Today, we’re blessed with sunny and warm weather that allows us to enjoy even more of the Cotswolds. The beautiful countryside makes us take several stops to admire it fully. It’s too early for lavender, but the rapeseed is in full bloom already.

Unfortunately, many of the picturesque villages are overcrowded with tourists who park their cars in the middle of town, making the houses barely visible. The town of Broadway is different. It offers off-site parking to keep its centre as car-free as possible. We stroll around town and want to move here immediately. Each and every house looks wonderful and well looked-after. There are tiny cafés, antique stores, gift shops, cooking utensils, spirits, the like. And somehow, all of these shops fit here perfectly. There’s no rush and everyone seems to be happy.

In a tiny grocery store with lots of fresh and local produce, we buy a sandwich (that is freshly made upon order) with ham, brie and cranberry sauce, a pack of the thickest and crunchiest crips we’ve ever seen, and a peanut butter blondie for Gabi – apparently one of the best things she’s ever eaten. We sit on a bench overlooking the village green.

Afterwards, we drive up the main street which ends in a cul-de-sac at a huge meadow with sheep. Even they look completely relaxed. We like this place a lot!

Happy and contented, we continue our way through the Cotswolds. When we see a street sign “tower”, we decide to follow it and have a look at this tower. There’s even a visitor centre and café and they advertise the tower as “Cotswolds’ highest castle”. Castle surely is an exaggeration for this building with three rooms and a viewing platform above each other, connected by three turrets each with a spiral staircase. The view from atop the tower is stunning, though.

We drive to the south end of the Cotswolds and then take the motorway to London. We arrive shortly before seven at our hotel opposite the British Library and near Kings Cross and St. Pancras stations. We always stay here when we’re in London.

We bring our baggage in the room and leave again soon to meet our friend Ollie for dinner at a restaurant called Bird and famous for its chicken and waffles. Ollie and I try that dish while Gabi gets chicken with buffalo wing sauce and ranch dressing, something we ate in the United States. And poutine, Canada’s national dish: French fries and cheese curds topped with brown gravy. During dinner, Ollie answers all of our questions regarding the London Marathon she and Clare ran recently. We still are in awe about that. For dessert, we share a donut sundae and donut holes with toffee sauce.