The Postcard England

After a great year with loads of travels (Dubai, Southeast Asia and Dublin), this year is looking a bit shy in terms of travels. But believe that it is for a good reason. Maybe the best of reasons! :) A&A are expanding and this is how it is looking now:

At our (very pink) hotel room

Yes, "we" are pregnant! :) And as I move (very) closely to the third trimester, flying is something we are trying to avoid. Exotic destinations (our favourite kind) are also not recommended so this year we looked to explore a bit of the country where we live in! In fact, it seemed only fair given that we have been living in the UK for nearly 3 years and we know very little of England outside of London.

The Lake District was an option, but after looking at the travel time and booking options (all of this was planned quite late :/), we decided for the Cotswolds. Before we went, I was told that it was the typical picture-perfect English landscape with great tea-houses and pubs in small villages. So, how best to spend our English holidays in this so English part of the country?

And what is more British than a green landscape dotted here and there by sheep on a cloudy day?

"Are you taking my picture?"

A sign for the future to come :P

"This is my best angle!"

Andre is no sheep, but I just love this photo! :)

We were even told a (very British, I would say) story about a yellow car of a village-resident that was "ruining" the touristic photos! It all happened in Bibery, one of the most photogenic of the Cotswolds villages, and apparently there were complaints that the yellow car was just too ugly and noticeable to go with the rest of the scenery (more details here). The pressure on the car owner was so big that he actually changed his car for a much less flashy grey version of the same car. We had to go to this town, for its beauty, and for the story! And we actually found the new car which we partly recognised due to a delicious detail: this man could not go without his favourite colour, so instead of having a yellow car, he now has yellow car seat covers, which is quite a rebel move in my view! Loved it! (Yes, we were actually looking for the car in that corner and even peeped inside :P)

Bibery scenery, with no "ugly" car!

"My car may be grey, but the seats... the seats will be yellow!"

As for the rest of the costswolds... well, I managed to understand why so many people like it so much and why some pay so much to have a house in this area. Each village is so beautiful (even with a lot of tourists like us in this long Easter weekend) and so unique at the same time. Each one had its own charm, its own appeal and in each one I thought, "Yes, if one day I would go searching for peace and quiet, this would be a good place for it to happen!".

But better than words, here are some images (only a small sample) of what these days were like.

Our 4 wheels for this trip (yes, that is me inside the car :P)

The killer look

Beautiful (and crowded!) scenery

Priority to green vehicles in the all the green surrounding us

"I can do this, I can... do... this...!"

At the top!

We actually stayed in Cheltenham, a very charming city just outside of the Cotswolds. This was taken in the park at the center of Cheltenham.

A Shower in Bath

The Easter long weekend arrived and with the flights to Lisbon were overly priced. So our choice was to look at the British map and find a destination. A few options came up, but we had heard so much Bath and how great it is, that we (me, ALF and PN) set up the route to Somerset!

I say, we set up the route, because for the first time, we actually drove in the UK! Even though there were no interesting (possibly lethal) stories, it was really weird to keep seating on the "wrong" side of the car and there are rumors that the driver's door got a bit of attention at the beginning of our ride!

Andre on the wrong side of the car :P

With a few greetings (honks!) from other drivers, tonnes of traffic and a great sunny day, we arrived at our destination. Because we were so late in our booking we had to stay in Bristol (a nice city on its own), a few kilometers away from Bath. But this also meant that we had to wait for a new day before we could finally reach our main destiny.

Next morning, it was Bath time! Parking on the edge of the city, we were able to have a privileged view right from the beginning! Unfortunately, we had spent all our sun credit hours the day before, so the background was more dark and grayish than light and blueish! But the scenery was still beautiful and proof that this was a great choice!

The city of Bath as we first saw it

Our first stop was a recommended place to ease our stomachs which also served perfectly to get away from the rain that was threatening to fall on us. Sally Lunns! A bakery/tea house/restaurant that dates back as far as the XVIIth century! The buns were good, but what really captured our attention (and taste buds!) was the lemon curd and, specially, the cinnamon butter! Hmm, that was something worth coming again for!

