Woke up to be amazed at our wonderful "Stable House". So exhausted on our arrival last night, we had only a quick look in the dark before collapsing into bed. Opened the curtains to discover a tennis court, pool and trampoline outside not to mention the beautiful lawns, pony, gorgeous little squirrels and Doris the dog! Go Airbnb!!!!! Wishing it wasnt just for 2 weeks!!!!! What a shame it's not available for longer. Will be hard to leave! The ultimate house feature though for the kids was that it has carpeted stairs!! They spent hours sliding down them, throwing their toys down or sliding them down the bannister.... kid heaven!

Had a relaxed breakfast of tea and cornflakes (care of emergency supplies at the servo). NO COFFEE!!! Withdrawal kicking in from all those lovely Italian espressos!! Explored the grounds before heading into the quaint, local village- Bury St Edmunds. Everything is so, so green and there's sun!! Being out in the countryside, there's lots of pretty old stone cottages with coloured doors.

Adam loving the hire car- also wish we could keep that!! Our stylish Volkswagon Passat soon to be replaced by a clapped out old bomb!! We're certainly getting the scenic tour of the area as we seem to take the wrong turn with our GPS continuously- typical Burford style. Somehow found ourselves in the "emergency vehicles only" section outside of West Suffolk Hospital when trying to get to Tecos!

Bury St Edmunds beautiful and oozing history. Had a lovely afternoon in the sunshine in the colourful Botanic Gardens that also have many old ruins. Kids loving all the lawns and raced and cartwheeled and jumped about all afternoon. Bought beautiful fresh blueberries, raspberries and local strawberries at the market- so cheap! Kids got a kick out of having "berries in Bury" (pronounced "berry"). Yes- definately clear we are foreigners- pronouncing everything incorrectly!! The cathedral was also lovely. They gave the kids activity booklets of things to find and a quiz. Zoe did every last thing in it and is now the resident expert on St Edmund, his beheading and the wolf that protected him!!

Had a first day in England celebration dinner (at an Indian Restuarant mind you!) before heading home. A lovely first day!