My sister Kathy and her family (Chris and Matteo) were kind enough to fly from Seattle to visit us in England over their February vacation week. That's an 11-hour flight and we really appreciated their long journey to see us!
We love our place in Oxfordshire, but worry it can get a little boring for visitors, especially a young 'un like Matteo (age 15). So, we spent the first three nights in the Notting Hill area of London. (Hopefully dear readers, you have seen the wonderful 1999 movie "Notting Hill" with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts?) We enjoyed this neighborhood and had a great time showing our guests around. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the famous Portobello Road open-air market. I walked it a few times with great interest, but it was so rainy (and crowded!) it didn't make for good photography. But here are some photo highlights of our times in Notting Hill (and yes that's our niece Mia who joined us one day):
Lest you think all we did was eat and drink, here are some of the other things we enjoyed in London:
The musical "Just For One Day" about Live Aid was great. So were our two Indian dinners at Dishoom and Trishna. No new photos, but we did not leave out Buckingham Palace, Fortnum & Mason, nor Mr. Fogg's! We enjoyed being able to share some of our favorite London places with the visitors.
After London, we brought them home to Somerton, Oxfordshire, where they stayed in the guest suite and experienced our quiet, rural life! Still, we tried to keep them busy. They played both bridge and pickleball at the local clubs; visited Blenheim Palace; took an evening walk around Oxford University; and strolled through three Costwold towns. During our Cotswold tour we indulged in afternoon tea in Stow-on-the-Wold. Matteo's expression is priceless, don't you agree?
So thank you dear visitors for the opportunity to enjoy England with you! We look forward to future guests and we're keeping notes on all the best places to take them.
Next up: spending Robin's spring break in Wales. But will the rain ever end?
💂♀️ 🇬🇧 🫖 ☔️
This cousin in America thoroughly enjoys ALL of Kim's blog posts but never more so than I did today. Seeing Cousin Kathy and her family (Hi, Chris and Matteo!) enjoying their visit brought a smile to my face that lasted throughout the reading of the entire post. Thanks for another great post, Kim! You and Robin are fabulous hosts. Where are you taking us next??
Don’t rush home - you’re in heaven.
Great blog about our visit, Kim. I must say, Kim and Robin are the most excellent hosts, very hospitable and very organized! We loved every minute of our visit!!❤️