So. Finals are over. People have been telling me that I've just started the next chapter of my life. That I should be feeling completely euphoric right now. While not screaming with joy (as I saw some people doing straight after the last exam), I'm extremely content. I've been reacquainting myself with the concept of rest and relaxation. By Sunday I'd recovered from fifteen hours of exams sufficiently to do a bit of exploring round Cambridge. With my camera. Warning...this post is going to be very picture-heavy!
A and I discovered the tri-monthly Mill Road Feast three months ago and put the next date in our diaries. Luckily for us (and the traders), June 1st was blessed with the most perfect weather.
A and I chose Danish pastries from The Earth's Crust for breakfast (him almond, me cherry). So delicious. They trade at Market Square every day - recommended for anyone seeking breakfast in Cam! Next time I'd like to try their galettes.
Breakfast also came in the form of ice-cream. Totally acceptable, especially if it's rhubarb or elderflower flavour! Jack's Gelato sells its frozen wares at Nord Café in the centre of Cambridge, and is highly recommended.
While in the Mill Road area, we went for a little window-shop in the lovely antiques shops on Gwydir Street.
They're housed in Dale's Brewery, a beautiful old warehouse.
We fell in love with a Georgian writing desk from The Hive, but at £350 it was a bit out of our price range. Time to move on. Next on our list was Cambridge's Botanical Gardens.
Three types of 'Beech' together.
I'd like a sweet little gardening shed like this for my back garden please!
We stopped for a picnic on a beautifully manicured lawn.
Having finished The Three the day before, I'd just started Donna Tartt's The Secret History. As it's about a group of students at an elite university I figured that my last month as an undergraduate would be the perfect time to read it. It's enthralling - and so beautifully written.
A detail from my trusty Cambridge satchel.
Quintessential British picnic food - a Melton Mowbray pork pie.
The Botanical Garden is a haven for honeybees and bumbles.
I love the greenhouses here. While not as big as the ones in Kew, they're very charming, retaining vestiges of the past through quaint elements like the brass door latches or the mini library below. The tropical greenhouse is humid and warm, like Malaysia, and very comforting.
Pitcher plants! There were some much bigger ones that I couldn't help but find a little creepy...
We thought these little tendrils looked like telephone cords.
A was much more at home in the Alpine greenhouse, being of Swiss descent...
I love the relief of stepping out of the greenhouses into the cool air.
Pollen that looked a bit like snow.
The prettiest leaves.
Cantab plants!
Roses that look like they've been tie-dyed.
The boy in the rose garden.
It's so nice to explore my university town without feeling the weight of exams pressing down on my shoulders! June holds the promise of black-tie balls and graduation (I am now a graduand...!) and I can't wait to show you around a little bit more.
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