Happy Anniversary!

It's our 6 year Anniversary today! Bradley's away at a Trade Show in York until tomorrow, but we're going to celebrate when he gets home. I can't believe it's been 6 years already, time goes so fast.

I've found some photos for comparison, the top one was taken a few weeks after we first started dating, and the bottom one was taken last week.

How different do we look?

The Cotswolds - Burford, Tetbury and Castle Combe

We checked out of our B&B on Tuesday morning and began our leisurely drive back to London. We were taking the long one, going almost as far down as Bath before heading back home. We didn't have to drop the car off until 7.30 p.m., so we had heaps of time.

Our first stop was Burford, about half an hour away. Burford is a bit larger than some of the other towns, with a main road through the middle of it, but still managed to retain a sense of a small village at the same time.

Burford has one of the top 20 churches in the country, and has lots of little independent shops. We stopped in a sweet shop and stocked up on Vanilla Fudge, Peanut Brittle and Sour Coke Bottles. I also managed to spend almost half an hour in their tiny pharmacy. I don't know what it is about pharmacies, I just love browsing. I brought some Eucalyptus and Lavender oils, I've heard both are great for putting in Humidifiers when you've got a cold and I think they've made a difference because I have been sleeping better!

The Cotswolds - Stow on the Wold, Bourton on the Water and Broadway

We started Monday morning in Stow on the Wold, it was only a 10 minute drive from our B&B in Longborough. Stow on the Wold is one of the most well known Cotswold towns, and is pretty much smack bang in the middle. You can reach most of the other towns in less than half an hour.

Set on a hill top, it stands beside the Roman Fosse Way at its junction with six other roads, and where a settlement has existed since the Iron Age.

Once again we were probably the youngest people there, apart from a whole heap of high school students doing some kind of project, they seemed to follow us from town to town the whole day.

There's a huge Market square in the middle of the town, where they hold a weekly market, and it's surrounded by lots of lovely shops and tea-rooms.

St Edwards Church

Death Cab for Cutie

Last week I went to see one of my favourite bands, Death Cab for Cutie, with my flatmate Liane.

They were playing in Brixton, at the O2 Academy, in South London. It's a pretty small venue, it holds about 5000, and there was definitely that many people at the concert.

We had great seats, right in the front row of the upstairs balcony, and the band was amazing. I managed to get some video, and it turned out pretty well I think.

We had such a great time, I ended up booking tickets to see another one of my favourite bands, Switchfoot, in November. But this time Bradley's coming with me, plus it's just down the road in Shepherds Bush.

That's the good thing about London, there's always so many bands playing, it's hard to pick which ones to see, because we can't afford to go see them all!

The Cotswolds - Stratford Upon Avon & Chipping Campden

We've just returned from spending two nights this past weekend in The Cotswolds. The Cotswolds are a range of hills in the English midlands, mostly Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire.

They are about an hour and half drive from London. The countryside is one of the prettiest parts of England, and is dotted with tiny villages which seem to have come straight out of an old TV show or storybook.

We left London on Sunday morning. We hired a car from Heathrow airport since driving in London is an insane nightmare that should be avoided at all costs. We had planned to catch the tube, which is a super easy half an hour from our house, but the London Transport people were doing works on our line the whole weekend, so we had to get a bus which took way longer.

Our first stop was Stratford Upon Avon, where William Shakespeare lived. It's a very touristy town, and larger than most other towns in the Cotswolds, it's also the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Everything in Stratford Upon Avon is based around Shakespeare in some way, every business somehow manages to incorporate Shakespeare into their name. It's a very pretty town, and it was lovely to stop there and have lunch by the River Avon.

 Houseboats on the River Avon

Tourist Adventures in London

A few weeks ago we spent our Sunday doing touristy things around London. We went to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, then wandered around Whitehall and Westminster, and finally ended up in Hyde Park.

We found the Changing of the Guard pretty underwhelming actually, there were heaps of people everywhere and I think we were expecting it to be a bit more exciting. We're hoping to go to the one at Windsor Castle sometime in the next couple of months, I've heard that one's supposed to be better.

Arrivederci Italy!

Travel Essentials and last minute Gelato 

Florence - Shopping, Art & Gelato!

We had lots planned for our only full day in Florence, so we were up early. We had to be at the Uffizi by 9.15 a.m.

We had breakfast at a cafe down the street from our B&B. The B&B itself doesn't actually serve breakfast, they give you vouchers for a cafe down the road. Which I actually preferred, it's nice sitting in a cafe amongst local people, instead of being surrounded by tourists in your hotel.

First day in Florence

We spent our last morning in Arezzo having breakfast in the sunshine by the pool. We were very sad to leave, it was such an amazing place to stay.

We were also determined to use the pool at least once while we were there! It wasn't heated, and since the B&B was on the top of a hill, it was pretty windy and not too warm. It was freezing, so we were in and out pretty quickly, but it was still really nice for the short time we were there.