My Francophile Year: UK, Part 2 The Hunt

I felt blinded by driving on the left side of the road. Were there cars coming at me from the left? Yes-especially in all of those stinking round-abouts. Why couldn't I see the left side of my car? It was too far away....
I made it without incident(but not without some exclamatory language) for several days. More than I can say about a recent incident in Carces, a neighboring town back in France. I pulled a common tourist stunt with our current rental of a shiny, new Citroen wagon- kind of like driving a tank on our tiny, French roads. My mom said I had plenty of room, "sure I could make", were her famous words. As the alley got narrower and steeper, that exclamatory language commenced and I tried to back out of the dark and deadly alley when the crunching of car parts started. In true fashion, I gunned it and tore off my side view mirror, putting a few, good scrapes on the sides of the car, too.
Anyway, our rental in England survived alot better. Off to the flooded countryside of the Cotswold's we went. Gorgeous rolling hills dotted with thousands of sheep and horses passed by and we arrived in the tiny village of Lighthorne. My mom's friend welcomed us into her gorgeous, old house with hot tea and a blazing fire which were vital for our whole stay as it was wet, windy and cold!
The best part of our visit was watching a fox hunt take off one morning. There must have been 100 horses and riders with dozens of hounds at the ready. Some warming libations were passed around to the riders in preparation for the long day ahead, as well as some sweet breads and other nibbles to sustain this gang of tough equestrians. And they were off- well, as the footing was so wet, they had to restrain their anxious mounts a bit, but there was much excitement.
Our hostess took us over to a friend's house where we wandered down an old road in search of the hunt through the fields. Low and behold, the pack of hounds was leaping a fence right in front of us. Then came the huntsmen and the rest of the hunt, all tipping their hats with greetings, adolescent riders texting away and the youngest ones holding on for dear life! Tally ho and away they go.
I think I need a third part for this series! More and more memories keep coming to mind from the 1 week adventure away from our little French village. Keep your eyes peeled for Part 3, it won't be long.