Mom and Dad Hutchison Visit Cambridge

We're back!...not that we've actually been anywhere, but I'm finally making my return to the world of blogging. I have one, multifaceted excuse for why there's been nothing but radio silence on Our Own Little World for nearly two months now. September through November is prime time in the world of university faculty searches. That means that if Jason and I want a source of income beyond our current contracts which expire next year, now is the time to be looking. So, you've heard nothing from me partially because we've been pretty busy with the job hunt, but primarily because spending our weekends writing cover letters makes it pretty difficult to do anything exciting enough to be blog-worthy!

Luckily, my parents came for a visit a couple of weeks ago, giving us an excuse to put work aside for a bit. At the top of our to-do list was an outing to Grantchester, our absolute favorite place to take visitors. As you probably remember reading here before, Grantchester is a quaint little village about 3 miles from Cambridge that seems to be frozen in time. Visiting gives you the feeling of going back to the early 1900's when running through the open meadows was still what kids did for fun and Saturday afternoon picnick lunches were the norm. My mom got right into the spirit of things when she spotted this in the meadow:


She immediately started telling us all about how much she loved to catch frogs as a kid. It was perfect because that's precisely what Grantchester does - it takes you back to simpler times.

After walking around the meadows a bit, we stopped to pick some of the blackberries that grow wild there. It was pretty late in the season, so most of the easy to reach berries were gone. Luckily for me, I had my secret weapon with me:


And when that didn't work, we gave this a shot as well:


Two containers of berries later, we decided it was time for to relax with a drink at one of the local pubs.


It was definitely a classic Grantchester day!

The next day, we headed down to teh river for some punting, another activity that everyone who visits Cambridge must experience.


Next, after seeing King's College Chapel from the river, we decided to go tour it. After being here over a year, I'd still never been inside, so I was excited to check it out. The chapel is absolutely beautiful from the outside, so I figured the inside had to be equally amazing. (No, this picture isn't from my parents' visit, but it is one of the only pictures I have of the chapel...they've been doing restoration work on it ever since we arrived in Cambridge which means it's always covered in unsightly scaffolding. On this particular day, the snow hid the scaffolding quite well, making one of the only times I've felt compleled to take a few pictures).


The inside of the chapel did not disappoint. Unfortuately it's nearly impossible to capture the impressiveness and intricate detail present in such an enormous building.


After leaving the chapel, my mom spotted a garden that she desparetly wanted to check out. The guide on our punting tour had mentioned that it was one of the most beautiful gardens in Cambridge. You can imagine her disappointment when we discovered it was closed to the public.


On our way home, my mom spotted this scene a commented on how it captured nearly every aspect of Cambridge...the river, the red ivy, the old buildings, the bridges, and the punters. She was right!



On their last day in Cambridge, we took the train up to Ely, a neat little market town about 10 minutes by train from Cambridge. It is most known for its amazing cathedral:


Last time Jason and I tried to visit the Cathedral, it was closed for some boy scout ceremony, so this was the first time I was actually able to go inside. Just like King's College Chapel, it was quite the site to see:


Possibly as impressive as the cathedral was the choir that was practicing while we were there. To hear such a small group's voices echoing through the cathedral was really neat. Once they start doing their Christmas services, I think I might have to drag Jason up for another visit...he'll love it!

That pretty much sums up the very quick 4 day tour of Cambridge that we gave my parents. From here, we were off to Italy for another whirlwind tour. More on that very soon!