HM had driven me early that morning to the Hertz car rental and helped me during the rental process, which was a tad different from the States. I never get the extra insurance when it's offered. But let's think about this. I've already described the car. And I'd be navigating on the opposite side of the road from what I was used to. For almost four days. Yeah, the extra insurance sounded like a pretty good idea. If anything happened to the car, I wouldn't have to pay a penny.
After one last hug, HM drove off and I got behind the wheel of my own vehicle. A Vauxhall Corsa, Egyptian scarab green. At least everyone else would see me coming. Setting up my little NavMan was the first priority. A fervent prayer for my safety, the car's well-being, and everyone else on the road I'd be driving around went up before I turned that key in the ignition. After I whispered "amen," I slapped on my big girl panties, said out loud, "You can do this!" and cranked it up.
My husband had always taught me that when driving an unfamiliar stick shift, the first thing you do is slide the shift through the gears a few times to get a feel for it. So that's what I did. It wasn't too stiff--in fact, the shift was quite smooth--so I figured the two of us would get along just fine. Punched my destination into NavMan, and off we went.
The greatest challenge was just getting out of Milton Keynes. It was not a small town and traffic was not light. Once I overcame that hurdle, with beautiful countryside stretching out before me, my confidence grew and I began to truly enjoy the ride. Well, if it wasn't for so many doggone roundabouts. If you've grown up with them and that's all you're used to, I suppose you don't even think about it. Not the case with me. If it hadn't been for my little NavMan telling me what to do at each roundabout, and warn me when they were coming up, I'd still be circling today. What a God-send that piece of technology turned out to be. After awhile, even the roundabouts weren't so bad. And I adapted to the driving-on-the-left-side-of-the-road thing pretty well.
Before I knew it, I had arrived at my destination: Broadway in the Cotswolds. No, there were no first-run shows or musicals here; just an incredibly beautiful village, not large at all. Yet I couldn't locate my B&B, Russells of Broadway. It was a tiny village with one main street through it--how hard could it be? After driving past it twice, and then having to call them from a parking lot to get even more specific directions, I finally found it and pulled right in. Uh, Russells, just a little tip on helping your customers find your place--take the large "G" off your sign, and make the name "Russells" much more prominent. You're welcome.
And yes, that's my bright green Corsa.
The folks here were lovely--got me checked right in though my room wasn't ready yet. So I did what was quickly becoming a passion for me. I took off for a nice walk up and down the main thoroughfare and snapped a few photos along the way.
This village was so quaint and quiet and picturesque, and really the perfect springboard for visiting many of the other villages that span the Cotswolds. Not that I used it as my springboard this time. In the future I will. I loved it that much.
I stopped in one of the shops and purchased some large, beautiful mugs that were made in Stoke-on-Trent, and some unrefined honey from Cotswolds bees. Didn't take photos of those, though.
Look at this crazy espaliered tree. I wondered how many years it's been there to achieve this sprawl. And I wondered what it would look like all leafed out in the summer. Guess I'll just have to go back and see for myself some time.
After I returned to the B&B and got settled in my room, I headed back out again, this time for some lunch. The place on the left--Tea Rooms--is where I ended up.
They seated me all to myself in a small alcove overlooking the back garden.
This was my lunch -- bacon (which in England is more like American ham), cranberry sauce and avocado sandwich with lettuce. The presentation was much prettier before I grabbed it and took a bite, then decided I needed a photo. And it was heavenly delicious. This must be a popular sandwich in the Cotswolds because I had it in two other places while there.
My room. Most impressed when I stepped in, and especially so--shocked, even--when I walked into the bathroom. There was so much charm packed into this room, from the elegantly presented tea service containing a plethora of my favorite herbal teas, to the wavy ceiling to the original beams in the ceiling and everything else. This is just the courtyard I passed through to get there. The window to the left of the door is my room.
The little "foyer" just outside my door.
The window overlooked the courtyard. The bed was so comfortable.
Look at that wavy ceiling and beams--so cool!
The side table containing numerous herbal teas, an electric teapot, and cups, saucers, and spoons. They thought of everything. Also, the closet is on the left in that hallway leading to the bathroom; it was cedar-lined. Smelled so good!
The piece de resistance--what a bathroom! Deep soaking tub complete with rubber ducky, huge sink, walk-in marble tile shower, ceiling-to-floor towel warmer. I confess to washing my undies in that sink and laying them over the towel warmer to dry. Perfecto!
This is my room from the outside (the lower level just to the front of the car). Notice that my bathroom is an entire addition unto itself? I'll never forget Russells of Broadway, room #5.
On my after-lunch walk, I happened upon these buildings with the two small doors about three feet high. I suppose if I had asked, someone could have told me what this was, and why the doors were so small. It was more fun, though, to let my imagination run wild.
What a cool, quirky, odd-shaped building!
Another espaliered tree. The blooms and leaves add so much character, though the bare branches of the other one held a unique character all its own.
Every village I passed through had at least one prominent church, usually placed on the highest elevation. This one was no exception.
Thatched roof--reminded me of the Hathaway's house.
This stone fence is called a dry stack fence. There is no cement or mortar or anything else holding the stones to one another. They're fitted so well that the stones are practically interlocking. These fences were all over the Cotswolds, and for me, helped to lend that beautiful charm I found so endearing. You'll see them in many other photos I've taken as well
This sign stood in the parking lot of the main grocery store. How . . . polite.
I ate dinner in the B&B's dining room that evening, and the chef's creations were top-notch gourmet. Won't bore you with the details. Just know that everything was clean-your-plate delicious, and not the overly huge portions we find in the States. Dessert was so unique I couldn't begin to describe it to you. A common trait of dessert in the UK is that they use far less sugar than we do. The flavors tend to pop on your taste buds without the sickening sweet overpowering everything. So when the waiter picked up my extraordinarily clean dessert plate after I was finished, his comment to me? "We'll just slide this dish directly back into the cupboard, madam!"
I wish I'd known beforehand how much I would fall in love with this village and Russells B&B of Broadway. After a fine full English breakfast the next morning, though, it was time to check out and make my way to Winchcombe and Sudeley Castle.
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