This weekend begins my 3rd straight weekend out of five in a row out of town. Although there hasn't been much of a summer here weather-wise, I can't really complain because it's been really fun. I also believe that after my trip home to Dallas next week, I'll be more than ready to return to the not quite hot, but not quite cold, London weather. A late summer is coming perhaps? Hopes remain high!
First stop of the summer. Paris.
Lucky for me, I live relatively close to the beautiful Kings Cross/St. Pancras International Station where the Eurostar zips off to Paris in 2 hours. I was able to work the full day, run by my flat and get my bags, make it to the train station 30 minutes before the train departed (all that's required), and onto the train with a bag of food and a bottle of champagne in tow thanks to Jon. Eurostar is the 'gentlemans' way to to travel and if I could go everywhere that way, I'd never get on a plane again.
We arrived at our hotel, pleasantly surprised, thanks to Jon's favourite - hotwire.com. Maybe its the cheap prices, or the thrill of trying to guess from the provided clues which hotel you will get, but I have to say I've come to love the site too. This particular time we ended up with a 4 star, beautiful little hotel, very close to the Louvre/Opera area for £87/night. Not bad. And even though it was <ahem> a Best Western, it was still an old French building, immaculately redone on the inside and "French" looking, and the girl at the front was French. Works for me.
We spent the days wondering around the city and the nights eating delicious food. We were even lucky enough to meet up with a sweet American couple living in Paris who are mutual friends. Overall lovely weekend (with the exception of the slightly uncooperative weather our last day and the disorganised French international train station which delayed our trip home).
Second stop: the famous English Cotswolds for Jon's big 3-0
Designated "an area of outstanding natural beauty," the Cotswolds are a beautiful collection of little villages full of fresh air, rolling lush greenery, sheep, 16th-17th century architecture, and people equally as old. Our favourite quote of the trip came from a little old man, in observation of his little old wife sending a text message. After lovingly watching her attempts to send a text, he turns to the guy next to him and says..."we may be a while, the Romans carved stone faster than she can text." Genious.
We started our Tour de Cotswolds off at a little pub hotel which had won all kinds of awards for its greatness. We got there, checked in, room was perfect (I should also say we had Cash with us on this trip and even better is that this hotel allowed dogs), and set off on a walk around the area. Two hours later we returned and had dinner in their dining room, then a short walk across the way (hallway) to the pub. The 18 year old bar workers took a liking to us and allowed us to stay longer and hang out, while also gracing us with their presence and small town ideologies.
Day two we moved on to the fancy Lords of the Manor hotel - recommended by the Partner/head of my division for the UK at work who was probably in a better position affordability-wise for this place. But that wasn't to stop us on Jon's big 3-0 weekend as I discovered 50% off rates apply on Sunday nights. So we stayed there one night - had a nice, but semi-stuffy dinner at the hotel's Michelin starred restaurant and a bit of sticker shock when we left. No regrets though, it was a great weekend and really nice to be out of the city for a while.
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| Our lovely little pub hotel |
Third stop: Southampton and Bournemouth - last minute trip
As Jon was born Southampton, and is a big fan of their football (soccer) team, we bought tickets 2 days before and set off for the game. Cut it a bit close, and arrived in just enough time that me buying a Southampton t-shirt caused us to miss kick-off. Football games here slightly remind me of Aggie American football games in College Station. There is no mandatory standing rule, but the fans do have chants and songs that they all know and it sounds pretty cool when the whole stadium is singing. Southampton won, yay! And is at the top of the league for the first time in decades. Not a bad first game to see!
Headed out that night in Southampton to get a taste of the local flavor and that we did. Went out to what was supposedly on of the best restaurants on trip advisor. Not the case, but did have some amazing people watching as there were apparently four cruise ships in town that night. You can imagine the classiness we saw after dinner when we made our way to bar down the street. Best. people. watching. ever.
Bournemouth is where Jon's parents live and is only 30 minutes from Southampton so we made our way there when we woke up Sunday morning. There is a nearby forest and gorgeous beaches perfect for taking long walks, and since it was one of the prettiest days we've had since I've been here we took full advantage. More fresh air and walking - I could get used to this. I see why people have weekend houses far, far away.
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| Beautiful Bournemouth |
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| Southampton game! |
Next stop: Geneva and the Alps
Heading out now and promise to update!
YAAAAAAY! have been wondering how you were doing, love the post. so jealous of your weather. we are still topping out at 108. promise to save some of the heat for your visit next week. excited to see you!
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