First Visit to Cambridge

Our first visit to the city of Cambridge was an overwhelming one!  It was the week before Christmas, and the weather was wintry, but I had been dying to see the historical Sunday Market, so away we went.

Only 20 miles to the south-east, we were surprised as we drove that the snow that had missed Huntingdon had apparently hit Cambridge full-force.  We’d quickly become proper lost (the Brits love to say ‘proper’) and found our Mazda stuck in several inches of snow on a dead-end road.  While Blake worked his magic to get us free, I snapped this shot:

Eventually we found a spot in a multi-story car park, bundled up in our hats, scarves, gloves and coats, and started exploring.  First we found ourselves in a huge shopping mall, which then unexpectedly led to open-air shopping on another street.  We passed several ornate gated areas, and finally I found one open into St. John’s College and snapped a quick photo of its courtyard before the gatekeeper could shoo me away.

We passed through several more shopping areas on streets that are closed off for pedestrians and cyclists.  Window-shopping was fun, even though we didn’t recognize any of the store names.

Soon, Blake’s good sense of direction led us to the market square.  This market has been in existence since the middle ages!  It runs all week, but on Sundays there is an additional farmer’s market component.  Blake bought me some locally-made lavender bubble bath soap as an early Christmas gift.  We were also serenaded by carolers while we wandered through the booths.

Finally, we made our way toward some of the large buildings we saw in the distance, and discovered St. Mary’s Church and King’s College Chapel.  Both buildings were impressive.

Eventually we were feeling a bit frozen, and headed home.  But we had fallen in love with Cambridge’s charm, and there would be many more visits to come.

~Lindsay