Monday, September 24, 2007The Cotswolds: An overview.
We spent four of our nine nights out in the English countryside, something I've been dreaming about for awhile. =) We chose to visit the Cotswolds, an "area of outstanding natural beauty" just under two hours outside of London. One of our main motivations for visiting this part of the country was the abundance of public footpaths that lead you through private farm land, gorgeous pastures, and adorable honey-colored towns. In many ways, it reminded me of Tuscany--super laid back, rich with people proud of their hometowns, and full of amazing scenery. I was particularly pleased with the fact that we were fully immersed in day-to-day English life. London is so diverse that overhearing a British accent seems novel there. In the Cotswolds, we were engaged with the locals--chatting with them on the streets, drinking with them in the pubs, and having tea in their gardens. It was everything I expected and more. Specific, detailed posts to follow.
  Above: Stow-on-the-Wold, where we spent our first two nights in the English countryside. The church door is said to be Tolkien's inspiration for the door into Moria.  Above: Our plan to frequently drink tea and eat clotted cream with scones went accordingly!     Above: Chipping Campden, our stop for the other two nights. 
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Glad you guys were able to get out in the countryside for a few days! In my limited international travels, I've been surprised (and almost disappointed), at how similar New York, London, Milan, and even Shanghai seem... It seems like most big cities around the world are becoming more diverse internally, but less unique. I think that's inevitable (and it's probably even a good thing), but it means that you really have to get out of the city sometimes to feel like you're actually someplace different!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to hearing more about this leg of your trip.
ReplyDeleteWas this area affected very much from the floods in July? Did you notice any effects from it, either physical or people mentioning it?
Duane,
ReplyDeleteChipping Campden was definitely affected by the floods, but we didn't see any evidence of it. We only know this b/c the barmaid at the pub we visited (The Red Lion) told us that while on vacation in Spain she was gobsmacked to see her little village of Chipping Campden on the TV news as being flooded! She said that a few other towns in the Cotswolds had flooding issues, but it didn't sound like there was any negative long-term effect.
An interesting aside: the barmaid had previously lived in Florida as a kid, and seemed to have a very romantic notion of it, and hoped to return. In fact, we met a number of Brits who had been to Florida, and, inexplicably, all seemed to love it! Maybe it's b/c it's so different than the UK??
Shawn,
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the fascination with Florida has something to do with proximity (compared to CA or Hawaii, anyway) and being able to see the sun once in a while... When I was working at 3com and the group was half Brits, it seems like the #1 complaint I remember was the weather. I also remember seeing something on TV when I was in the UK about Brits buying summer homes in Spain in droves for the same reason. The segment also said that this irritated the locals to no end because they generally didn't make much effort to learn Spanish or otherwise fit in to the Spanish lifestyle.
Dave -- I think we (well, Americans in general, at least) also tend to say the same thing about Spanish-speaking natives coming to the US and not learning English. Goes both ways, eh?
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments about big cities not being much different from each other, btw. I think you're on to something.
Heather - True. I wasn't trying to make any big point or anything. Except that maybe that's what would make Florida appealing: there's not too many cultural differences to adapt to (since there's really no culture at all in FL!), and the weather's nice (well... not to me, but I suppose if you lived in the UK, the heat and humidity might seem nice for a change).
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. I agree... =) It's def. proximity, as well. Florida is sunny and easy to get to from England. I imagine that's why Bermuda and Ibiza are so popular with Brits, as well. They're even closer! I personally dislike Florida, as well, so hearing this from so many people over there made us cringe!
ReplyDelete