion for my friends to catch up. It felt a bit like I was in Ocarina of Time as a sage waiting for Link to come to the temple to free me. It was also amusing to listen to exclamations of "That IS number nine. We've past it so many times already!" and "What does the fish mean?" Brittany and Lacey did eventually figure it out and much easier and sooner than Mom, Maddie, and I, sad to say.

After the maze, we went to lunch at Cor Blimey! which was run by some rather unfriendly men. They told Nori her meal came with fries and then charged her for them separately, forcing her to change her order without them. They also charged 15p for ketchup and barked at you when your food was ready. The food couldn't even make up for the service, though it was edible enough. I enjoyed my steak pie though it was rather smaller than I expected.

Wondering around Bourton-on-the-Water you really can't believe it is real. The cottages are just so pretty, most with climbing flowers and little fences. That with the background of sheep grazing on rolling green hills lends a certain air of too-good-to-be-true about the place. The doors are very small as well, making them about my own height,so you almost expect a hobbit or something to come walking out. We went by the Motor Museum to see the car with three wheels and also the Cotswold Perfumery where my scent, Ruby, was still being sold. I didn't remember all the tacky, old lady jewelry that was being sold though. It was more of a jewelry shop than anything else.

After stopping by The Cotswolds Shop for sherbet lemons (Dumbledore's favorite), we went back to the coach to complete our tour. This meant driving through a few more villages and then heading back to London. It was disappointing weather but overall a fairly pleasant day. It was just nice to get away from London, which I love dearly, but a change of scene is always good. The countryside in England is superior to any I have ever seen in America. The green just leaps out and grabs you. It just feels so ancient and mystical, something America seriously lacks.

That evening we went out for Brittany's birthday. We met her friend Lauren at a pub right by Spitalfields Market in East London. It was incredibly loud and crowded, as most pubs are I find, and my Bulmers Pear Cider was a bit more expensive than I would have liked. Some of the girls got chatted up by weird older men so I was more than willing to bail when the time came. It was the same story at the next pub though and my drink had made me sleepy so I came back early with a group of girls to go to bed. I know, I am so exciting complaining about noise and crowds and then going home to my jammies. What can I say, sometimes I am a rather old soul.

Today has been my designated laze about the room day to attempt to catch up on a few things I have been neglecting. Don't know what I am doing tomorrow, probably the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery as we are once again doomed to rain for the foreseeable future. Just want to get something in before my work week starts again on Tuesday.