United Kingdom vacation - the first days

So I'm back from vacation.  I had a great - though very busy - trip visiting The Husband's friends and relatives.

The biggest surprise?  Nice weather!!  Weather in England is rather like that in Seattle - 8 days of sunny, clear skies and warm temps in May is unusual.  Of course, this trip I packed no shorts, my Goretex rain shell, my waterproof shoes, 2 sweaters, and 2 fleece.  Last year I was freezing and wet for most of the trip, so this year I was prepared (or not....).

Here are some highlights from the first couple of days.  Spent with some of The Husband's best friends in the countryside near Oxford.

Since this is a dog blog (not that you can tell from all of my travel posts lately) here are some pics of our canine hosts in Oxford:

Jack, a 14 year old Staffie mix

Flutie, a 1.5 year old well, you know the breed....

We took a few walks in the countryside.  One of the great things about England is the wealth of public walking paths and bridlepaths.  

A peek at some sheep

Oh, here's a better look.  Cardi heaven!

We were lucky to be just in time for the bluebells

The entire wood was blanketed in bluebells.  Enchanting!

Here's a closer look.  The have a lovely, light fragrance, too.

A view of Oxford University

The front gardens at our host's house.  

They're lucky I didn't move in!

The view from our guest room window.

See what I mean about wanting to move in?

On our last day in Oxford we went to a cricket match, had a picnic, and watched people punting in boats on the nearby river.  We also had an afternoon tea.  The Child really took to it all.  Channeling the English part of his heritage, I guess.  Rather like a Cardi seeing cows for the first time?

Always fun to splash in the river on sunny day

Tomorrow I'll post some pics and notes from the rest of our trip.  Now I need to go brush The Trio of Trouble.  They're all looking a bit ragged with no brushing for 11 days during the spring (yikes!).