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)?