Sally Lunn's, opened since 1680

The reception

The buns!

Apparently life was harsh for misbehaved boys back in the day

On the stairs to the museum

On the stairs to the museum - part 2

More comforted, we could then walk around and enjoy the city! And we did try! But the rain, wind and cold were a bit too harsh for 3 summer-loving Portuguese and we ended up hoping from store to store, from Eating House to restaurant, from tourist office to bookstore! Curiously enough, was the fact that it looked like we were the only ones to be phased by weather as the streets were full!

Near the entrance to the Roman Baths

Even the pigeons showed their presence

But we were determined to enjoy the day, and wanted to witness one of the landmarks of the city - the Royal Crescent. So fighting our instincts, we climbed up in search of the curved building, which is indeed, quite impressive! It was mid way through that the rain started to come down more heavily and, at some point, it felt a bit like a shower! We were having a "free" shower in Bath... how ironic! :P And here are the photos of that!

"It is about this size!" - what is, I have no idea!

The Royal Crescent (about a third of it!)

Yikes! 

Who needs shoes?

Laughing in the rain!

Royal Crescent, part 2 - walking casually

Envious, so envious!

After the rain stopped, we continued walking around and got to the canal. The city of Bath is indeed quite beautiful and the Roman Baths (that we actually only visited the next day) are totally worth it! And if I say this after a visit on a winter-like day, it is something to be taken quite seriously! ;)

River Avon and the traditional boats

:)

The day we almost "punted"

If the question "What the hell is punted?" populates your mind right now, you are just like me a week ago. Actually, that might be kind of a trick question because punted does not exist. But punting does! And I had no idea of what that was until I started making questions about Cambridge.
Punting is basically the art of moving your canoe down a (shallow) river with a long stick. Something that Cambridge inhabitants have been doing for some time. It's a bit like what they do in Venice but without the gondolas and the funny hats.
For me, one of the most curious aspects of punting is the platform where the punter is. As you can see in the picture below, it is a flat piece of wood almost always completely wet. The interesting aspect of it, for me, is how slippery it must get on those really damp days and how I didn't see anyone fall into the river!!

Punting! You can almost see from this who are the pros and who are the newbies

!

Oh Sole Mio... oh no, wrong boats, wrong city!

Ready to go...

So, we went to Cambridge and one of the things we really wanted to do was try (highlighting the try) some punting ourselves. On our first (of two days) the weather was good and we even got to witness and mock (just a bit) the amateur punters that would not leave the same place imagining ourselves doing exactly the same thing. But then we decided to do it next morning. We would have more time and maybe it would be less busy!
Next morning... it was, indeed, less busy!... But it was also raining non stop! Looking at the weather forecasts, things didn't look promising. So, a bit sad but not defeated we decided to walk our way through Grantchester, a village nearby. That same walk had been advised by a couple of people so we thought it would be a great alternative to punt our way down the river. Under a small umbrella (the two of us) and with a non water proof clothing (me) we launched ourselves to the path that proved to be really worth it. Even with the rain that allowed us to have the path only for ourselves, an occasional runner, an occasional biker, an occasional dog walker and a lot of cows!

Us trying to fit under the umbrella AND take a picture AND do funny faces! Ufff...

The path

The cows...

The river!

But Cambridge is something more than punting and walks by the river. So here are some photos of the rest.

Enjoying a free coffee while the life goes on on the other side

Cambridge and books! This is what came to mind when I heard of Cambridge. Well, this and rowing, of course! 

Bikes bikes bikes... they're everywhere in London and they're definitely everywhere in Cambridge

A (n old) sweet shop that even has candies for the diabetics!

Me and Cambridge

Andre and Cambridge's animals  (of course!)

Part of the Cambridge University  - Kings College entrance

"These lines on the grass were hard work. Please don't destroy our hard work"