The Cotswolds

I made a friend through Twitter and my blog while still living in Cayman. She became such a helpful and wonderful friend once I disclosed our planned move to the UK and we've been in constant touch ever since! I met her and her lovely 2 children in London about a month ago for a day out and lunch and had such a great time chatting with her! Apparently she's been reading my blog almost since the beginning and we read all the same blogs as well, so we had plenty to chat about! I was dead excited when she and her family invited Mr. Julep and I to stay for a weekend at her home in the historic Cotswolds region of England! We went on Friday and had the best time talking, shopping, sightseeing and eating wonderful meals! All of these photos were taken in Broadway, a quaint Cotswolds village that they took us to! It was so lovely and beautiful! There were loads of shops, Christmas shops and crafty little mom and pop places! I loved it and will look forward to hopefully visiting my new friend again sometime in the future and trying to entertain her as well in London as she entertained us in Cheltenham! Enjoy the photos!

We've discovered just how lucky we are to live here in London with so many trains at our fingertips! We've been on 2 train journeys this month after 2 1/2 years of not being able to travel anywhere easily away from our island life! I'm looking forward to another train journey soon and thinking about doing a little day trip! It would be nothing to get on a train early in the morning, spend the day somewhere and get the train back at night! It's something we did a few times when we lived in NYC, visiting Connecticut towns on the weekend! Any suggestions of where we should go for our next day trip?

A Weekend in the Country!

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We're heading out of the city to spend the weekend with some friends in the Cotswolds, a range of rolling hills sometimes known as "the heart of England"! We've never been there before so we're very excited to see the scenery! I'm looking forward to socializing with our friends, seeing the pitcturesque village where they live and just chilling out in the country!

I'll resume posting when I get back and will be sure to take lots of photos! Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Fabulous Weekend: Portobello Market & Bonfire Night

We started our weekend right on Saturday morning with breakfast at our favorite local spot, Cafe Continente. Then we headed to Notting Hill to see the famous Portobello Market for the first time! Some of you may remember the scenes of Hugh Grant strolling through the market on Portobello Road in the film Notting Hill. Well let me tell you, it wasn't nearly as crowded in the film as it was on Saturday morning, but it was fabulous just the same! The photo above is a gorgeous church we saw on our way there... the trees are gorgeous right now and the leaves are gorgeous this Autumn!


I couldn't resist snapping a photo of this street sign!

When we started edging into the market we were pretty amazed at the size of it! And street performers are everywhere! This guy was slappin his base and singing country songs! He was great!

The colorful houses on Portobello Road are so pretty and different from most of the parts of London we've seen so far where white, grey and brown seem to be the featured colors.

This is a side street and it's gorgeous! Would love to have a bajillion zillion dollars so I could buy one of these places and live there!

Marc wanted me to buy this t-shirt... kinda true, no?

A picture of my adorable husband. Notice the gas masks behind him? He was pretty amazed when this woman of obvious wealth (burberry head to toe except the LV bag and Jimmy Choo boots) bought her little boy a grenade...

It was sooooo crowded! I'm hoping to go back on a weekday morning sometime when it migh be less crowded and I'll actually be able to look at some stuff!

There were shops on Portobello as well and we ducked into a few including Lush (where I stocked up on bath bombs for cold nights), Jack Wills, Cath Kidston and a few shoe stores. I was on the hunt anyway for a pair of wellies (I was hoping for Hunters) to wear at the bonfire since I'd heard it could be quite nasty and muddy.

Photo Credit: www.amazon.co.uk

I walked away with these babies! The Hunter Carnaby Short Boa Wellies in pewter!!! Needless to say, I'm in love with them!!! This is my first pair of Hunters! I tried on several styles and I have to say, the classic style hunters just aren't really my style, but when I saw these, I fell in love... they are cha cha! I also found that the short style was perfect for my legs! Any of you sturdy gals (or former dancers like me) with some beefy calves should consider the shorter version... it seems like they'd be unflattering, but they're not! I rocked these bad boys all weekend and gladly since the bonfire was held in a mud field!

Photo Credit: www.amazon.co.uk

I wouldn't have been able to stand wearing these all weekend without the Hunter Wellie Socks! They are divine! It's not really a sock persay... it's more of a boot liner. I prefer to wear a normal slightly thin sock under my fleece wellie socks for maximum warmth and comfort. These are fab and really make your wellies comfy! They are long, however with a bit of folding they work just as well on the shorter styles! I picked up this cable knit version in both grey and black. The shop owner told me the cable knits are limited editions, so if you like them, grab some now! They are super cute!

