London, February 20

Tuesday was our first excursion out of London, a bus trip to the Cotswolds. I'll say it right now--if I could come back for a second life, I would live in the English countryside with its lush green fields dotted with sheep and charming little cottages. Heavenly. 

Our first stop was Burford.

Notice the very quilty tile on the floor of the church.

We spent some time walking the main street of town.

I took this photo for Charlotte, the book lover.

I also found a cute gift shop that had some fused glass, where I purchased a Christmas ornament. When I  mentioned that my husband also did fused glass, she said everything was made by her mother, who owned the shop.

Our next stop was Bibury, where we also had lunch at the beautiful Swan Hotel.

The rocks in this fence were laid vertically rather than horizontally because it kept the sheep from jumping over.

A swan drifted by the Swan Hotel.

This row of cottages is so iconic that they are the depicted on the inside cover of some British passports.

Very old tree.

Our third stop was Stow-on-the-Wold, where our destination was Porch House, a pub dating back to 947 AD! It was kind of mind boggling to be in an establishment that old. 

We arrived back in London early enough to have dinner at Mayfair Mercato, the former St. Mark's Church, now a food court. 

Our table was right next to this 

It was a great place to end the day.