Across the Pond, Part 3

June 9, 2018

This was one of those days that went nothing like we had planned! I haven't mentioned the various minor setbacks and events that led me to repeat several times, "We will not let this trip be defined by disappointment!", but they were there: Money (already exchanged!) left behind, a fender bender (while we were parked in a Waitrose parking lot!), the British Library was closed ... We chose to focus on the positive instead  - we were in England, after all and this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Day 3 dawned with us bidding farewell to our first Airbnb - a sweet little flat in Harrow. 

Kaity and me inadvertantly twinning on this chilly morning!

We had a long day of driving ahead as we headed west out of London and into the countryside of Somerset.

First stop: Stone Henge! It was different from what we'd expected, being surrounded by farmland and sheep grazing in pastures. You can't approach it too closely, though a family member told us that when she went 40 years ago people could actually walk among the stones and touch them!

The scenery along the way was simply stunning! We were constantly pulling over whenever we could find a spot on the winding, narrow roads just to enjoy the view a little longer. As tiny as our car was, the hedges still came nearly to the side mirrors at times.

After being thwarted by time and circumstances, we had to skip a couple of places we'd wanted to stop, but the drive was so gorgeous that it consoled us. We had lunch at a charming pub in downtown Salisbury, The Chapter House. Jeff had a fantastic burger, I enjoyed a spicy South African bobotie, and Kaity loved her fresh spaghetti primavera.

We arrived late that afternoon to our most anticipated Airbnb: Munty Cottage! It was absolutely everything we imagined in a delightful English farm cottage.

Lovely little gatekeeper.

This is the road we drove in on - you can see how narrow it is! The whole time we were in England, particularly the countryside, we kept remarking how inspiring it all must have been to writers like Tolkien and Lewis. So many times we would point to a certain aspect and say, "Oh, it's the Shire!" We keenly felt the magic of the landscape with its hollows and hedges, abundant flowers and quirky little structures in fields or tiny villages. Elves and fairies and hobbits seemed entirely possible!