Monday, August 04, 2014

The Bed and Breakfast: Yes or No?

every morning -- plus yogurt, fruit, and toast.
Do you like B+Bs

In Banbury, we stayed at an immaculate B+B in a bland housing development a 30 minute walk from town. The proprietor was a brisk, friendly woman named Jan and the rooms were right there in the middle of her spotless home. I liked cheery Jan, but could imagine her making note if you'd put your glass down on the nightstand without a coaster. I felt like a house guest. I was a house guest, a paying house guest. When I was at the Banbury market it briefly crossed my mind that I needed to buy Jan a jar of gooseberry jam as a thank-you gift. I squelched the impulse. A wave of relief washed over me when we finally backed out of her driveway.

Our second B+B is in the Roman town of Cirencester (love!) and it’s not someone’s home. The lovely, easygoing manager lives in an adjacent cottage. 
cute! 
It’s not exceedingly clean and has some quirks, but I can deal with hitting my head on the ceiling beams much better than feeling like a house guest. 
People must have been shorter in the 17th century.
So, in answer to my own question: I like some B+Bs.

We’re having a great time. 

21 comments:

  1. It is hard being in someone else's home isn't it! No matter how nice it is, you don't feel the same do you! xx

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    1. You feel like you're imposing, even when you're paying.

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  2. I can go either way on the B&B. Sometimes it is just the thing I want and other times I prefer the relative anonymity/privacy of a motel or hotel. I don't always want to socialize with folks over breakfast. We toured the Bourbon Trail a year ago and had a marvelous time at a B&B in Kentucky, even being ushered to the old, dank cellar with the proprietor and her two dogs, when a tornado warning was issued.

    I wonder if you have read Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island"? He has a number of interesting B&B experiences while visiting some of Britain's smaller towns -- mostly hilarious, of course!

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    1. Ok, I should read Bill Bryson. Actually, I should have read him on this vacation.

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  3. My family lives in Italy right now (military), and renting self-sufficient apartments with airbnb has blown every other travel lodging option out of the water for us.

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    1. Really? We did something like that in Barcelona years ago and it worked great. I need to remember.

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  4. OH, a fry up! So you are eating a fry up every morning? I want a report on that. I am not a B&B fan. I don't like the feeling of being a house guest of strangers. If I am going to pay, I want to feel like I own my space for the time I am there. Quirky, I know.

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    1. "I don't like the feeling of being a house guest of strangers." EXACTLY.
      I did a breakfast like that every morning and felt ok about it because I generally didn't eat the toast. You know, the low-carb diet that lasts until the fish n' chips at lunch or the scone at tea. At our Welsh b+b they offered kippers and I regret that I never tried them.

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  5. عزيزي العميل نقدم لكم شركة تنظيف بالرياض والتى تقدم كافة خدمات التنظيف العامةمن شركة البيت الراقي للفلل والشقق والمنازل بأفضل المواد التنظيفية شركة تنظيف منازل بالرياض والمطھره من خلال اكفأ العمال المتخصصين شركة تنظيف شقق بالرياض فى تنظيف الارضيات وتنظيف الموكيت والسجاد وتلميع الزجاج وكل ما ترغب بھ وبضمان لفترة طويلة فقط مع شركة تنظيف مجالس بالرياض
    تعانى من كثرة الاتربة بفيلتك؟ شركة تنظيف موكيت بالرياض تريد ان تصبح واجھتھا لامعة ونظيفھ ؟

    اذا فعليكم التوجھ الينا كأفضل شركة تنظيف كنب بالرياض شركة تنظيف فلل بالرياض والتى تتخصص فى تنظيف كل محتويات شركة تنظيف خزانات بالرياض المنزل والفلل مع تقديم كامل الخدمات شركة غسيل سجاد بالرياض الاضافية الاخرى كغسيل السجاد والموكيت وتنظيف الارضيات وتلميع الزجاج فضلا عن استخدام افضل المعدات الحديثة والمواد العالمية للتنظيف والتى تظھر فيلتك على اعلى

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  6. We ate at the motorway service station on the side of the road, halving our tea bill.In Aylesbury we stayed with family for an overnight stop en route to London. In a small terraced house, our efforts at keeping the dust from floating into suspended air became far more challenging than buying in groceries. But we were grateful for good family hospitality and conversations with relatives after a long drive.

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  13. Yes to breakfast and bed! I love it!

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