First Weekend of March!

I had a very lovely weekend over here across the pond. On Friday, I cooked my famous 'Tortilla Soup' (a recipe that I have borrowed from Canadian Living) with Hungary and some friends from church. We had fun cooking together and laughing and sharing stories. Later, we curled up for a chick flick! It was definitely a great way to spend a Friday night!

Saturday, I woke up absurdly early because one of our neighbors' burglar alarm went off… and continued to ring for hours!!! When I had properly woken up, Hungary and I got in my car for a little road trip to a little town called Chipping Campden. We drove along the windy roads in the beautiful countryside of the Midlands and eventually reached the gently rolling hills of the Cotswolds. As we got closer to our destination, we began to see cottages and houses made from 'Cotswold stone', a sort of sandy-yellow limestone.

Chipping Campden is a town that flourished because of the wool trade in the Middle Ages and in effect displays a series of large stone houses on the main High Street. There is also a really cool 'Market Hall', where merchants would gather to sell their wares. We saw a couple of beautiful churches and also some very old cottages with thatched roofs. I really enjoyed strolling through the graveyards and looking at the beautiful lettering on each of the gravestones. In one of the cemeteries, Each grave seemed to be used as a flowerbed; many graves had sprouted flowers, plants and even bushes. I loved how new life came out of the graves… a nice illustration for the coming Easter season.

My favourite thing we did in Chipping Campden was having tea at 'The Bantam Tea Rooms'. When we first arrived, we stopped in for some tea (Hungary had coffee) and a crumpet. At the end of our visit, we returned to the tea shop, where Hungary had some cake and I enjoyed a delicious 'cream tea', complete with scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam and 2 hot cups of tea.

I want to make a return trip to the Cotswolds in the future. Absolutely I do! Coming from Birmingham, it was only about a  hour's drive and it was such a contrast to the big city! It was so quiet and just lovely!

Today, I went to church and joined some friends for a Sunday lunch! I was having such a good time that I didn't get home until after 4 pm!

Well, hope you enjoy the pictures!