My parents came to visit us during the month of July! We were the "bookends" of their European vacation; they visited us for 5 days, then went to Tblisi, Georgia to visit my aunt & uncle, then came back for another week with us. We had a great time getting to show them the area, as well as vacation up to Scotland with them! Charlotte absolutely adored having "Gammom" [Grandmom] and "G-dad"/"Gn-dad" [Granddad] here, and took full advantage of all the cuddling, book-reading, tickling, and singing that she could. She loved walking holding the hands of both grandparents, and would demand the other's hand if she only had one. She did struggle with bedtimes while they were visiting -- it was too hard to give up on all the fun, so she had some late-ish nights but seemed no worse for wear overall.
They arrived on the morning of the 4th of July, and after getting Charlotte to take a quick nap, we headed to the St Neots' riverfront to check out the "Armed Forces Day" festival. Yes -- the British armed forces chose the 4th of July to try to convince young people to join the military. There may be some kind of irony there? We saw a single Spitfire flyover from the end of our cul-de-sac before leaving for the event -- I had thought there would be more to it, but just one plane flew over once (slightly disappointing). By the river, there were a bunch of carnival rides set up, and some old-fashioned jeeps and tanks scattered about the grounds. We saw a demonstration of the Lindy Hop (it was a 1940s themed festival this year), then headed to the playground nearby to let Charlotte run off some energy. She still loves the swing and the slides.
On Sunday, we went into Cambridge via the Park-and-Ride system to tour around town. We walked down around Kings College and checked out the market in the central square. We then headed back down along the riverfront, taking a quick stop at a playground (Boss Baby's orders) before having lunch at Fort St. George pub. It was a nice day, and they were grilling out delicious burgers on the back patio, where we sat. After lunch, we walked back along Jesus Green (a large green space, no cows grazing this time though!) to the dock where we could depart on a punting tour of the River Cam. I had enjoyed doing it so much with Paul's parents, I decided my parents would enjoy it too! The river was a bit more crowded this time, especially with amateur punters, so we hit a few slow spots and it was amusing to watch our tour guide attempt to direct traffic. Most of the time he gave up and just looked a bit annoyed with the situation. The boats are not easy to steer with a single long pole (as punting requires), and some of the amateurs end up sideways in the river with no idea how to rectify the situation.
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| Charlotte walking with Grandmom & Granddad in Jesus Green, Cambridge |
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| Some of the houseboats along the Cam |
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| Our tourguide on the punting tour as we began |
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| The back of Kings College chapel |
On Monday, we went to Grafham Water to enjoy a nice walk along the reservoir/lake. I was a bit surprised to find that the trail veers away from the lake for much of the route we took that day, into the woods where you rarely get glimpses of the water. It was a good walk anyway, except for Mom getting poked in the leg by a mean stinging nettles plant! After walking, we grabbed a quick drink at the cafe and then headed out to the playground. Charlotte was thrilled to get to enjoy a new (to her) slide and swings, of course.
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| Waving at us from the upstairs window |
Later that afternoon, we relaxed at home while babysitting for our friends' baby boy so they could enjoy attending a wedding reception in relative peace :) On Tuesday, we went to Burghley House near Stamford, England (see next post). Then on Wednesday morning, we headed to Gatwick airport to drop Mom & Dad off for the next leg of their trip in the republic of Georgia!
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