The verdict was unanimous. We had chosen the worst day to visit Cambridge.
After a spell of Autumn sunshine, the skies had fallen to grey and a misty drizzle hung gloomily over the city. Nevertheless, we pulled on our coats, wrapped our scarves around our heads and strode out into the damp - we were there for one morning, and one morning only.
We'd driven down from Exeter the night before and stopped in the famous city for the night. Our final destination was Southwold in Suffolk, where we were to spend the weekend with our wonderful friends, Lizzie and Haico.
Before we made the final leg of our trip, we got to play at being tourists in one of England's most beautiful cities. We waved Lizzie off to work for the morning and set off into the rain.
(Old coat, old top, old leggings, old boots, old scarf - NEW Big Issue! Next time you walk past a Big Issue seller, please stop, have a chat and buy a magazine. They only cost £2.50 each and you'll be supporting somebody who hasn't had an easy life in their endeavours to improve their life. Plus they're pretty interesting!)
We stopped to have a wander around Sidney Sussex College and the beautiful, golden quads.
I even got Michele to have a go at taking a few pictures of me for the blog - how exciting! I'm not particularly comfortable in front of the camera and much prefer gurning and messing around to smiling and trying to look pretty. But on the other hand, I've come to realise that my favourite blogs are those that have at least a few pictures of the writer every now and then, just so you know who's talking to you.
So here I am!
But that's as far as we got for that day!
I always wanted to go to Oxford and was absolutely devastated when I didn't get accepted after the interview stage. Admittedly, visiting the colleges of Cambridge brought back a bit of that wistfulness! Exeter's campus is beautiful but there's something about the heritage of Oxbridge and their college buildings that can't be found on our campus.
We met up with Haico, who had just flown in from Amsterdam and pretty much paced up and down in front of Kings College until it was an acceptable time for lunch.
Kings is one of the most imposing buildings I've ever seen. I quite honestly cannot imagine studying there. The building itself would probably put the fear of exams and assignments into me before I'd even got into class. Scary!
Before we submitted to the growls of our stomachs, we swung by the Cambridge Cheese Company to pick up some cheese for the weekend.
The shop is a cheese-lovers dream, resplendent with as many cheeses as you could ever hope to gorge upon and all the wonderful condiments and crackers you could wish for.
We picked up one of their weekend cheese bags - it cost an eye-watering £25 but contained four large pieces of cheese that lasted six hungry cheese-lovers over two meals. The selection was also brilliant with one French soft cow's milk cheese that disappeared within minutes, a smoked manchego, a soft goats cheese and a nice, sturdy blue.
By this point, it was finally midday! We met up with Vicky (who has just started her PhD at the British Antarctic Survey, the clever thing!) and Lizzie soon joined us for a delicious round of kebabs at Gardis.
The five of us were crammed around a table in the small upstairs room, shoving halloumi and hummus and falafel into our mouths whilst listening to the music of sunnier climes (just visit their website for a flavour of the atmosphere!)
The food was great and so cheap to boot. I was halfway through my halloumi kebab (definitely recommend) when I was asking Michele to go downstairs and order me another one.
(Glutton may as well be my middle name..)
We went for the shortest of walks before deciding it was time for my food - this time, cake at Afternoon Tease, the cafe with the most instagrammable sign in Cambridge!
Unfortunately when we arrived, the cafe was absolutely packed (a good sign in general, but a bad sign on a drizzly, cold day when sitting outside is a no-go!) After trying the chocolate brownie and the chocolate Guiness cake, I can see why it was so busy too.
We squished around the bar area as much as possible and positively pounced on a table as soon as it became free!
The excitement of that obviously got all a bit too much for Haico, who decided to start feeding Michele carrot cake...
But he wasn't having any of it so just ended up with a beard full of cream cheese frosting - yum!
And then it was time to pack into the car, bid farewell to Vicky and grab our suitcases ready for our next adventure in Southwold!
A lovely day with lovely friends - one of the best things in life!
The pictures turned out so pretty! I'd love to visit Cambridge one day :)
ReplyDeletexx
LA VEINE
Thank you! It's such a picturesque place, you can't go wrong! xxx
DeleteI love Cambridge, I used to live pretty close by, your pictures are so pretty, made me homesick!
ReplyDeleteRosy | Sparkles of Light Blog
Aw it must have been so nice to have it nearby! xxx
DeleteThere's so much to see and so much to eat in England! What a beautiful place it is. You look pretty too <3
ReplyDeletexoxo,
SHAIRA
www.missdream-girl.blogspot.com
Thank you :) it's so beautiful there! You can't help but walk around with your mouth open in awe! xxx
DeleteI really like Cambridge, though I haven't been to Sidney Sussex college. Love the photos of you, very natural
ReplyDeleteIt's so beautiful - we just wandered in by chance! I'd love to get around all the colleges, the architecture is incredible. Thank you! I found it so cringey haha definitely not a natural inside! xxx
DeleteLoved reading this. Please check out my ultimate guide to visiting a hairdresser!
ReplyDeleteKisses xo | From Aliona With Love
Instagram @alionawithlove
Twitter @alionawithlove
Thank you :) will do! xxx
DeleteI love Cambridge! It's such a beautiful town and I agree on the Oxbridge heritage/beauty. well done for even making it to interview stage! Love me a good kebab too ;) Only asking purely out of interest but are you still just experimenting with veganism or are you committed (e.g. cake shop)? Love AP xo
ReplyDeleteAndrea's Passions
Thank you! It's so gorgeous isn't it?? Haha definitely still "experimenting" (you may also be able to tell by the halloumi kebab...). I've been saying I'm in the "transition phase" and have stopped eating fish and am cutting down on dairy and eggs but I think it's time I stop being such a hypocrite and just take the plunge! I did it for a month earlier this year so hopefully I'll be ok and remember to eat more than just chickpeas...! xxx
DeleteCambridge is stunning and you captured its autumnal beauty perfectly. The purple berries are lovely. Glad you've roped the other half in with pics. Sad times about the cake shop but as you say shows that it is good Lucy x
ReplyDeleteThanks Lucy! I've never seen such bright purple berries before, I didn't know they came in that colour haha xxx
DeleteSuch a beautiful place..especially in the Fall! I hope to be able to visit someday!!
ReplyDeletewww.leftbanked.com
You should! And yes, I think it's the perfect time of year to visit :) xxx
DeleteOh my god, what a cosy town! So pretty! Never seen berries that purple by the way.
ReplyDeleteAutumn looks so good in these photos... And man, halloumi + falafels + hummus = holy trinity! add tzatziki and I'll be climing walls :)
Yesss, the food was so good! Ah man I want it again now! xxx
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