England, February 2020

We traveled to England in early February for my husband's dissertation defense. I absolutely love visiting England and will use any excuse to visit, so while this was a "business" trip of sorts, we found ways to squeeze in some fun activities. Because this trip fell in the middle of a semester, we had a short amount of time this visit. But once the business was over on Friday, we had such a great time exploring Oxford, the Cotswolds, and a bit of London before our time was up.

Radcliffe Camera

Oxford

Oxford is one of my favorite places in the UK. I visited many times while my husband lived there and I always love revisiting my favorite sites. This time, we stayed at Magdalen College so that we could be more centrally located, and so that we could visit the deer park whenever we wanted. We spent the majority of the first day just wandering around outside so that we wouldn't succumb to jet lag (I also used that excuse to pop into Jigsaw...). Dr. B had a meeting in Brasenose College so I took up residence at the Vaults & Garden Cafe for tea and scones. This is one of my favorite places in Oxford, as it is attached to the beautiful University Church and sits across from the Radcliffe Camera. Afterwards, I deliberately walked through the Bodleian Library before making my way to heaven on earth, otherwise known as Blackwell's Bookstore. It was a lovely way to spend my first afternoon back in Oxford. We capped off the first day with dinner at the ever delightful Turf Tavern - a must visit.

Blackwell's Bookstore

The next morning, we got up early and had breakfast at Magdalen College Hall. Imagine the Great Hall at Hogwarts and you wouldn't be too far off. We were both nervous and anxious about the defense later so we had a very low-key morning, stopping into Queen's Lane Coffee House for Turkish coffee and a chai. Both Queen's Lane and The Grand Cafe across the street purport to be the oldest coffee houses in Europe, which makes for a very interesting (and tasty) rivalry. We've been to both and love them equally.

My husband went to his defense and I claimed a spot at The Oxford Wine Cafe, nervously swallowing down tea and pretending to read articles online while waiting for word about the defense. The cafe was beautiful and I kept imagining how, if I were a student in Oxford, I would be there all the time. Finally, I received word that he passed the defense (!) and we quickly made our way to his old haunt, The Royal Oak. I have such a fondness for this pub - not only because it is beautiful and quirky like all good pubs should be, but because they genuinely have the best burgers in England. Dr. B could finally relax, and it was nice to be able to celebrate with his friends.

Cotswolds

Saturday morning after breakfast, we rented a car and drove to the Cotswolds. Many Cotswolds towns are within an hour drive of Oxford so we planned a pretty thorough itinerary for the day. We usually plan trips like this pretty tightly, knowing that we will play it by ear once we get to where we're going, and this was no exception. We started with Bibury, a small village along the River Coln, most famously known for Arlington Row, a collection of mill cottages built in the 1380s and Arlington Mill. It was quite chilly but we got there just before fellow tourists descended on the place. We decided to have a mid-morning snack at The Swan Hotel before heading off to our next location.

Arlington Row, Bibury

From there, we went on to Bourton-on-the-Water, which is one of the most picturesque villages in the Cotswolds. We had previously visited the village but wanted to have more time to spend there this time around. I was a little disappointed with how crowded it was, given we visited in the middle of winter. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a little stroll alongside the water and did some duck-watching.

Our next stop was Lower Slaughter, where we stopped to have lunch at the Slaughters Country Inn. I love traditional pub food and was impressed with the elevated pub offerings at the Slaughters Country Inn. We wandered through the village and found ourselves at the Old Mill, the structure of which has been around since the 14th century.

The Old Mill, Lower Slaughter

Our last stop was Stow-on-the-Wold. Admittedly, I wanted to go solely to see the famous door at St Edward's Church, rumored to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien, but I actually really enjoyed exploring the market town. There were lots of unique shops, including Cotswold Hat Club, whose offerings I admire from time to time on Instagram. We stopped for tea and had the most amazing millionaire's shortbread. By this point, we were absolutely exhausted and actually skipped visiting Broadway Tower in order to head back to Oxford just in time for dinner. I can't wait to visit again, hopefully during warmer months when everything is in bloom.

St Edward's Church, Stow-on-the-Wold

London

After our day in the Cotswolds, we had one more day in Oxford. It ended up being a bit of a wash because of storm Ciara, but we still made time for Sunday Roast at the Ashmolean Museum's rooftop cafe. The Ashmolean is one of my favorite museums and definitely a must-visit on a rainy day.

The next day, we traveled to London by train shortly after breakfast. We dropped off our bags at the Mentone Hotel, one of my favorite hotels in Bloomsbury, and hit the town. Bloomsbury is a great place to stay, conveniently located to multiple major tube stops, train stations, and within walking distance to the British Library. The area is also known for its history and literary connections. After exploring Kings Cross station, we then spent some time exploring Covent Garden before stopping for lunch at a quaint, French restaurant, Le Garrick. I'm a sucker for traditional French cuisine and Le Garrick did not disappoint.

We had afternoon tea reservations at The Dorchester as a way to celebrate Dr. B's thesis defense. I had been wanting to go to The Dorchester for years and we finally found an excuse to go. Their tea was absolutely luxurious and I highly recommend it to those visiting London and wanting a traditional tea experience. The hotel itself is beautiful, as expected, and we were perfectly content to spend a few hours relaxing in the tea room.

Although we were absolutely stuffed from both lunch and tea, we were anxious to meet up with friends and have dinner at Dishoom. We'd heard great things about Dishoom from friends who traveled to London some months before. My husband then discovered that the cuisine was the same as that of Chai Pani in Asheville, where we had dinner a month before. There are multiple Dishoom locations across London but we met friends at the Covent Garden location. It was quite busy, which we were expecting, and took the opportunity to have cocktails before being seated for dinner. This was, hands down, one of the best meals I've had in London. Standouts included the chole puri (my favorite) and jackfruit biryani. I loved it so much that I ordered the cookbook the next day!

View of the Thames from the Houses of Parliament

London is one of my favorite places on earth and there is just never enough time to explore and enjoy all the city has to offer. I'm hoping that we can branch out and stay in another part of town when we are next in town sometime this summer. I am always interested in London food recommendations so please send them my way!