Who Thought This Was A Good Idea?!

So far, England has not done much to facilitate sleep for me, but as a result I am writing much more. Maybe that's why there are so many great English authors. Nobody else can sleep here either! I joke. But it's true that here I am writing when I should be sleeping. This unfortunately has been the norm since I've been in England. At first I attributed it to adjusting to the time difference, but after 2 full weeks I'm not sure what's going on. Ah, well, on to the exciting update for the week.

I really wanted to take a trip this weekend. It's going to be getting cold soon, and I wanted to take advantage of the good weather. I thought about going to Ireland, but a ferry ride to Ireland is a bit pricey for only a day long visit. I thought I'd save that for another longer weekend. Instead, I decided I wanted to go exploring in the Cotswolds. Basically the Cotswolds are a couple of towns with a bunch of old iconic country cottage houses (some cottages still have thatched roofs!) and lots of cute small village sorta stuff in them. I booked a bed in a hostel in Stow-on-the-Wold, a lovely Cotswold town, and settled on biking as my transportation there so I could explore with my bike once I arrived. Stow-on-the-Wold is a good 28 miles from Oxford, but I was up for a challenge. Who knew what a challenge it would be! I didn't think 28 miles would be unbearable, but I forgot to take into account the fact that the English country side is basically all hills. Steep hills. Still doable for the first couple miles until I started seeing things that I wasn't supposed to...

This lovely sight was one of the many that I came across that I wasn't supposed to. In other words, I took a couple of wrong turns. I added a nice 2 mile detour into my already painfully long journey, but thankfully the scenery wasn't terrible. On this small, rural back road, however, I became unhappily aware that I didn't even know what road I was on! I had already turned around a couple times (sometimes that meant going up a large hill I had just coasted down...ugh) that I couldn't bare to go on any more til I knew where I was. I stopped at a farm and waited outside the gate in hopes that I'd catch glimpse of someone to ask for directions. To my relief, a nice looking elderly English woman came out to her garden to do some picking. (Her little dogs didn't like me being there very much...I don't think she was very keen either...). I explained my predicament and she directed me in the way I wanted to go. I had actually been heading in the right way, but it felt good to be sure of it. It wasn't long til I got back to the main road, and I was so happy when I did. That, of course, was before I knew what was in store for me next. Turns out that google maps thinks a 50 mph road with no sidewalk is an appropriate place to bike. When there was a sidewalk, it was either overgrown with all sorts of thorned shrubbery or so small and so close to the road that there was more danger of falling off of it into the road! Needless to say, I took much precaution on that stretch of the road which only added more time to my long journey. I started off walking my bike through the grass on the sides of the road, but it was so thick with thistles and stinging nettles that I eventually gave up and took my chances with riding in the road. Thank God for His protection. I was praying quite a lot down that highway...

After what seemed like forever, I finally made it all in one piece to my exit off the highway at the town of Enstone. I was greeted by a couple of horses in a field right along the sidewalk and finally felt my spirits lifted. I biked through town and turned onto a beautiful country road where I decided I would stop for a rest and a bite to eat. I leaned up against an old stone wall and looked out at the beautiful scenery around me.

This was the view to my left. That's the wall on the left.

Hoping that the apple I ate was a super apple and would give me the energy I needed to make it the rest of the way, I hopped back on my bike and continued through the beautiful hilly countryside. It wasn't always fun to bike through, but it was undeniably gorgeous.

And there were more sheep!! Basically, they're my favorite :)

