The Cotswold

Jon and I were looking for a quintessential English getaway for his birthday weekend. We were told by several people that we should head down to the Cotswold and they were absolutely right. Driving there we commented about how THIS was the England that we really wanted to see. The roads were tiny, one lane really, and the trees joined together from either side of the road at the tops to make a beautiful canopy as we drove. There were little cottages with thatched roofs and loads of country charm. It was all incredibly beautiful. I ended up taking over 800 photos, yes, 800. Only going to post a small portion here, but will do so in several posts, so that you can get a good sampling of them.

The town we stayed in was Cirencester, which is considered the capital of the Cotswold. The Cotswold are even more famous because of the ancient Roman ruins there, and Cirencester was once Corinium, a Roman town. The Cotswold became wealthy because of the wool trade there, and you can still see evidence of this while traveling around seeing all the sheep grazing on the hillsides. The B&B we stayed at was also called The Corinium and had a fantastic breakfast that we enjoyed each morning with good strong coffee and awesome fresh, hot croissants.

Our first day there we just explored Cirencester, which turned out to be my favorite of all the places we visited. It has lots of winding, narrow roads, with buildings right on the sidewalk. It also had a big beautiful parish church of St. John Baptist. The church was so old, so historical, and had been added on by other churches, and had such gorgeous architecture, it was truly awe inspiring. Behind St. John Baptist was the remains of the abbey that had been reclaimed by Henry VIII, and then a beautiful park, that was enormous. We found this fabulous little italian restaurant tucked away behind some building and had a GREAT lunch. The kids got pizza, and it was one of the best pizzas we've had while in the UK.

The next day we went down to Bourton on the Water on a tip from someone else. Admittedly we were a little disappointed. It was truly tourist central (us included) and there were just too many people. We saw the miniature village, and looked for affordable pottery. We did end up having our first official cream tea and we let the kids get into the shallow little river that we assume is the water within Bourton on the Water.

After that, we decided that we wanted to do something for the kids and so we headed to the Cotswold Animal Farm. They had a blast and it was a lot of fun watching the kids enjoy themselves. We fed goats and sheep, bunnies and cows. We did a trim trail, the kids played on a jumpy pillow and they also got to hold a baby duckling and some guinea pigs.

The next day after we looked in every charity shop in Cirencester to see if we could find a little tea set for me, we left and drove through Barnsley. Barnsley is beautiful, and exactly what you think a quaint English countryside should look like. After Barnsley we drove into Bibury, which I had commented to Jon on the way to Cirencester I would very much like to go back to and photograph. We went to the trout farm there and were surprised by the beauty of it all. We decided that when my parents come to visit in September, we might take them back to the trout farm so that Joe and Joci can fish with them, and more importantly, so Grandpa can clean and cook the trout. We took a lovely little walk around Bibury, down Arlington Row, and back around. We even were able to feed some big cows at the end of the pasture. Bibury is so beautiful, it reminds me a lot of the movie The Holiday, and the cottage that Kate Winslet's character lived in. Love that movie, by the way.

After that it was time for home, and some of the worst traffic we've faced on the way.
Hope you enjoy the pics.

The entrance from the street into our hotel where the Cirencester map is mounted on the wall.

Cecily Hill where they always have hanging baskets of flowers leading up to Cirencester park which is right next to a huge manor house.

So, I've been looking for a Kitchenaid mixer, I miss mine in the US so much, so when we saw these, I had a big smile on my face until I found out how much they were. 420 British pounds, uh, no thanks.

Along the river walk, we saw this neat door, a duck on his nest, and a sweet horse that let us pet him.

Loved this sign. Yes, it's above a bunch of trash cans in an alley, but I thought it was VERY English and so proper. I suppose only serious tipping is allowed.

Part of the original Roman wall. This was behind the St. John Baptist church in the massive park.

Leaver's Assembly

It's the end of the school term here. Friday was the kids' last day. Next term Joe will be moving up to the next school, and Joci will be staying at her school, moving up to the foxes class. Last Wednesday the school had a little assembly and production for the 2nd year class leaving. It was very cute and a lot of the parents were crying by the end. The parent association provided Oxford dictionaries for the year 2 kids and a school keychain with the student's names on them. It was all very nice.

Here the kids are walking to school for one of the last days. I love it when Joe and Joci hold hands.

Joe doing his production.

The kid in the yellow and blue is actually a professional 'street' dancer.

