Go way back!! Rewind to last Thursday when I set off on the bus to Pisa Airport, hours and hours early as per usual which meant an awful lot of hanging around at Pisa Airport…not too entertaining really. Anyway finally off I set to Gatwick, on to the Gatwick Express, then the tube then finally ‘home’. It’s always pretty exhausting this airport business and it always consumes a whole day no matter how short the flight (at least for me). Anyway, so happy to be with Ham and Ariane finally, a quick turnaround and then off we went to Ottolenghi for dinner. A must do for me every time I’m in London.
Friday I had arranged to meet up with my old friend Jorge at 1pm so not much time for anything else. Nonetheless I decided to do something so I took myself off to the Tate Britain to see the permanent collection that I had never seen. Been there lots of times but always to see a specific exhibition. I was very short of time so it was a bit of a flash around but very enjoyable nonetheless. I then tubed out to some far distant station and met up with Jorge. That was really very nice. We sat and talked for about 3 hours and the time flew. I then had to race home to meet Hammy and go to pick up the hire car. Fortuitously we arrived at exactly the same time …never let it be said I was the one to delay us!!! We picked up the car, picked up Ariane and off we set to the Cotswolds.
It was an amazingly good run out of town and we arrived at The Crown Inn in Frampton Mansell in good time for a lovely meal at the pub before bed…a great pub in a most beautiful setting.
The next day was glorious, sunny and warm. Lunch was booked so the day was divided into before lunch activity and after lunch activity. Before lunch we went to the splendid Blenheim Palace. God the English do this well. The Palace was of course stunning but the most enjoyable part was the huge and extensive gardens. The roses are all in full bloom and the gardens are just wonderful all over England at the moment. So we wandered and enjoyed it all. From there we made our way to Kingham, another wonderful Cotswold village and had lunch at the Kingham Plough. It is a gourmet pub with a chef who used to work with Heston Bloomenthal (however you spell that!!). Delicious meal again!
Then in the afternoon we drove through the villages and spent some time in Bibury Village with its beautiful and famous (someone told us they are imprinted into the English Passport) ancient cottages. They really are wonderful but unfortunately there were a few too many tourists. Then a dash back to our pub for a brief bit of relaxation sitting outside with a glass of wine, before we set off again for our dinner experience. This time to a beautiful manor house in the most superb gardens where you can sit and have a drink overlooking the grounds before going into the restaurant. Food, glorious food!! The weekend was full of it!
Sunday(a grey, drizzly sort of day) we set off just to explore the villages of the Cotswolds. Again I say that the most beautiful thing was the fact that all the gardens were in full bloom, the cottages covered in climbing roses and the fields green. Wildflowers everywhere along the roads and even fields of lavender were just starting to bloom. It was heaven. Just for the record I will name the villages here but if you feel yourself going off to sleep just skip to the end. The first one, just on the hill near our pub was Oakridge Lynch, then on to Bourton on the Water (lovely but one of the big ones for the tourist influx)…we had a coffee here but the British really manage to stuff that up no end, its very hard to find a decent coffee. The beautiful ‘Slaughters’ were next…Upper and Lower Slaughter. They are probably my favourite…just so lovely and quiet and the flowers were everywhere with lovely streams, mills and ancient cottages. Then Guiting Power, Barton and on to Stow on the Wold where we had a lunch booking at The Old Butchers. A Sunday roast for me that was impossible to finish it was so huge.
After lunch, when we could barely walk we went on to Snowshill (beautiful, sweet little town), Chipping Campden(as previous) and finally Moreton on the Marsh where we managed to fit in a cream tea just to make sure we didn’t miss out on that experience!! Then home….a really divine weekend was over. Chinese takeaway and bed!!!
Yesterday, my final day in London (I keep thinking forever). Ariane suggested just walking in the parks…something I’d never really done before. I’ve been through, around and gone to things in Hyde Park many times but really walk in them never. It was a stunning, warm and sunny day and I spent the whole time walking in St James Park, Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington gardens etc. Again the flowers were at their finest, the Serpentine was full of boats and people were lying on the lawns soaking up the sun. It was wonderful. I wandered around the streets behind Buckingham Palace and through the gardens all around. It was a fitting way to say goodbye to London.
I had requested a pub crawl and a pub meal for my last night and this is what we did. We wandered along having a few drinks on the way and went to a great pub for dinner…’The Pig and Butcher’. It was a fabulous meal and a nostalgic end to a great weekend when my love for England and London was reaffirmed.
Sadly I now must prepare to get myself to the airport and return to Rome. I always hate to say goodbye to Ham and Ariane, it is so good to be with them but not long til we meet again in Sicily.
Tomorrow I spend a brief bit of time with Chris, collect Norjie and bring her back to Lucca with me. It will be nice having the company. I have to decide whether to do a bit more school as I move through my last month in Lucca…a tough decision.
Sorry this is so long but there were a few days to catch up!