Lunch in the Cotswolds with Jane & Jill

We woke up to rain, making us fearful that yesterday's sun was an aberration. However, as the day went on the sun came out and the weather was beautiful. A few days ago we had contacted a friend of ours from Gualala, Jane Head, who was born and raised in the Cotswolds (about an hour's drive from Nettlebed) and who is in England visiting her family. Jane is a wonderful Gualala artist and the partner of Randy Burke of the Sea Ranch staff. We decided to meet for lunch in Burford, which is a small town on the edge of the Cotswolds.

So we put eighty-five bucks in the gas tank and took off. The drive took a little more than an hour. This is our longest driving trip to date and we only got messed up in one of the several roundabouts. This is getting easy! We even drove part way on the M4 Motorway (that's a freeway).

We decided to meet at the Burford Garden Center--a huge place with everything you could ever want for your garden (both supplies and plants), plus books, food, clothes, indoor and outdoor furniture & accessories, all beautifully displayed. It was so frustrating not to be able to buy pots, plants, baskets--I guess it's actually a good thing, considering the prices! We did purchase a book on birds of the UK and a bag of seed for our feathered visitors.

We connected with Jane and her sister, Jill, and drove into the center of Burford. We enjoyed a pub lunch at The Cotswold Arms (al frecso--the sun stayed out all afternoon), then walked around town to see the sights. Jane and Jill proved to be knowledgeable guides and filled us in on many aspects of British life and what it was like growing up in the Cotswolds.





In addition to many lovely shops, galleries, gardens and cottages, Burford has a wonderful church (can't believe we have been here for three weeks and this is the first church we've visited) which was a highlight of the day. The architectural detail is beautiful and elaborate (both inside and out), and the churchyard is fascinating with its mossy old tombstones and yew trees.


This evening we had another great dinner at the White Hart and now it's time to pack for our two-week trip to Turkey. We'll fly Turkish airlines to Istanbul, arriving at 8:30 PM; we meet our tour group at the airport on Friday morning as they get off their plane from SFO. It was great to see someone "from home" today, and we are looking forward to spending time with the gang from Sea Ranch and Gualala in Turkey!

Getting to Stansted airport will be interesting. We will be taking a bus from Henley to High Wycombe, then transferring to a National express coach to Stansted. This will be an opportunity to experience the British public transportation system. Hoping the good weather holds.....