Well, I am back home in the US, but I have over 2,000 photos to go through and edit, and I wrote so much in my journal that I went through three ink cartridges in my fountain pen!  I recorded it all for my own sake, but also so I could share what we did, what I loved, and what inspired me here on the blog.  I hope my travels will inspire you as well.  This is my third post on my jaunt through the Cotswolds with Julia (from Ponder & Purchase) and my mom, but we’re still only on our first full day, chronologically. Arrival & Burford | “gateway to the Cotswolds” Bibury, Barnsley, & The Pig It took me a few times to get a handle on the name of the next village – Cirencester.  Both Cs are pronounced as Ss – Siren-sester.  You must remember I was

The next stop in our jetlag-countering Cotswold tour was Bibury.  (You can read about our first stop in Burford HERE.)  As an American, you might be tempted to say Bi-berry, but syllables are dropped by the English (or added by the Americans) as in straw-bry and rasp-bry.  It’s Bi-bry. Now that we have the pronunciation sorted, I will tell you that Bibury is known as “the most photographed place in the Cotswolds.”  I’m not sure how you can measure that statistic precisely, but I used to live in the self-proclaimed Apple Capital of the world, so we all know that towns often claim such titles.  (I did photograph it, so I suppose I bolstered that claim.) When we pulled up to park on the main street, Julia was pleasantly surprised by the thin crowds.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bi-bry this sparse.”  A sunny and sparse day is just

The first delight of our trip came when we boarded the airplane from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow.  As we’re walking through the first-class cabin, it’s hard not to look over the cubicle and wish we had tickets for one.  Oh, to be able to lie flat in an airplane seat on an international flight.  It would be such a treat.  But we were prepared to shimmy down the aisle to basic economy.  We passed the next cabin, with wide seats and generous legroom.  I thought, “I would take that in a heartbeat.”  As I’m looking at our seat assignment and the numbers on the rows, I slowly realized we were sitting in that section!  I thought they had bumped us up, but after reviewing my tickets again, I had booked World Traveler Plus on this leg of our trip.  I’m really not sure how I did that since the

Before my last two trips to Europe (in 2018 and 2019), I made a shopping list of things I wanted to look for.  I thought it would help me focus when I felt like buying everything!  It also gave us specific destinations to visit, which is always a great way to get off the touristy trails and experience a city.  It becomes like a treasure hunt.  And yes, when you travel with me, I will look at my map and say it’s just a short walk, and then we’ll proceed to go on a two-hour meandering trek to the Louvre.  My mom sent me a meme last week that pointed this out. On our first visit to Paris, we went to E. Dehillerin, Julia Child’s favorite cooking supply store, so that I could purchase a copper pot.  (You can read about that experience HERE.)  I also wanted to find an

It started on whim in 2022 when my mom and I noticed the differences in our preference for the type of shells we collect.  Most of her shells were dainty, intact, and there was a wider variety of colors represented.  My shells tended to be larger, mostly shades of gray, and had more “character.”  (Meaning they were broken and looked like they had been rolling around in the surf for several years.)  We joked about my “antique shells” compared to her more traditionally beautiful shells and my ever-competitive mom suggested we put the collections to a vote.  Which collection did my Instagram followers prefer?  My mom’s collection won pretty handily and since that spur-of-the-moment Instagram vote, she has been borderline intolerable to be around any time the shell collection competition is mentioned.  Last year, she ever started telling strangers on the beach about her victories. After all of her unsportsmanlike