Cotswolds Catch Up and London Riots

Kenny and I had a wonderful weekend together in the Cotswolds.  He was able to leave work early, so we made it to Upper Slaughter a bit after 5 in the afternoon.  The hotel grounds were beautiful.  I don't always understand this country, but these people can certainly do gardens well!  The hotel itself was just darling- it is an old manor house that maintains a very homey feel.  We were shown to our room and had some time to relax before dinner.

The back of the hotel

The front of the hotel- I actually chose to post the one full length pic to keep me honest!

The hotel is set up for foodies and does not disappoint.  We had a 7:30 dinner reservation and were asked to arrive 30 minutes early for pre-dinner drinks and canapes.  What a pleasant way to start the evening!  There we sat with a glass of champagne and canapes while reviewing the dinner menu and wine list.  Nice touch!  I won't bore you with an overly detailed blow by blow, but our meals were yummy and beautifully presented.  I started with Cornish crab, and Kenny had a beautiful quail dish; my main was halibut with broad beans, and Kenny's was lamb; my dessert was a fabulously dense chocolate bar/cake with a salty, caramel topping and Kenny had a fab raspberry souffle with raspberry ripple ice cream and Lord Eton's mess.  Indulgent, definitely, but I was well-behaved.  I ate my appetizer, maybe half of my entree and less than half of the dessert. 

   

We spoke with the concierge on Saturday morning, and he gave us a map with 7-8 towns worth seeing in our part of the Cotswolds.  I was surprised that so many of these 'towns' were not even villages.  Several were just clusters of little homes- the perfect setting for a murder mystery novel.  We parked in Winchcombe and walked 3/4 of a mile out of town to Sudeley Castle.  Yes, we could have driven all the way to the castle.  Yes, there was a parking lot right next to the castle.  Still, we walked it (one of the many benefits of losing Snooki).  The castle was pretty pathetic, but the gardens were beautiful.  After a few more hours of driving and visiting the towns we were back at the hotel in time for Kenny's Saturday afternoon nap (he only looks 32- in reality he is 85) and another dinner at the hotel.

 At the Castle

 
Yesterday we drove to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, before returning to London. 
 

 
The highlight of SUA was visiting a butterfly farm with hundreds (probably thousands) of butterflies flying all around.  It was amazing and it was beautiful.  

   

  
Now that you have seen my lovely weekend, let's move to a less appealing topic.  Have you all been seeing this rioting madness?  It is really out of control.  While doing cardio at the gym this afternoon, I spent an hour watching the riots on Sky News.  These lunatics have now rioted in East London, North London and South London.  I live in West London, but I don't like being anywhere near riots.  These thugs wear hoodies so CCTV can't photograph their faces, so I got butterflies in my stomach when I saw young people in hoodies as I walked home from the gym.  Not cool.  Onto my opinion of how this should be handled (skip rest of paragraph if you are anti police).  The riot police are being pummeled by bricks, bottles, fire crackers, wood, etc.  It is 100% out of control.  I vote for rubber bullets and tear gas.  Most of the people rioting are young men (young men who should be working rather than loitering on the streets).  They are thugs.  They are bums.  They are cowards.  Hit these bastards with rubber bullets and barrage them with tear gas, and these losers will call it quits.  And do it before they come to my part of town!!!  There, I said it!