Okay, so we did leave the hotel once or twice. No matter how comfortable we felt sitting by the fire playing backgammon, we knew that we had to make the effort to explore the area a bit. And what did we find? Old, old, old stuff. It was all beautiful and incredible but man, it was old stuff. I couldn't help but think that you just don't come across things like this back home. Gravestones from the 1600's? Um, yeah, the USA didn't even exist then!

Aside from incredibly cool old churches and visiting the historic market town, Tavistock, what really impressed me were the bright green rolling hills. The sheep do a great job of keeping the grass perfectly manicured and the miles of hedges that divide up the land make a beautiful patch design when viewed from up high.

I fell in love this weekend and now I get it. I now understand why Londoners are always talking about how much they miss the countryside, how desperately they need to sneak away to see the rolling hills, and how the pace of life is just so different. As much as I love the city and everything it offers, I know that ultimately I'm going to want a country home somewhere. Be it in California's wine country, Montana (never been but drool over it), or somewhere in Europe or South America. I just know that I'd love my everyday to be surrounded by nature, eating nothing but local veggies, meats, and cheeses, and waking up to dozens of birds welcoming a new day. I've got a long while until I can make my country dreams a reality but for now, it's nice to know that fresh air and good living are just a few hours away.

Hi everyone. Wow - I'm still pinching myself in disbelief over everything we did and saw over the weekend. There's so much to share that I needed to split today's post in to three!

The last two photos? Yeah we did a lot of that. Our bed & breakfast for the weekend, Hotel Endsleigh in Tavistock, Devon, was extremely conducive to relaxing and we took full advantage of it. The decor was perfectly elegant yet comfortable and cozy, the staff gave just the right amount of friendliness and space, and the library was packed full of books from Dickinson to Polish Folk Art. The day-long log fires and afternoon teas made unwinding in the common rooms that much more pleasant and though there were other guests sharing the house, we hardly ever noticed them.

This was our first stay in the English countryside and I don't think that we can ever go anywhere else! We happened upon Endsleigh after inquiring with dozens of b&bs' closer to London but since we were booking just a few weeks out, no one had vacancy. We expanded our search and by that point we wanted to do the countryside so bad (and do it well) that we said "to hell with it, let's splurge!". Hotel Endsleigh was heaven in so many ways - just wait until you see the full views. It's no wonder that the Duke of Bedford decided to build his home on that spot in the early 1800's. It was the prettiest location then and it definitely lives up to its reputation today. What a dream.