 After what seemed like days of biking, exhausted and ready to collapse, I found myself in the charming little town of Stow-on-the-Wold. I couldn't wait to get my bed at the hostel and rest my miserable legs. I found the place without too much difficulty and parked my bike. I waited in line at the reception desk with all those feelings of joy you get when you've made it home after a long journey. Unfortunately, those feelings didn't last long. As soon as I gave the lady at the desk my name, I knew there was something wrong. "Ohhhh.... You're Maria?" You could hear the hesitancy in her voice as she got ready to break the news to me. The bed I booked? Well, due to processing complications on the computer, it was already booked by someone else. There was no bed. There wasn't one room in the entire place. I had a little Mary and Joseph moment. I almost asked if they had a stable... but I refrained. It was all too ironic for me to be upset, so I just went into town in attempt to find a room - any room - for the night. Most of the hotels required you to book friday and saturday night and nothing was cheap. How terribly miserable. I went to check out one hotel called the Old Stocks Hotel, and I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't. When I entered, the manager came out to meet me and asked what I needed. I said a room since the youth hostel turned me out. He regretfully informed me he was also full, but when he found out I was alone (and obviously not from around there), he told me he'd make a few calls and take care of me. He was so incredibly kind, asking me if I was upset or scared and telling me not to worry. He talked to a few of his innkeeper friends and arranged for me to rent a room for one night and at a discounted price nonetheless!

While that was all being worked out, I decided I wanted a good, full meal to revive me after my long journey. I went into the bar area and told my kind innkeeper friend that I'd like to have dinner before I left. He sat me down in the ordering/waiting room (yah, it was a different room than the actual dinning room - So fancy!) at a little table by a lovely fireplace and offered me something to drink. "Will it be 'just water' since you're American?" he asked teasingly as the other English couples in the little room chuckled. I impressed them by ordering a pear cider (which is by far my favorite drink that I've tried). 

It was such a cool atmosphere. The other couples waiting for their orders to be ready (like this couple that I creeped a picture of) just sat quietly unless the innkeeper spoke to them. He made jokes, and they all laughed together. They seldom said or did anything other than interact with the innkeeper. They just sat. And stared. And every once in a while they'd chuckle or whisper something to their partner. They were so English. It was adorable. I sat sipping my cider being warmed by the fire, body and soul, and reading a bit of Oliver Twist. It was magnificent. The meal was very satisfying also!

When all was said and done, I ended up in a hotel just down the street from the Old Stocks. It was a lovely inn called The White Hart. The innkeeper there was also so kind and gladly answered all my questions and was more than generous in his business transactions. He even took the extra care to give me a room with a view. When he showed me up to me room (Oh yah, he didn't just give me a key and throw me upstairs, he showed me the way. I love English propriety), he opened the door and asked me if it was alright. If it wasn't, he said, he'd find me another one I liked better. Really? I was already paying $40 less than the normal customer and I was breaking the "Friday and Saturday Night booking" rule, but he was so kind. And he didn't have to worry about me not liking my room, when he opened the door, I think I literally gasped in delight. It was so beautiful!

Here's a picture to give you an idea of the room, but it really doesn't do it justice. The bed was ridiculously comfortable and that purple throw at the end of the bed was heaven, silky and fuzzy all at the same time! Oh my, it was wonderful. Even the bathroom was fantastic.

Check this out, there was a towel warmer!! What?! I put my pajamas on there for after my shower. It was too fantastic.    

The window seat was one of my favorite parts. I wish I could have stayed there all day sitting on those rose cushions reading me a little Picture of Dorian Gray. But alas, my journey had to continue.

This was one of the Main Streets

I went into town which was adorable and explored all the different shops and boutiques. Stow-on-the-wold is famous for its antiques so I also explored several of the antique stores.



One of them had a whole display of antique books. Poets like Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Longfellow, Rossetti, the Brownings, Milton, basically anything you could dream of. I bought a little book for £5 that was (as the shop keeper phrased it) a literary curiosity. The book had "Mrs. Browning" engraved into the leather on the front, which made one think it would be some Elizabeth Browning poems, but on the inside were quotes from Wordsworth. Crazy stuff. It was just quirky and beautiful enough to compel me to buy it. And the antique shop lady was so English and very friendly. Ah it was lovely.

Momma, he reminded me so much of Zio Nino!

Also, call me a creep, but I couldn't help myself from taking some pictures of beautiful English people I saw. On the right, this beautiful english woman was walking into a store in front of me, and she was just too precious not to get a picture of her. Literally, this is how I imagine all elderly English women. And on the left, this cute old man was just hanging out around the main square. So cute!

