southampton 2012

As you’ve noticed, even though I’m titling these entries by the port where we call, I’m doing a bit of wandering around other parts of the country, too. Such was the case with England, where I spent the majority of my time outside the city of Southampton. On the first day in port, the day already promised to be a brilliant one.

After the pilot boat greeted us, we took the bus to London, where we walked across Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to our hotel, which was tucked on a street so discreetly hidden down a Mews that it took us a half hour to find it when it was only an eighth of a mile away from where we were looking. I still don’t understand how addresses work in London, but at least we finally found the hotel and had amazing falafel half a block away.

So many ways to get around and see the city of London. We walked. The ferris wheel in the photo below is called the London Eye. It’s 443 feet tall with a diameter of 394 feet, basically the biggest ferris wheel in all of Europe. Each of its 32 capsules holds 25 people. Sadly, I didn’t have enough time to ride it, but others on the ship did and said it provided an amazing view of the River Thames and the city of London.

I know the images below are on everyone else’s blog, too (in some form or other), but c’mon, a red phone booth and Big Ben. Classic London. Besides, I took these!

Once again, if I don’t leave the city behind, you’ll never hear about the other parts.

The other parts of England, for me, being the Cotswolds. This was an adventure, like the Cliff Walk in Ireland, that I planned myself. I’d heard about the Cotswolds in a book I was editing and again years later, in a travel article in the LA Times. I decided I wanted to go there and walk the hills of England. There is a 100-mile path called the Cotswold Way. I actually chose another path (the road less travelled, ha), walking quite a bit on the Heart of England Way, equally enticing. To get to our spot in the Cotswolds, we took a train from London’s Marylebone Station, a timeless train station with high ceilings, a place for dynamic reflections.

From there, we reached Stratford-upon-Avon, where we had just enough time for a quick lunch, walking past the Noble Fool (from As You Like It) and the now tourist-ridden birthplace of one William Shakespeare.

We then took Bus 22 to Chipping Campden. I lost my shirt in Chipping Campden. Sounds like Vegas. No, really. I left my long-sleeved shirt on the bus. Uuugh. Good thing the weather was warm. From there, we walked hills and dales--at least I think there were dales; there were definitely hills--until we arrived in Blockley, remarkably unscathed after lots of brambles, mud, and a fenced-in field containing a bull. Yes, a real live one, and yes, it was the only way to get to the next gate. Sorry, no pics of the bull, just a cow trying to get her SAG card. Instead, you can feast on the views. I know I did.

The Cotswolds are filled with houses and other buildings with walls made from the local limestone.

We had an amazing dinner in one of the two restaurants in town, the other one being in the inn where we were staying. Blockley also has a pub, which served nicely for lunch the next day after hiking more of the Heart of England Way. Like the Cotswold Way, it also claims 100 miles of trail. The Brits love their walking trails, let me tell you, but you’d best start off with a good sense of direction or you’re going to wander for hours, possibly days. Also, if you’re in the Cotswolds, the Ordnance Survey Explorer map OL45 is indispensable. Let’s put it this way: both of these images below provided much relief.

After a full day and another restorative night’s sleep, it was time to board Bus 21 and journey out of the Cotswolds to another train that took us back to Southampton and one of the more spectacular sunsets I’ve seen to date. Next stop for me: Belgium, in the midst of which I’m flying to Greece.

Once again, we’re our way.