Ladies Who Lunch...

The first time (and actually only time) I went to the Thursday morning women's Bible study at Holy Trinity, I met a lovely lady named Zoe. She teaches writing classes, went to Cambridge for undergraduate, and is one of the most friendly and approachable Brits I have met. Recently, after much confusion and deliberation, Zoe was diagnosed with Behcet's syndrome, which is a rare and debilitating disease. I don't completely understand the ins and outs of it, but it doesn't seem like doctors do either. Despite very unpleasant treatment and a roller coaster of good days and bad days, Zoe has gone out of her way to make me comfortable here and has generously whisked me around in her car on various outings around Cambridge. Since neither of us work full time, we have acclimated quite nicely to being ladies who lunch. A few weeks ago, our first mini-adventure took us out to Wimpole, an old English manor house and farm that has become a National Trust site. Anyone is welcome (admission free) to wander through the massive pastures, visit the tower and lake nestled in between the hills, or even bring the family dog to run through the fields with the sheep. When I got out of the car (on the LEFT passenger side, which repeatedly threw me off) I felt I had stepped onto Mr. Darcy's Pemberley estate. Complete with a small market square, a church, a graveyard, a restaurant, and a gigantic mansion, Wimpole seemed worlds away from the cramped streets of Cambridge even though it was only about twenty minutes outside of town. Zoe used to take study breaks during exam weeks to visit Wimpole and enjoy the fresh air. How cool is that? My study breaks involved taking a quick car ride to Sonic for a happy hour slushy, not a whimsical stroll through fog and livestock losing myself in a scene from a Jane Austen novel.

This was the cemetery in the churchyard. Those two matching headstones that look brand new are from 1938. They look so modern because the rest of the headstones are just that old.

View of the church on the right, and the mostly obstructed building on the left is the mansion.

I loved the sign on this door. I thought it was unique and quaint.

Lone bench butting up against the exterior of the mansion.

View of the front door of the house. I should have backed up farther to get the whole facade, but I would say this picture covers about a fifth of the front. There is an enormous circular drive, and I could easily envision horse-drawn carriages pulling up to drop off invitees at the social event of the season.

You can tour the house and its massive formal gardens, but it was closed the day we went. So, this was the only statue I got a glimpse of. The back of the house and the gardens reminded me of Philbrook Museum in Tulsa.

This picture really can't do this place justice. This was the crest of a hill that overlooks the lake and the tower. Zoe told me that every year the estate hosts a fundraiser in which you can run a marathon through the acreage. The fog had settled into the folds between the hills, and I kept thinking, "This is quintessential English countryside - fog, hills, greenery, sheep, lakes, and a manor house."

After we were finished roaming, we ended up inside this nice little guest house. We chatted over drinks and cake. It was delightful.

I'm so glad I was able to visit Wimpole. I felt like I experienced a radically different pace of English life, separate from most other tourists. This Wednesday, Zoe and I will be lunching again. We may go to Anglesey Abbey, but there were a couple of other options, so I'm not sure. Since Matthew and I are leaving Thursday on a pre-Christmas trip to Belgium (before meeting my parents in Paris one week from today!), I'm not sure if I will have time to write about Wednesday's excursion. Additionally, I will most likely not have access to the blogosphere from Thursday night until Christmas Eve. So, I'm just giving fair warning that there will be bazillions of pictures and anecdotes flooding in after New Year's.

Matthew and I are going to the last international tea of the term at the Cooper's house this afternoon. Afterwards we will be going to the evening service at Eden Baptist. And then... I'm trying to convince Matthew to go into the city center with me to take pictures of my beloved Christmas-y Cambridge. However, it is currently raining, and freezing drizzle is not especially friendly to photography equipment. We'll see. Cheerio!