Cambridge, UK. June 2nd

Today was a very busy day. I started out with a run along the paths of Bedford. This resulted in me actually getting a bit lost. I thought I had WiFi and phone service, and apparently I do not. I did not realize this until I found myself in a lovely little village some distance from Rob's house. Fortunately, I found my way back and saw some pretty cool things along the way


After a quick shower, we headed over to Cambridge for the day. It is just a quick 45 minutes drive from Rob's place. There are just no words for how delightful Cambridge is. Be prepared for a huge photo dump of fabulous pictures from our day. The weather was just perfect. Rob and his son, James joined us for the day.


 

 

Walking around Cambridge makes me feel smarter just by breathing the same air as some of the smart people who are studying here and who have studied here.

 

Below are what I call death traps for people with degenerative eye diseases who actual have no peripheral vision. I almost impaled myself on several. Nic finally decided I need a permanent guide. 


 

King's College was the clear highlight of the day. It was truly awe inspiring. 


 

The grounds were equally lovely. It was very quiet and pensive, with nice little signs reminding visitors to be please be quiet. 

 

I enjoyed the flora and the fauna, including the happy little bees and poppies. 


We had lunch in 'The Eagle', famous for the announcement of the double helix by Crick and Watson. (Don't forget Rosalind Franklin). There is also some pretty cool graffiti from World War II on the ceiling from American and English Air Force soldiers. 

I had my first mushroom pie, while Nic enjoyed his second of our trip. When I ordered, I truly thought the peas and the chips would be inside the pie. I was a little surprised. Nic thought my surprise was hilarious. You can see that I gave up on the beer of England, just like the beers of America, although I do like them better.

We wandered the streets and peeked into the shops. I snapped this picture for my dad, thinking he would love a hat from there. Sadly, the hats were 300 pounds, which felt a little out of my budget.  Nic took a little nap while Rob, James and I had a coffee. It was a long and very lovely day.

After our pick-me-up, we headed back to Bedford where we participated in the Jubilee Ceremony for Queen Elizabeth. It was very quaint. There was bagpiper, and Castle Mound and a beacon. Nic and I really enjoyed it and laughed a great deal over it. 




The sun finally set at almost 10 p.m. beautifully on a lovely day.






















































































































Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beginnings

Image
​ Two days and counting until we head out to the UK. Nic and I are tying up loose ends and frantically doing laundry. Nic has been in the field a lot lately and has had a lot of catching up to do both at work and in the laundry room.  This fortune cookie came to me today as Bella and I had lunch post-hair update. It felt like a fitting beginning for my blog and our adventure. 
Read more

Gairloch, Mellon Udrigle. June 17.

Image
  We woke up on Friday to a strong forecast and sunshine in Inverness. We quick ate our full Scottish breakfast as fast as we could and jumped in the car to head back to the western part of Scotland. Keep in mind that things here are deceptively close, two hours in the car to an American is nothing - unless those Americans happed to be myself and Nic - then you might be in for a longer day. People in the UK were astonished to learn I drive 14 hours to see my parents. Perception is everything, people. Also the size of roads may play a role in that. Rainbows like I have never seen before stretched out across the sky with the promise of a good day. We pulled over on the motorway as often as we could to take pictures of the Scottish mountains in the sunshine. They are still beautiful! We saw a sign post for Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve. Nic suspected they sold tea there and pulled off with the hope of a 'good cup of English tea.' We found instead a great hike through old gro...
Read more

Bedford. June 24 & 25

Image
These past few days have been spent resting, shopping for groceries, and visiting with Rob, his kids, and Nic's mom. They have been quiet pause in our travels. I have taken the time to walk, run, sleep late, nap, and go to bed early.  The thistles are blooming in the fields as Nic and I roam through them around Bedfordshire. Throughout our trip he has repeatedly warned against the thistles; be wary of their spines. I have been mostly successful in avoiding their stings, but not entirely. In my own garden I wage a brutal war against the thistle. Years of working the land, as I call my humble garden, has taught me where my thistles like to pop up and present their fearsome thorns. Early in the season I find their haunts and pull the tender thistles up from the ground. Throughout the season I return to their favorite spots and fight them back - pushing them out of my garden in a never-ending battle of wills. I have been a declared sworn enemy to the thistle for many years. Yet time ha...
Read more