Malmesbury
I left Exeter ready to take on the world. Well, at least the next part of the UK, which for me is going to be the Cotswolds. When I would tell people that I had met in Exeter that I was going to meander my way up to my next house/pet sit in Worcester, there were a lot of options & opinions on where I should go. I have four days free time in between sits, so I want to make the most of these days. After much research, I had Alison drop me at the Eurocar airport location, grabbed a rental car, & I’ve hit the road….first stop Malmesbury!
I was a little nervous driving solo, but I figured I have a lot more adversities holding me back other than pessimism about a potential smunching on a roadway, so I white-knuckled my way….driving the three lane M3 most of the way to this quaint little English town. I had researched farmers markets & found this town has a friday market…perfect! I was thankful to get off that crazy fast highway & onto the rural roads, even though they are narrow & winding AF.
I easily found a place to park & walked towards where the market was, passing cute storefronts & friendly faces. Disappointingly the market had four stalls, not the 250 that google told me it would have, but I decided to find a lunch spot & make the most of it.
After walking around a bit, I spied The Summer Cafe beaconing me. The little cafe had inviting window seats & I spied a free stool looking out over the street, so that sold me. The place was bustling, the ladies next to me were friendly & chatty, the menu was mouthwatering, the sun was shining in the window & I was glowing. I ordered the VEGAN plate, which consisted of Smashed avocado, spiced falafel, hash brown, mushrooms, roasted veggies, tomatoes, beans, mixed seeds & peashoots on grainy sourdough toast. HOLY! Sparkling lemonade quenched my thirst. But then, the girls beside me left…
A guy came in & sat down at one of the stools by me….it was just the two of us sitting at the window now & he immediately struck up a conversation. I learned Kevin lived locally, but commuted to London for work when he had to. We chatted easily, mostly about the places I should go & see or places where we each had travelled. Our favourite places. The food we liked. What we looked for in a holiday. We slugged through our food self consciously, ordered dessert & another cappuccino & then, exchanging numbers, said our goodbyes. He grabbed his motorcycle helmet & dashed off…leaving me biting my knuckles. Yay Malmesbury! I love the Cotswolds so far!!
I jumped in the car to drive the 15 minute trek to Tetbury, where I booked a hotel at The Osmond. What new friends await me there I wonder?
