July 18, 2004 - Upper Slaughter, The Cotswolds, England
Our task today was to get from Newcastle-upon-Tyne
to Upper Slaughter. We made it and I didn't hit anyone, though it was
a stressful drive for both of us. I can now report that the whole of
England, despite road signs everywhere, has been signed with the main purpose
of confusing the German (or Viking?) invaders. However, thanks to every
map we could buy, we outfoxed them and arrived in just six hours, including:
1. stopping for gas,
2. stopping for lunch,
3. turning around and backtracking to get on the right
road again once or twice,
4. circling a few rotaries a few times to find an exit
we liked, and
5. swerving around 20-30 bicyclists doing
time trials on the freeway!!!
(There was sometimes a warning when trucks
up ahead would swerve out of the left lane.)
(Remember: the left lane is the slow lane
on the carriageways.)
Here's our hotel: Lords of the Manor in Upper Slaughter,
England. I'll take some pictures of the area, known as the most picturesque
in England, tomorrow. Since I can't upload anything from here, there
doesn't seem a rush.
Later in the afternoon, we drove into Stow-on-the-Wold
for tea, instead of a regular dinner. (We both ate a bit too much at
the tapas restaurant on our last night in Newcastle, and we wanted to make
up for it.) Unfortunately, all the tea shops were closing just as we
arrived around 5 p.m. (despite assurances to the contrary by the hotel),
and we had a light dinner in a bar restaurant. A quick walk around
the town square, however, provided a good introduction to the architecture
of The Cotwolds.
Lower Slaughter, which we drove through when we arrived
in the area yesterday, is widely touted as the best example of The Cotwolds--too
cute for words, some say. It looked that way to us as we drove through,
and we'll return tomorrow for some photographic evidence so you can be the
judge.
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