Although I’m an introvert, I like to talk to people. It’s fun getting to know new people, hearing their stories, finding out what life is like for them. It’s one of the things I’ve enjoyed about all of our travels, and one of the (very many) things I’ve loved so much about visiting England, Scotland and Ireland — since I speak English, connecting with the people we’ve met there has been the easiest and the most rewarding. On our first trip, we met lots of new people, and this last time (back in July and August of this year), especially since we went back to some of the same places, we made some good friends.
Our single favorite place to stay has been Littletown Farm, where the food is amazing, the rooms are cozy, the scenery is stunning and the company is warm and charming. Besides, one of the Beatrix Potter stories I grew up with was actually set at the farm. (What’s not to love?)
Along with our wonderful hosts there, Rob and Sarah, are their children. Their youngest, R (he’s not my child, so I’m not putting his name on the Internet!), is only a few months younger than Benjamin, and on our first visit, the two of them instantly bonded over a love of Lightning McQueen. Ever since that first trip, Littletown has been known as “R’s house” in our family, and both of my boys would often ask when we were going back to “visit our friend R”. (In fact, everyone we met on our entire trip to the UK who asked the boys what we were doing on our vacation was told that “we’re visiting our friends in England”.)
My boys were so happy to be reunited with their friend on this most recent trip. Each morning, and after every meal, the constant question was, “Where’s R?”, and Benjamin explored all over the property seeking him out to play. (I think R enjoyed it too — he apparently talked in his sleep about playing with Benjamin, too.) B even got to explore some parts of the farm usually off-limits to guests, since he was escorted by R.
My boys loved playing with R. They started asking about our next visit to R’s house before we got back to Austria. I’m so happy to see my kids making new friends as we travel, too. And I’m sure we’ll make it back to R’s house again.