Ely, UK. June 4

We woke up early today to hit Ely and the fens. Our early arrival gave us time for a bit of coffee (or tea, if you are English), and a tour of the bookstore. It was a lovely, lovely book store - so I splurged and bought a new book. Jetlag has allowed me extra reading time. 

Ely boasts of a great cathedral and a stained glass museum. We spent the greater part of our day there bundled in jackets and hats despite the fact that it is June. 

It is still the Jubilee and as a result, the Queen's coronation dress was there. It is truly spectacular. It is hard to capture the detail with the camera, but there are tiny crystals and each flower embroidered bore a special meaning.

Nic did his level best to capture the best pictures of the cathedral. He even lay on the alter - which you are not supposed to do as he was quickly informed by the guard. He pointed out that the instructions say "Do not stand" and he was laying, so he did not technically break the rules. The guard did not agree. But his pictures are great, aren't they?

I tried to capture the unique attributes of this cathedral. It has a wooden octagonal tower, which is pretty remarkable. 

Nic and I have a few conversations about stained glass, so we opted to take the museum tour on the second level and learn a bit more. We are both the better for the new knowledge. I snapped a few photos of a few of my favorites, or those that I found meaning in. Please bear in mind that there were many pieces of art and all were remarkable. 

For Stacy, House of Denham, the last of her name.

I snapped a few photos of the town and the river Ouse, which runs down to Bedford. 

Nic and I then ate a depressing lunch at the Swann on the river in a tiny village where we were kind of lost because I have not figured out my cell service. I cried through most of said lunch. It turns out I am still a little sad about our not wedding. Most people get over things. I do not. So, I salted my own risotto. Gordon Ramsey would be most disappointed, except that the risotto really did need more salt.

After a good cry, bad food, and Jubilee beer, we headed out in search of the fens. There are books about the fens. I know this because I tried to buy them for Nic today. He did not want them. The fens are mostly gone, but it is an ecological disaster for England. If you want to know more, get the book. That's all I have for you. We found a museum dedicated to the fens but because I cried for an hour at lunch, we got there after the close. So instead I took this picture next to the fens. The grass is tall. Very tall. My allergies are also bad. Very bad. 

The fens that are left are beautiful. The birds are incredible and I really regret all the crying I did. Except I kept crying for the entire car ride and part of the walk, so I guess I did not regret it too much.

In an effort to get my crying under control before we went back to Rob's house, Nic took me back to the Putnoe Wood that I disparaged yesterday. He felt that I missed the wood. He was correct. The wood is better and cooler than I thought. It is also bigger. I ran in the wood beside the wood, which is much less impressive. Please note the following pictures as a correction to my previous post. The woods are old and cool and not very big, but bigger than I suggested. 

 I would also like to record a few other observations about England. 

• It is cold. Colder than you expect. In fact, it's fucking freezing. The weather for the next week is cold. 
• The elections here are very civil. Today I noted a few election signs. One slogan was: Oliver, Please 2022. I almost expected at the bottom, 'but cheers to you if you don't please.' (Names have been changed to protect the identity of polite Brits in the countryside). America has a lot to learn my friends.
• It is very quiet here, even in town. We do not hear traffic at all. We hear birds and chirping. It is lovely.
• Drivers in England are as bad as Americans but with smaller roads and fewer instructions. I am still terrified.