Day 27 -- A visit from a broad...oops, I meant abroad!

Bourton-on-the-Water

Exciting day today as we welcome our first Canadian visitor. Very appropriate that it should be someone we have come to know as part of our regular GO Train morning commute ... our friend Elaine.

Elaine just happened to be in the area ... well, Birmingham, really ... to visit family. She kindly agreed to take the train to us in Moreton-in-Marsh for a visit. Phil had to head off to meet a student for lunch in Oxford, so Elaine and I decided to do an abbreviated tour of the nearby Cotswold villages.

First, a coffee and scone were in order at our flat ... which would prove to be the start of our day of grazing.

After a walk around Moreton in Marsh, we took the bus through Stow-on-the-Wold to Bourton-on-the-Water. I have been here several times (even stayed for a week one February, and this is our second time here on this trip) and it never fails to seem like some movie company built the perfect English village as a set. Little stone bridges crisscross the River Windrush (even the name is perfection) that runs down the centre of the town. The perfect place to walk while eating Cotswold Salted Caramel ice cream in waffle cones!

We stopped in at the Motoring Museum for a few minutes. We could have spent more time here, but we had a bus to catch back to Moreton. But this place is packed with memorabilia. Truly amazing what has been collected and restored.

Back in Moreton, we met up with Phil for a late lunch and a drink. Lots of great conversation and laughs (as usual, much to the chagrin of our fellow early-morning GO train passengers who just want to sleep).

Then before we knew it, Elaine was back on the train to Birmingham. Note she is in the quiet coach (the pink strip in the window), but doing us proud by completely ignoring that!