Culture shock, travel fatigue, homesick? Take your pick!

We checked out Ely's market this morning, and on the way through it, as we overheard vendors selling their wares to customers, Olivia said with such excitement: "Can you believe it? We get to speak ENGLISH here!"

Oh, how they have suffered, those two, what with all of those people speaking French at them these last months.

The market wasn't like Beaune's market -- heavier on the shoe insoles and home health care products than the fancy-schmancy cheeses, I am sad to report. But we found a lot of good fresh produce and the prices, in general, seem cheaper for food, which is always welcome. (Prices for fuel are another story. When John stopped to fill up the rented diesel van, which had gone a maximum of 70 miles, he had to shell out the equivalent of nearly $40 US. Yikes! Thank goodness we're in such a walkable city!).

But the market -- and the week in general -- have left me in a bit of a funk. I feel like we're in a strange no-man's land. We're not in France. We're not home. We're not exactly settled but we're not quite on vacation. We are trying to find a bit of routine in our days, and we are certainly enjoying Ely every time we set out. But it's still a weird few weeks somehow. I am sure it doesn't help that John is at his busiest ever, with a book deadline (or two, possibly), and preparation for a big conference in Denmark next week. I am trying to finish up an editing project (that I had hoped to finish before we left France), and am having trouble finding motivation to work. And while the kids will say that they are VERY happy to not be in school, I know that they (and I) miss that part of our day -- the learning, the social, the structure, the fun.

And I feel like my funk is not exactly fair to England. I have found myself missing things both French -- especially all of the bonjour madames as I enter a store or walk back from the bus shop, the cheek kisses, the calm of our village, and the laughter of friends -- and Canadian -- especially the comfort and support of old friends as well as convenience and familiarity of my kitchen, my car, and my clothes. None of this is England's fault, of course. What did poor England do to deserve this except come at the end of our trip rather than the beginning? It just doesn't seem fair to this fine country (but it doesn't stop the feelings).

What I've been doing to avoid slipping into a pit of despair to to head out in this beautiful city with the kids as much as possible. Did you know that there are four parks within a five minute walk in all directions (including an incredibly cool one we found this afternoon with the world's tallest slide and a fabulous zip line, and one with a whole bunch of brand new foals nearby)? I never noticed parks before having kids, and now they are something that can move a place from good to great (or lousy). And did you know there are great restaurants all through town as well as along the river that flows just three minutes from our home (a river I used to row on, once upon a time)? I love being able to walk to the grocery store, to the toy store to pick up a gift for a friend, to the market, to the river, to the 1,000 year old cathedral. There is so much here that is so good.

And we're heading out to London tomorrow to spend the long weekend with friends, and the kids are VERY excited about that. Kate and Liv are pretty sure they will see the Queen (at the very least, we will see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace). Jack is most excited to see Platform 9-3/4 (hoping to catch a glimpse of the Hogwart's Express). John and I are looking forward to seeing Ravi, a great friend from our university days, and meeting his wife and two young sons. I am not sure how much I will be able to post while we are away... John heads to his conference early Tuesday morning, and the kids and I should be back by midday.

In the meantime, here are a lot of pictures, mostly of parks, for your pleasure. Isn't it a beautiful place (even if it's not France, and not home)?

Exploring Ely

We didn't intend to end up in Ely -- but somehow it ended up being the perfect place to be anyway.

Back when John and I were talking about the logistics of his study leave, and when we discussed making a brief return to the Cambridge area (where John had a fellowship to study in 1996-97), we just kind of assumed we'd go right back to Cambridge and find a place to live there. It's a beautiful city; the university's library is there; we have friends there -- why not?

But then we tried to find a place to rent in Cambridge. Not easy. And REALLY not cheap. So... we expanded the search and found this flat in Ely, just a 20 minute train ride from Cambridge. And it is just the right fit.

Ely with its 15,000 residents is technically a city -- the third smallest in England. It is most famous for its cathedral built on one of the few hills in England's fens (which is a pretty way of saying swampland, I think). When those fens were drained, the land left was remarkably flat (good for biking) and fertile (good for growing flowers and food).

John and I and my parents and aunt visited Ely when they came to England in 1997. I didn't remember much about it except that we all liked it. Well, after exploring the city a bit today, John and I both are so happy we ended up here. To us, it seems like the perfect size for people with small children (and is similar in size and population to Beaune, in fact, which also feels like a perfectly-sized small city). We are right in the heart of Ely -- it is less than a half-mile walk to the train station, and shorter walks than that to the river, the market, the stores, the many restaurants, the cathedral, the parks, and more.

We found this flat online -- it is usually rented out for people on holiday, but we were able to get it for a bit of a longer stay (and at a bit of a reduced price). The front door faces on to a fairly busy street, and already we find ourselves coming and going through the back door and sweet garden in full bloom. It is part of a series of rowhouses, but instead of being a rectangle, it has a bend in the middle (where the road bends), and the result is a surprising amount of space and a bit of wonderful charm. Our favorite room is the sunroom that was added on more recently at the back of the house. We eat all of our meals in there, and I have found myself drawn there for everything from the kids' schoolwork to my own reading.

The kids are all sleeping in one of the upstairs bedrooms -- and this is their view at night. Not bad, eh? John and I have the bigger bedroom with the bend in it. Both bedrooms house beautiful armoires and wardrobes -- and Kate and Liv have been climbing in theirs (looking for a way to Narnia, we wonder?)

Here are a few more images from our house and our tour of town (last night's photos are from when John and Jack went to pick up the Thai food -- YUM! -- and today's photos include all of us wandering around the town).

The first pictures show the flat from the front, where you can see its bend, looking in the front door, and then from the back. There are pictures of me unloading cider into our tiny fridge (we decided to opt for England's best cider and not mourn the lack of great wine), Kate and Liv showing off the princess cupcakes they made for our friend Jason, who came to visit last night, and Jack giving Jason a detailed account of who is who in the Pokemon world (and Jason seemed to understand it much quicker than I did).

There's so much more to say about this city, the history, the cathedral, the food, the fun of having a WONDERFUL whole foods grocery store in easy walking distance, living without a car, using someone else's kitchen, and my plans to do a bit of homeschooling with the kids to finish off their unusual school year. We can't wait to check out Ely's market, get back to Cambridge (because we WILL visit, even if we won't be living there), explore London, and more. And I am sure there will be a few more French stories to come (Jack mumbles to himself in French all through the day, and will sometimes reply to our English question in French. Amazing how quick the young brain learns). But for now, I'm off to bed. Hope you enjoy the photos of our new little city and crooked little home.