dripping with passion

{just didn't quite  get to publishing this yesterday...! happy thursday :)} one. i love england so, so much. from our french riviera trip, we flew back to the uk via birmingham rather than london (long story) and then drove home. we stopped by stratford-upon-avon on our way. the minute we got out of the rental car on the high street of that quintessential british town i just thought to myself, "i'm home." and as we wandered around, taking in shakespeare's town, i couldn't stop thinking about how much i love england. i had really fallen for france on our trip - seriously such an amazing country - but nothing is like england for me. i seriously love it so much (have i said that yet?).   ^^ i had to snap a photo of this magnet quoting shakespeare in a souvenir shop. i texted it to ian while he was parking the car. because we had just proved the quote right with a little spat ;) ^^   ^^ shakespeare's birthplace and schoolroom! (gotta love the little mo do...

from verdon gorge, we drove through the lush fields of provence. and decided we simply must return some day when the lavender and sunflowers are in full bloom. we saw miles upon miles upon miles  of lavender and sunflower fields - it was seriously mind-blowing. we also cruised past vineyards, drove through beech tree tunnels, and saw acre after acre of pear orchards. that part of the earth is so incredibly fertile and luxuriant! we slept overnight in another tiny village, and the next morning headed to our final road trip destination: pont du gard. this three-tier, amazingly well-preserved roman aqueduct was built around 20 bc! wow. this was one thing in the south of france that ian really wanted to see, and i was just along for the ride ... until i got there and was pretty blown away. we got to the site early enough to be the only people on the pebbly beach on one side of the aqueduct and we had a great time just admiring the magnificent structure and wading in the water...