Here are pictures of the town and some of the houses...
I think English Village in Birmingham, Alabama was appropriately named- this reminded me so much of Mountain Brook's villages.
We rented a motor boat on Lake Windermere and had so much fun seeing the whole lake! Here is our boat, Emma!
Here are some views from the boat...
Here are some other boats available to rent
Maybe on a day when it isn't quite so cold and windy?!?
Here are some pictures from Gant and Henry's exploration one afternoon through the hills around our little cottage, the Swallow's Nest (they name all of their houses in the UK). I think they were hoping to find a swimming hole!
The food in the UK has not been what we would call "outstanding"- it's been a bit on the heavy side and a bit low on flavor, but we have enjoyed not having to work to translate the menus for a change!
We did have an EXCELLENT meal at this little hotel that has a restaurant and were thrilled with our evening there.
We spent our last day in Windermere just strolling around town. We went to a little Beatrix Potter museum. She lived in this area for a portion of her life, and seeing all of the gardens and hillsides, I can see where she got her inspiration!
The exhibit began with a little movie explaining what was occurring in her life as she wrote each of her 23 little books.
And lastly, mean old Mr. McGregor who wanted to put Peter in a pie!
It was really an adorable exhibit, but a little more interesting to girls, I think! The guys were troopers to indulge THIS girl in a stroll down memory lane.
There were Peter Rabbit stores all over town selling everything from books to oven mitts covered in Potter's characters.
On our drive we stopped at a Starbucks (they are still exciting to us since we so rarely see one). I think they might have misunderstood Gant when he said his name?
Our last stop in England was The Slaughter's Country Inn in Cheltenham in the Cotswolds region. Gant kept calling it the Slaughterhouse by mistake!! I don't think they would have many guests if they named it that!
The Cotwolds are a range of towns running 50 miles made up of hills of limestone houses and farms.
The limestone buildings and houses are gold in color. Here are some pictures from a little stroll we took.
We went to a famous English garden called Hidcote. It is designed as a "garden of rooms" full of beautiful flowers and grounds with a croquet court.
Look what we saw on the side of the road!
Then we had lunch in a little town, Chipping Campden
And our last afternoon of sightseeing...
We head out bright and early to get on the Chunnel in Folkestone, England. It will take us to Calais, France then we will drive most of the day to get back to Clermont- Ferrand. It has been a very special time mainly because we have never had the opportunity to spend this much time together before. We have laughed, stood in awe of sights, played a ton of cards, driven more than we wanted to, bickered, and then laughed again. Now Gant starts work again Monday and Henry starts school Sept 1st.
Routine here we come- hard to believe we have a French routine and life awaiting us, but we DO! Such a great reminder that we can make our life WHEREVER we are feel safe, cozy, and fun if we are willing. For someone so averse to change, this whole experience of living abroad has been so exposing/ refining yet great at the same time.
"Bloom where you are planted" - oh how I want this to be true of me and of us as a family! We are working on it! God isn't nearly finished with us yet!