Thursday, May 31, 2007

Night Scenes of Cambridge


























King's College at night.







This is one of our favorite pubs, The Anchor.

Ride in the Country



Hopped on the bikes (luckily our friends let us borrow a couple bikes for the guys) and rode over the bumpy footpaths to some neighboring villages. Stopped to watch the ducks and soak up some sunshine at this lovely village pond.




I posted this boar before but this time I got a close up of it. I didn't realize it's made out of thatch too.




The boys enjoying a brew in Barrington.


All the lighting fixtures in these old churches are different and I find them all very interesting.




Another beautiful old church that we peeked into.







This massive satellite area is just outside of Cambridge. There must be about 20 of these.

Sights around Cambridge



The gardens are just amazing right now. There are many flowers that we have back home but they are bigger, more vibrant and definitely better tended than mine.

















Garrett and Forrest, two of our three sons, are here visiting. Garrett has been taking quite a few pictures so a lot of these pics are his.







I've become a huge fan of the local charity shops (thrift stores). I bought about a dozen various sized frames, painted them all black and put art cards of my own art in them to spice up our flat. I took most of my cool weather clothes home in April so when it turned cold here (45 and rainy) I had to get a nice big fleecy pullover (ahhh!).



Thought this would be a good ad for Abbott Ale. Forrest is a happy camper! The legal age for drinking is 18, and he tried many kinds of ale.




Visiting the market on a rainy day with my boys.




We get fresh fruit daily from the nearby market in 'Market Square'.









This gallery has a vast amount of glass pieces.

Birds, Birds, Birds





















Colors on the Train




Biking in the Countryside



Our hosts, David and Diane, lead us on a great bike ride over hills and dales, valleys and through the quaint villages of Elsenham, Henham, Thaxted, Duton Hill, Widdington, Debden, Howlett End. It was a beautiful, clear day, and we all smiles on our faces as we sped down the twisty lanes of the pastoral countryside.
Our bike group: Garrett, Forrest, Houston, David, Diane

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They also invited us for dinner. Diane made a traditional English delight, a pastie. In the olden days, the miners took them for their lunch. One side was meat and the other side was sweet, like jam. They'd eat one half then, have their dessert. What a great idea! Ours were vegetarian and very delicious.




Just in case we needed to make a phone call!




Beautiful rural area, fields and fields of rapeseed, rolling hills, and of course, cows.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Thaxted Windmill




We were fortunate enough to be able to go inside this wonderful windmill. Built in 1804, it was used for grinding flour.








Looking down over the quaint village of Thaxted.





Forrest taking in the view.








My first time in a windmill. This one had many vantage points, all worth a look-see.





My bird's eye view of the patterns in the field caught my attention. I could just see the farmer in the tractor, looking up at the windmill as she/he was making the turn.





Beautiful old print of the windmill.









Wheel works of the windmill.