Cotswolds

I can tell I am being influenced by the English because I am beginning each of my posts with a discussion of the weather. Continuing in that vein, yesterday was beautiful with some peaks of sun through the clouds, and today is just drizzly enough to create a halo of water beads on my frizz, but not enough to justify umbrella usage... However, I have been walking around with a smile on my face ever since I awoke to Nicholas' voice with the news that Obama had won. Moments later, my German friend Johnny texted me saying "Congratulations! You can be proud to be an American again!" Here's hoping! Everyone I have run into has been very happy about it; my American friends I met up with and I just clutched each other this morning as an unspoken congratulation.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Yesterday was the full-day Cotswolds Discovery tour, which I am so glad I did since I would not have been able to see half of the villages I did by public transport or larger bus. Also, I was able to reconnect with some of the amazing people from the Stonehenge tour. The Cotswolds are a 50x90 mile patch of English countryside that are known for their rolling hills and Shire-like English cottages. Cotswold literally means farm on the rolling hill. They were originally prosperous for woold production, but fell into economic hardship as the industrial revolution swept the nation forward, leaving these bucolic, thatched villages behind. It was magnificent touring through this region because there were hardly any other tourists, and mostly farmers and shopkeepers going about their business. Here are the villages I went to: Castle Combe, Tetbury, Bibury, Stowe-on-the-Wold, Upper-Slaughter, from which I walked to Lower-Slaughter, Moreton-in-the-Marsh, and Chipping Camden. Most of these villages required a brief stop to oooh and aaah and snap a photo or take a cup of tea since other than that...well, there wasn't much to do. Which was exactly why I loved it so much.

A few of us used the tour as transport to other destinations. We stayed at various hostels/B&B's in Stowe, and met up later for dinner, which I was happy for since the small village shut down at 5pm and streets were clear by 6pm, leaving absolutely no nightlife. Since I am poor, I ordered but a meager salad, but the older man bought my dinner, making me wish I had ordered the lamb or venison or other such fancy meats. I met a kindred spirit in his son, who is my age and is couch-surfing around Europe for the next six months! As a seasoned traveler, I was able to give him some advice, making me feel extremely cool as a woman of the world.

Oh my god, there is so much more to say, but my internet is running out in this library! I will have to finish when I get back to Norwich tomorrow evening. Honestly, I feel like I could keep traveling for another five days. It's been so wonderful. But I guess I have to rejoin the real world at some point.