Limpenhoe...Ho!

I sit here listening to the fall of English rain, inside a red brick cottage dating back to the 1700's .

I slept very well in my upstairs bedroom looking over the garden and conservatory. I awoke to the call of songbirds and have that cheesy morning, break of dawn, classical music piece now stuck in my head......will find the title...

Across from us is a a one lane road and an ancient red brick wall strewn with ivy and overgrowth that wraps around the lane and hides a lovely old rectory.

I am staying in the wetlands know as the `Norwfolk broads. Rivers and farmlands abound.
It is a little like going back in time....you hear the echoes of hoofprints and the swishing of petticoats in the air.
You also hear the doves outside cooing on the clothing line ( wow they are huge) and the call of roosters announcing the new day.

Truly a perfect first stopover in a journey about reaching into our past.

My friend S who is hosting me while in England couldn't be more wonderful.
An ease of manner and down to earthness that is so relaxing to be around, we are in the process of plotting further journeys around Norwich this week. She and this cottage are a match made in paradise, the woolies, and boots, the leather hat for dog walking and the easy swept blonde hair add to the picture, as do the black lab " Angus" and black and white kitty "Murphy.

The cottage itself has a character that speaks to its past, a threshold across the kitchen to the living room, worn down to a valley in the middle with years of footseps going about their daily business, the twisty stairs t the bedrooms upstairs and the double doors, that allow you to open the top half, strapped in wrought iron.

Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibilty come to mind, the ladies would have been happy to have their new circumstances in a cottage like this.

My leg from Amsterdam to Norwich was a bit delyaed and after travelling for almost 24 hours, it was fantastic to see a friendly face waiting for here, even though we were an hour late arriving.

I can tell Norwich is going to be a favourite place already. We are off to a drive and a pub and then to a dinner with friends this evening.

The place where I am is called Limpenhoe and even the name conjurs horsedrawn carriages movng along the lanes.

Pictures to come..ofcourse, the converter `I borrowed is a two prong and my computer plug is 3 pronged (oops) so am on S's pooter in the meantime....stay tuned.....:)