 The town was lovely, and after exploring as much as I could, I decided to get directions to my next destination for the day—Kingham, the place of my salvation. Aka, the place where there was a train that could take me and my bike back to Oxford. Thank God for not having to bike back. I would've died.





I got directions from the adorable old Englishman at the information station and said good-bye to the little town around 2 in the afternoon. Kingham was 5 miles away, and I wasn't catching a train until around 8 so I hoped to frolic through the countryside a bit and enjoy the beautiful sunny weather. Ah, what a treat that was! After leaving the hustle and bustle of the town, I came across a "public footpath," as they call it, into a large open field. Really, these footpaths are no more than grassy areas somewhat patted down along the edge of fields. (I've experienced these before)

 I locked my bike up on a fence near the entrance to the field and journeyed out to find a place for lunch. The whole place was gorgeous. The sun was shinning, the wind was blowing. The grass was green and the hills beyond, magnificent! These bright red flowers were so cool. The only color other than green and brown for miles around. A sea of green as far as the eye could see and this spark of fire popping out of no where! Beautiful.

I sat down leaning against my backpack with this as my view. Oh it was glorious! I put on some appropriate background music (a little fiddle and guitar by the band Notorious, compliments of Matthew) and ate my delicious lunch. I couldn't help but dance around a bit in the field. It was like being a main character in a folk story. Exceptional.

Just chillin' in the grass!

Bread, cheese, cucumber. What else?

               

Oh so delicious...

This was the 'path' I took to get to my lunch spot

     
     

Well, after my exquisite lunch break, I peddled on with all the happiness in the world possessing me. Almost the entire trip to Kingham was downhill, and thank goodness because I don't think my poor legs could have done anything else. I let my bike go as fast as it wanted to down some hills (against my better judgment) and I spent the rest of the afternoon in mirth and uncontainable joy. I'm so blessed.

This was a beautiful drive way up to a farm that I passed. It was too gorgeous to deny its getting its picture taken. Pictures out of a storybook....

And then I came to the town of Bledington which I had to pass through to get to the train station. There were more quaint little village houses, and then, what I had been so longing to see....







A thatched roof cottage! And what more, it was called "The Rose Cottage"—my favorite.

I was certain I was in a fairytale at this point!

Then there were more sheep!! Ahh! I just love sheep so much! These were even the ones with black legs and heads, which in my opinion looks cooler than just all white. I was dying of happiness.

I made it to Kingham and found the train station with plenty of time to kill. I road up the darling little main road to explore. I found a beautiful, old church that I hoped to go in, but the doors were locked so I continued on into the town. It was such a cute town. After a bit of looking around, I decided it was time for a drink. I stopped at a place called the Tollgate Inn for a nice pear cider.

Oh, it was delightful. I sipped my cider and read some more of the Picture of Dorian Gray. The day was perfectly sublime. And it wasn't even over yet! I changed into warmer clothes and headed back out to the countryside.

On my way to the town, I had seen this beautiful field and decided that after my drink I would return here to recline against the trees in the middle of the field and play me some penny whistle. So, I did just that! I sat against the tree in the sunshine and reveled in the beauty of life.

             

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork - Psalms 19:1 

The view was breathtaking!

(Look, Momma, it was even your favorite kind of sky—the sun only shining through the clouds in a few glittering beams.)







It got a bit chilly after a while so I got up and walked around the field to keep warm. I found a gate opening up to another field and in the middle of that field was a big tree with a tire swing! How delightful! I swung for a while until I decided that tire swings are much more fun when you have people to swing with. The day had been extraordinary, but I began longing for the company of my friends so I made my way back across the fields (singing Sound of Music as I went, naturally) towards the train station.

I got myself and my bike on to the train with no problems at all and sat down to finish the rest of my bread and cheese for dinner. It was so relaxing and the thought of being back with my friends within such a short time made me content beyond words. I made it back to my dorm safe and sound and entered the common room right as they were getting ready for movie night. I was greeted with shouts of welcome and relief at my survival. I was overwhelmed by the love I felt for these new friends of mine. I'm blessed beyond words. What a weekend it was!


So now, send me letters :)