Joe receiving his dictionary from the head teacher, Mr. Upton.

Joe's teacher assistant, Mrs. Merchent. She was an amazing support for him, and one of Joe's favorite.

Joe's new best buddy, Sam.

Joe with his teacher, Mr. Bolger. Truly an amazing teacher, everyone loves him, he's the kind of teacher you wish you had when you were a kid.

Joe with the 'principal' or head teacher, Mr. Upton. Really, really nice and welcoming man for us.

Soccer, I mean, Football

So, Football here is a VERY BIG deal as I found out last Wednesday during Joe's first football match.

Apparently, he had the choice between doing regular PE or doing the football club for school, and Joe chose football which is coached by his teacher and has his best buddy, here, in it. Then, at the end of the school year, his class has a match against another school. No big deal, right? Wrong.

Joe's match was a bit after school and he was being walked over to the grounds by his coach and teacher. I walked Joci home and she had a snack, and then we headed over to the grounds. The sight that I saw when I got there was surprising. There were a lot of people and they were all cheering and laughing and having a great time. It was obviously a much bigger deal than I thought.

Joe had a great time and really did his best, trying hard and keeping up with all the kids. He did get to kick the ball a few times, and each time did well. I was so proud of him.

All during the match, Joci played with one of her school friends, too, and I talked with some of the other Moms there, mostly about where we were from, why we are in England, and how long we're staying, etc. That's typically what most people want to know about us when we meet new people.

I was told that I should expect to have football take over our lives in the winter, as it's a big deal here when the professional season starts. Now, I believe it, just seeing how excited everyone gets over a kids' friendly football match.

Oh, and the score? It was a draw, one to one.

A Hot Breakfast

One of my fondest memories of childhood, now, is of my Dad making us a good hot breakfast each morning before school. I say now, well, because at the time I would have given ANYTHING to just sleep a little longer, and breakfast didn't always appeal to me. Of course as an adult, and a parent, you look back at the things your parents did for you and finally feel like you privy to some secret society. Also, to be fair, my Dad still makes breakfast each morning that I have ever been at their house, even as an adult.

Now, as a parent, I have always wanted to make the kids a hot breakfast. Before, when working and trying to get everything around in the morning, I had a hard time figuring that out. Now, not having to work, and having school start at 9am rather than 8am, amazingly, a hot breakfast is now part of our daily routine.

To prove this I took a picture this morning as it was the first time I got the kids to try over medium eggs, rather than just scrambled. Joci loved them, Joe hated them. One of their favorites is oatmeal, and I did use to make that for them, in the microwave, but now that we don't have a microwave (by choice) I make it the 'old fashioned' way...on the stovetop. Which, again, reminds me of my Dad. Mom would want oatmeal and Dad would make it for her and leave it on the stovetop until she was ready to eat.

Can you tell I'm missing my parents?

It's these little things that sneak up on you, when you're doing a chore that is how your Mom taught you, or figuring something out similar to how your Dad would, that remind me of my childhood, and how fortunate I was to have the parents I did. These are also the things that I tell my kids about all the time, because I want them to have a sense of history.

So, Mom and Dad, tomorrow I will be making another hot breakfast...probably oatmeal. Love you.

Discos and Proms

I visited the kids school yesterday 4 different times, there and back. Once to drop off/pick up. Then to take Joci to her Disco, once to take Joe to his Prom, then back to pick up Joe. It was all certainly worth it, though, and the little extra exercise was good for me. The kids had so much fun at their end of the year festivities. Joci's Foundation class had a Disco with the Year one class. Joe had his Leaver's Prom to celebrate moving up to Year 3 at a different school. They both got to help pick out their outfits the night before. Joe was REALLY excited to get to wear a tie and vest. He was very sweet, too, asking me to show him how to 'prom' before the dance in case there was a slow dance, and he could ask his little friend, Chloe, to dance. Seriously, showing him how to do a basic slow dance is something I will remember forever. Poor Joci had a hard time walking in her sandals. She fell down three times in them. Once, reinjuring a scraped up knee, so that when we got to the school, the head teacher, Mr. Upton, cleaned up her knee and put a plaster on it for her. They even had a DJ, and flashing lights. It was pretty neat. Their school has been really special and they have had so many activities and a great attitude towards kids. Last weekend we went to their BBQ, the biggest surprise being that they served alcohol to the adults(!), it made Jon and I laugh to have Joci's teacher serve us a beer.