THE COTSWOLDS

We have yet to figure out what the heck this exactly means but here we are. Cotswolds is apparently an area of England that has quaint little towns with quaint little houses. So far all we have seen is a long and winding road.
We left Windsor and the family this morning to get on the motorway to head to the town of Bath. We actually made the hour and a half drive in two and a half hours with no incident once we stopped at a rest area to figure out how to work the British version of a GPS. With that under control and 42 maps and pages of directions plus 3 tour books we got to Bath and found a place to park. We took the city and country side tours on the open air tour bus and then had lunch. Bath is a very different town from Windsor. Bath is built on the sides of  hills and into a valley with HUGE columed attached houses lining the streets and forming circles and gigantic crescents. (Google it on line because I can't describe it.) All the homes are built of Bath Stone, an unusual white stone that is quaried in the area. Very interesting and different from a anything we have ever seen.
Once we left bath we also left the easy driving of the motorway and drove through the country side on winding hilly roads that gave me a good opportunity to realize that I would much rather be ON a tour bus than driving myself. But we just took it slow and we did fine. The GPS worked fantastic and I can not imagine trying to find our way without it. We went through at least 20 roundabouts and without the GPS we would never have navigated them without going around 42 times.
While we were in Bath we tried to make reservations at a B&B in Moreton-in-Marsh (yes, that is the name of a town! ) But the tourist information lady in Bath was less than helpful so we just set out on our own. As we were entering the town of Moreton-in-Marsh Ann Marie saw a sign for a B&B  so we turned around and drove into a drive that is like something out of a story book. The B&B is named Fosseway Farm. The house stands in about 100 yards from the road and is covered in ivy with farm land all around it. There are plants galore blooming all over the front of the place and we thought for sure they would not have a room for us or if they did it would cost a small fortune. By now it was almost 6 PM but sure enough they had 2 rooms left, one on the first floor with a double bed, a single bed AND a divan. The room is gorgeous! And guess what? It is costing us 59 pounds for the night. We also took a second room up stairs for Ger and I so Ann could stay in the "Queens" suite. She fell in love with the room and we may not be able to get her out of there in the morning. After we brought our bags in we walked the 2 minutes into town to have dinner at a pub.
Tomorrow morning breakfast will be served in the conservatory between 8-9 and then we will walk into town for the street fair that takes place on Tuesdays.
Heaven only knows what tomorrow will bring but we hope to see some of those cottage towns that COTSWOLDS is famous for and then drive on North heading next for the Lake District. Please keep those prayers coming for us in our travels and we'll keep you posted on where we are and what we're doing.