Cotswolds Complete - May 17th

As the clock rolled on toward 6:30 am I wondered if my not being in the same room as Gloria-Rose was allowing her a lie-in. Not to worry, she rapped at the door, right on time. So thankfully I didn't have to knock her up. Whew!

We had coffee in her room as mine was considerably smaller. She told me all about her escapades of the night before. Half an hour before breakfast we went down to the tea room where we were joined by a lawyer from Seattle, who chatted amiably with us until breakfast was announced. As we ate our breakfast, there was a little boy in a vehicle outside our window, playing peek-a-boo with Leslie (aside from GR: Even the younger persuasion of English gentlemen are attracted to Leslie. They just can't help themselves. Those poor sots).

The liquid sunshine was once more gracing our day. We strolled leisurely down the street to the tourist information bureau to enquire after a bus schedule. They provided one, noting the bus would leave for Moreton-in-Marsh at 10:17, only a few minutes from now. They discouraged us from trying to go to Chipping Campden first. We waited at the bus stop and no bus came.....wait a minute.....stop......Leslie isn't sure what she has done with her passport package. We quickly sauntered back to the B&B so she could check her luggage and under her bed. Found! She attached it to her body and we returned to the bus stop. The schedule the ladies had provided indicated the next bus was at 11:07 am. So thank goodness we hadn't missed that one.....however, as luck would have it....no bus showed up at 11:07. We deciphered the weathered sign on the bus stop post. It looked like there might be a bus at 11:55. When other people began to gather we realized this was a good sign. An older lady pulled out several pages of schedules and not only gave us great information on getting to Chipping Campden, but she provided to us instructions on getting back to Moreton-in-Marsh later from Chipping Campden.

After we arrived in market square we headed down the street where we walked through the original market building. Photo ops were great. The floor was extremely unlevel. Then we headed off down the street where we passed the memorial garden constructed to honor the local plant hunter, Ernest Henry Wilson. Off to another church where we stood listening to a trio of musicians practise. They were amazing.

Hoping to find a good place for lunch, we rounded a corner and there was "the eight Bells". Inside we got chatting with some folks from Cincinnatti over lunch. Before they left one fellow asked to have his picture taken with Leslie (aside from GR: Can you believe it? Everywhere we go...they just cannot resist her charms!) According to his wife and two travelling companions she looks exactly like his sister Donna. They thought Donna would appreciate the picture.

Nourished and thirst quenched, we visited a few more shops, walked up Sheep Street and back before touring through an art gallery. Aren't we the cultured ones?

Oh, then of course, ice cream was calling so we stopped for one each.

As the time to leave drew near we gathered at the bus stop and began chatting with a local Moreton-in-Marsher, which reassured us we were in line for the right bus, and that we would not have a two hour wait as we had earlier.

Twenty minutes later we checked into our rooms, then made haste to the Bell Inn and the internet....our lifeline to all of you.

We do not have definite plans for tonight yet, except to repack our suitcases in preparation for tomorrow's journey to Wales.