In a field behind I believe Queen’s College
Yesterday I took my first solo train rides since being in England as I went to spend the day in Cambridge. Now I know what I said about Dover before, but Cambridge is just so picturesque. I could so easily live there. Imagine cobblestone streets beautifully architectured buildings, greens and lakes and not to mention few of the residents own cars, the majority ride their bikes or simply walk to navigate around this small town. Just charming.
Notice all the bikes parked on the streets
Goodness, I have so much to say about this one so bear with me! Firstly, I have to tell you how I even ended up in Cambridge to begin with. A friend of mine that I had in primary school, but haven’t seen since leaving (that’s around 10/11 yrs. old for my North Americans), after having found out that I was in England, messaged me that her boyfriend who lives in Cambridge would be happy to show me around. I accepted the gracious invite without hesitation, but also thought to myself how lovely it was for them to offer. Now, this friend (Astrid 
) because she had moved to the states, while I continued on to high school in Barbados, we have not actually spoken to each other since. We used to keep in touch by writing (letters not emails back then) but after a few years lost touch. Reuniting about two years ago through the magic of Facebook.
Dan (Astrid’s boyfriend) and I on a bridge mid tour.
Okay so now, I met her boyfriend, Dan, at a pub (these Brits lol) after a short taxi ride from the station, with a driver whose first nor second language was English (some things are universal I see), a lost opportunity to put my TEFL certification to use, I suppose. Then we, along with a lovely friend of his went about town. The weather was a bit over cast and it drizzled but nothing could cloud the beauty of that town. Ohhh and I found out what punting was finally!!! I will pass the knowledge on via photo with you.
One of the punters waving for the camera
So this is how I know I have become obsessed with sharing stories with you guys. When as I was trampling through a field to touch free range cows that apparently belong to local butchers, I was Stung!!! Yes that’s right. I was stung by some form of flora sorcery known as stinging nettle. It literally felt like a thousand little needles were stuck in my hand even though I saw nothing. My first reaction was not a normal, “Ouch!” but rather, once finding out what was happening, I thought what a great story that will be to share. The good news is now every little misfortune that falls upon me, my usual first thoughts are what great stories they will make. So I have you guys to thank for changing my perspective on anything negative. As if it wasn’t enough that I tried to illegally take photos underground Dover Castle for you all, I surely hope this shows my devotion lol.
Wading through stinging nettle to touch the cows
So lastly, after a lovely day in Cambridge, home to one of the best universities in the world and what seems to be the residence of all the other colleges (I swear there are about a million universities in this little place) and multiple pub stops I was back at the station. The day did not end there, a young Parisian girl then came up to me asking for assistance with her train not knowing which one to take or if it had already left. Turns out it was my train so we waited together and started chatting. On the train we exchanged a bit about ourselves and stories, her English (though she would disagree) was very good with that lovely French accent coating it. This is my favorite part about traveling, meeting new people and just to add the icing on the cake, she was originally from a place I had never even heard of before, Reunion Island, apparently close to Mauritius and Seychelles. We are now Facebook friends of course and she is probably reading this, so hi Cathou! So once we got to our stop I helped her find her final train (imagine that!) and off we went our separate ways. Oh and then I made friend with Olu the gentleman who works at the train station lol. Then finally, I headed home to a worried cousin, who was relieved when I finally rang the doorbell at 10pm.
Buildings and streets
