I think I will explode from beauty overload

My wonderful aunt and uncle Dave & Penny, E and I just returned from the English countryside only minutes ago. We visited the Cotswolds for the last few days, mostly spending time in the northern Cotswolds. I need to say one word: WOW! I never imagined any place in the world could be this beautiful. One day I even asked E if anybody ever blew up because their body couldn't handle so much beauty, it was really that beautiful. Each day Dave and Penny had a little plan, so a 'typical' day went something like this:

We woke up around 8:30 in our little thatched roof cottage. After showers and breakfast we headed out, usually around 9:45. The town we were staying in was tiny, not even large enough to show up on most Cotswolds maps, it was called Ebrington. Usually after leaving we headed to a manor house and a garden. This area of England has always had a lot of money, and now many of the huge manor homes are open to visitors, along with the gardens. The gardens were splendid, very very beautiful. Flowers and colors and styles I never knew existed. Some manor homes were built around ruins of older buildings, so behind the flowers ruined Abbeys shaded us. It was absolutely magical. Some of the homes we went in, other we did not. We also went to abandoned castles, ruined churches, and some places that the Harry Potter films were filmed.

After one of these tours of either gardens or castles we would head to the center of a beautiful Cotswolds town for a pub lunch. Each day we sat down and ordered something essentially British. One day we had bangers and mash (sausage and mashed potatoes), one day we had fish and chips, and one day we had a cheese and bread board. Today both E and I ordered a chicken and bacon pie, which was divine. Each day was fantastic.

After lunch we would sometimes walk around town and do some shopping, or continue on our garden tours. We are lucky to have such simular interests as Dave and Penny, because Ethan and I are also most happy in the garden.

After seeing more villages, or another garden we would head back to Ebrington to our cottage. Once there, we would take a little rest, write in our journals, and relax. One evening I walked over to the local church and explored the very old graveyard.

Once we were rested, we would make drinks and snacks and head outside for cocktail hour. We would talk and laugh while eating cheese, fruit, nuts and crackers. Once it got late we would head inside, make a fire in the living room and sit down for dinner. Two bottles of wine later, and lots of laughter, we would head upstairs for bed, only to start it all over again the next day.

I have hundreds of photos, and even a few videos, and I will post them soon, but until then, cheers!

Photo credit: No, this is not a photo I took, but I typed in "ebrington cotswolds" in google image search, and guess what came up? The cottage we stayed in! Yep, it is true, this was 'our' cottage while we were there, perfect, huh?