The Ladies Take London (and then go to the Cotswolds)

It was rainy, windy, and cold in London on the first day of our trip, but we really had quite a remarkable day.

We unwittingly ended up at Harrod's on the first day of their once-a-year sale. It was an absolute crush of people.

A little shopping, anyone?

We took a spin around the food halls, as I always love to do, picked up some lunch, and headed to Kensington Palace Gardens with the intention of having a little picnic. As we stepped outside of Harrod's, the skies really opened up, so we ate our lunch on a bench while waiting for the Tube train to arrive. And then we went to Kensington Palace anyway.

The gardens looking lovely, even in the downpour

Queen Victoria looks a little threatening
with the clouds overhead

We then headed to Westminster to visit a dear old friend.

My favorite place in London

And we headed to Westminster Abbey for a lovely evensong service. The choir was magnificent. Afterwards, we then met up with a friend I met via Twitter, who turned out to be as wonderful as she seems online. She brought her daughter along, and the five of us just had a fantastic dinner out, talking and getting to know each other better. But it really felt as if we had been friends for years.

Today we drove to our cottage in the Cotswolds and enjoyed walking around the village for their Open Gardens day, which allowed us to visit the private gardens at a number of homes. The cottage is absolutely perfect. A delicious, freshly-baked cake was waiting for us when we walked in. 

The view out our front door

Now I'll just leave you with a sampling of the many gardens we visited today.