west coast girl in london town: Falling in Love with the Cotswolds

The parentals visited me in London way back in the last week in April. A fabulous time was had by all. They even scored some nice weather (it was touch and go there, but the sun was generally shining).

During their 10-day visit, we spent a weekend in the Cotswolds and then the town of Woodstock to visit Blenheim Palace. For those of you unfamiliar with the Cotswolds, I'll break it down: a series of quaint English towns, surrounded by beautiful hills and countryside.

Here are some shots from the trip.

I love this house. I will live there one day. This, and several of the following, are from the town of Chipping Camden.

I felt like we were walking through the scene in a book. A scene in a Jane Austen book to be exact. I wondered why I didn't rent a period outfit and sit around waiting to be swept up off my feet. I guess that would have been a touch too dramatic. Just a touch.

A thatched roof.

It was a bit cold, but we meandered around and stumbled upon this lovely scenic view.

What kind of place has streets like "Sheep Street"? I'll tell you what kind of place: Chipping Camden.

This house was in the town of Woodstock. We were there for the 900th anniversary of the town, or something. Whatever. Everything is so old here, 900 years probably isn't that big a deal. Ok, it sorta was...Oh. And funny story of the week: we show up to the town late at night, without the hotel's correct name, its address, directions or phone number. Hummm....that was a little tricky. Thanks to some local folks we did eventually find our B&B.

Blenheim Palace. Thankfully we were there for a special medieval weekend event: jousting. Don't worry that everyone else watching had children under the age of 3...