Beech Farm

Up in the north of England, past York but not quite as far up as Durham, you'll find the village of Wrelton. It has no shops, but does have a pub and a red telephone booth. It may or may not be on your map, and if it's not, look out for the town of Pickering which is just down the road, and is the landmark that the locals use identify their location. We're all settled in at Beech Farm Cottages, with the very precise address of:

Beech Farm Cottages
Wrelton
Near Pickering
North Yorkshire YO18 8PG

No street name. No house number. Just the name of the place and the village, which, in case you aren't sure where it is, is near another town or village. I love that about old England, the countryside dotted with pint-sized towns that have always been near this or that, without the need to formalize anything more specifically.

Beech Farm Cottages, an absolutely gorgeous cluster of holiday cottages set in the converted out-buildings of an 18th century farm. Our cottage, called Tanglewood, is probably slightly more spacious (and certainly better laid out) that our apartment in Salzburg. Nikolas loves it. It has a roomy kitchen with table in the middle, space enough for Nikolas to run laps around when he has finished eating, and it has a nice hallway for Nikolas to run laps up and down in, in celebration that he can run up and down a hallway without us hissing at him to be quiet because of The Meat Choppers down below. It has a bathtub, which is like a dream come true for Nikolas who has been bathing (by choice) in the three inches of water that fills the plugged up shower basin. Like a little Christmas miracle, there is a Christmas tree in the living room with sparkly tinsel and lots of reflective balls which Santa brought to Nikolas because he knew he was coming here. Across the courtyard is an indoor swimming pool, which is deep enough and big enough and warm enough in which to have all the right sorts of fun. And perhaps best of all, in Fat Hen cottage, are Grandma and Grandpa!