England House Sitting Photography transportation travel

Chance Encounters

by peterpecksen
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One of the things we love about our lifestyle is the length of time we spend in a place. Having the opportunity to stroll about areas to take in the sights and simply absorb the feel of a location is wonderful, I understand it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is certainly ours.

Once we headed south from Scotland we had a number of house sits lined up with a few days extra in between. Perfect! It gave us the chance to do some catching up and exploring. First on the list was a stop over in Stratford-Upon- Avon. It did entail 7 hours of travel on three different trains, but it was flawless, despite threatened strike actions we arrived ready to go. For a beer that is.

The iconic Anne Hathaway’s cottage, the home of Shakespeare’s wife, was well worth the time. Made even better by the exceptional volunteers sharing the history.

Circumstances worked out that Karen and I were able to meet up with a couple of friends we had made in Belize several years ago. So this eclectic group, of a lady from Wales, a lady from Texas with her husband, and 2 vagabonds from Canada were able to do some sightseeing around the beautiful city of Stratford as well as taking in a play. It was a blast.

As our friend from Texas was living here for a few weeks, they became the unofficial guides, and did an amazing job. We checked out the Trinity Church along the River Avon.
In addition to being a lovely old church, it is also the resting place of the famous bard himself.
Doing a short cruise on the river Avon was a must do. The view from the river always gives a great viewpoint of the activities that are important to the people who live there. The fact there were fishermen, cruise boats and a rowing team training on the river speaks to the importance of the river to the city. It brings everybody together.
As well, with autumn taking hold we were treated to some lovely colours as well.
To top this brief visit off we took in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, with a twist. The premise of this Shakespearean company is that before each show one of the five actors is randomly chosen to get thoroughly intoxicated. Makes for a raucous and entertaining time. So worth it. We had a great visit with friends and look forward to where else in the world we might meet.

As I mentioned in the previous post we are now settled into the outskirts of London. Enjoying exploring the neighbourhood with the dogs and getting a couple of short trips in to London to snoop about a bit. Life is Good.

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About peterpecksen

Welcome to our travel blog. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to say, "I'm out of here?" Well we did, and in 2013 we made it a reality. We sold or gave away all of our possessions other than what fit in our luggage and we set off on an endless adventure. Part of our goal is to share our experiences with others and hopefully provide some information, motivation, or just a moments escape. The general idea was to look for a place that would be ideal to settle down in. However in the meantime it is about experiencing life in different countries amongst different cultures and learning how to understand and appreciate each other. A large part of our time is spent housesitting which provides an excellent opportunity to experience more of the "normal" neighbourhoods as opposed to the tourist locales. Though we make sure to enjoy those as well. So through plenty of photographs and a running commentary come and share with us our life on the road.

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1 comment on “Chance Encounters”

  1. Anonymous
    October 23, 2022

    Beautiful pictures and a beautiful update.

    Reply

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