After the market we jumped on a train to a small town called Sandy, which is north of London. It was my first time taking the National Rail Service since I was here in 2003. It's very convenient and though a bit expensive, a great way to travel! A friend's parents live there and we were invited to come and stay the night. We got to meet her brother & girlfriend as well. The family was really fun and very nice! We had a great time and were grateful to be included!!! I also had my very first curry and I loved it! Pictured above is the bonfire we went to! It was HUGE!!!

It was very crowded as well. Apparently this is one of the biggest events of the year in Sandy and everyone comes out for the festivities!

Hubs and I in front of our first bonfire - my first Guy Fawkes ever and hubs' first since our big move!

The next morning we had a wonderful English breakfast and walked back to the train station on a path that goes along the river. The scenery was gorgeous!

A few lads were out fishing right near this swan.

Horses in the distance....

These sheep were so fat that I thought they were pigs at first!

It was a great weekend and I'm super grateful for my new wellies today since it's cold and raining cats and dogs! I hope you all had a great weekend as well! What did you get up to?

Pink Julep Retro - Finally Posting Photos From My Weekend in the Country

A few weeks ago, my husband and I packed up and headed to the West Midlands on a train for a wedding. Two friends we met when we lived in the Cayman Islands got married just outside of Birmingham, Enlgand, so we made the trip.

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that we weren't travelling in the lap of luxury, but quite the opposite. It was however a beautiful place and we enjoyed the scenery and some time outdoors in the fresh air as much as we could while we were out of London!

We stayed here, at The Stone Manor. I wouldn't recommend it really...

The fountain looked pretty from far away...

Kidderminster is a small town and it looks as though the recession has had a toll on it. There's not a whole lot going on there, but we did manage to do a tiny bit of shopping.

This candy store, The Sweet Jar, was amazing!

I loved this photo case in our hotel. These old photos remind me of The Overlook from The Shining. I kept waiting for my husband to jump out with an axe screaming "Here's Johnny!"

The wedding we attended took place at the very beautiful Hagley Hall, a beautiful stately home that was created for the 1st Baron Lyttleton.

It's a gorgeous place for a wedding and the views are spectacular! The wedding was a lot of fun and absolutely gorgeous! We really had a great time reuniting with old friends and making a few new ones!

On the last day of our holiday, there was a wedding fair at our hotel and oh the things we saw there... it was like a tacky convention! I was most surprised by the A-Team van you can hire to drive you to your wedding, complete with drivers dressed in camouflage... Classy!

All in all, it was a lovely weekend! We laughed and rested and though there wasn't much to do, we still had a great time! Have you been anywhere interesting recently? Leave me a comment and tell me about it!

Family Weekend in Kilkenny

Last weekend, we made the journey to Kilkenny, Ireland to spend a weekend with Marc's whole family. We had to fly to Dublin, taxi to the train station, Train to Thurles, then get picked up for a car ride to Kilkenny... it was a lot of travel, but we got there and it was great fun! The photo above is us on the first night, having drinks in the bar with the family at The New Park Hotel, which was lovely!


On Saturday we got a taxi into the city center to wonder around. We found a small mall and about a bazillion pubs! No seriously, I've never seen so many pubs!

This is an old church in the city center.

We went to this mall... it was pretty small, but there was a bowling alley with an arcade where we amused ourselves for at least an hour with air hockey and Mario Kart!!!

We stopped for lunch... yum! Don't you love Marc's scarf? From Top Man (aka men's section of Topshop)

And here's me...

Another old church...

Saturday night we all got dressed and headed downstairs for dinner. There were 24 of us and we got our own room which was nice! It was a lovely dinner!!!

Mr. Julep is wearing a Slim Fit Traveller shirt from Thomas Pink and I'm wearing a navy sweater dress by Monsoon Fusion.

After dinner we had an Irish Sing Song. Everyone sings! Together, solo... anything can happen and the family elders did make me sing believe it or not! I totally sucked and they applauded me anyway! It's the gumption they're impressed by, not the quality! Marc's uncle sang a couple of old funny and slightly dirty songs that I"ll never forget and then of course we sang Molly Malone, one of my favorites!!! You have to sing Molly Malone when you walk over the Ha'Penny Bridge in Dublin! She's also fondly referred to as "The Tart With the Cart." Here are the lyrics:

In Dublin's Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel'd her wheel barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

Chorus
Alive, alive o!, alive, alive o!
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

She was a fishmonger
But sure 'twas no wonder
For so were her father and mother before
And they each wheel'd their barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

Chorus

She died of a fever
And no one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
But her ghost wheels her barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!

Chorus


And finally, at McDonald's in Ireland they have this amazing invention:

Cheese Melts! These are DELICIOUS!!! They are melted cheese in crispy batter but not gross like mozzarella sticks! These are yummy! I was so looking forward to getting these in London, but alas, they seem to only serve them in Ireland! If you ever find yourself in Ireland, definitely hit McDonalds for a dose of Cheese Melts!