Goodbye Grantchester...

...we'll miss you - sort of.

For the past two months, Jason and I have been living in temporary accommodations located in Grantchester, a small village about three miles outside of Cambridge. This weekend, we move into our more permanent home in the city...finally! Don't get me wrong, Grantchester is a beautiful place - people flock here on the weekends to get away from the bustle of the city and relax in the country. Every morning and evening, we are rewarded with this amazing commute:

(Straight ahead takes us to work; the fork to the left leads home)

In addition to this paved path there is another, more "quaint" dirt path that runs right along the river. On sunny days, this whole area is full of families picnicing and swimming. Kids run through the fields playing tag, hide-and-seek, climbing this large tree, and doing other Little House on the Prairie type things that make me feel like I'm on an 18th century movie set rather than heading to work in 2008. It's kind of neat actually.


Here's the cluster of houses that ours is in...you can see why Grantchester is classified as a village!

Other signs of its village status:

(1) One of the local pubs, thatched roof and all!

(2) The church at the center of town, parts of which date back to the 14th century.

(3) The Orchard - the village's pride and joy.

This place is great! As its name implies, it's a huge orchard full of tables and outdoor lounge chairs. They serve teas, coffee, wines, and miscellaneous pastries for people to enjoy out in the sun. (This is another place with lots of frolicking children and happy families...set #2 for the 18th century movie?) We're bracing for a long dark winter judging by the efforts English people seem to go to to take every advantage of every ray of sunshine.

So, as you can probably tell, Grantchester itself is a really great place that we have thoroughly enjoyed and will likely visit often. We will miss it!

Spiders, snails, and puking cats...good ridence!