This weekend was definitely a memorable one. An extremely busy, fun weekend that has left me beyond exhausted.
On Saturday, I went to Cambridge and it was so beautiful. The town itself was extremely small and quaint and the weather was actually terrible and pretty all at once. It was raining, at times just drizzles, and at others complete downpours. We walked around the town, stopped into a museum that contained a vast amount of collectibles and artworks by Renoir, Degas, and Picasso. It was slightly boring because I'm not extremely interested in collectibles as much as I am in animal exhibits or science museums- but the prestigious artist part was wonderful. After the museum, we found this farmer's market that I literally speed walked to. I saw the white tents and all the vendors and I bolted for it. FARMER'S MARKETS ARE MY FAVORITE. Some people in our group wanted to have lunch and found a posh little tea cafe that was really cute. The rest of us thought we'd explore the farmer's market and I found this quaint little thai tent run by a little old lady. I paid 3 pounds for a heaping plate of noodles with chicken and it was delicious! We continued to walk around the town after lunch and found the river that runs right through Cambridge. We saw these boats going up and down the river that looked very similar to the canal boats in Venice- except, the huge wooden stick is really just a stick that you use to push off the river floor, not an oar. This is called punting. We started talking to one of the guys who worked at the punting business at the riverside and he told us that we could rent a boat for 18 pounds for an hour and take it out ourselves. He warned us that it was really difficult, but we're crazy college students and so we, a) always go the cheaper route and b) aren't afraid of adventure. We got on the boat and I can genuinely say that it's been a long time since I have laughed so hard. Everything from Matt accidentally letting go of the wooden stick and it standing up straight in the water, stuck at the bottom of the river and us trying to get it back but accidentally riding directly over it to Gao yelling about his difficulty with paddling at the front made the experience such a fun one. We raced with some drunk British men and laughed the entire way. Not only was the experience so much fun - it was so beautiful. I can honestly say that after walking the town of Cambridge, there's no better way to see the city than to take out one of these boats. We were able to see all the main landmarks and the colors of the green grass, blue water, and historic building were so beautiful all together. I said previously that it was raining all day but miraculously, it was extremely sunny and bright when we took the boat out. It was almost as if the skies cleared just for us and our trip on the river. After our punting experience we headed back to the train station to catch the next train. It was 4:20 and the train left at 4:30. Ryan and I were determined to catch the train and so we speed walked the entire way to the station, making it onto the train and in our seats with about 5 minutes to spare but without any of our friends. We watched Matt and Katie run across the platform from the train window. A few minutes later... now 4:29, we saw Gao. Gao looked confused. He didn't exactly know what platform the train was on but he quickly figured it out and he started bolting for the train. We were all watching in suspense/hysteria from laughing so hard and thank goodness Gao barely made it on the train - completely winded and sweaty from running the whole way. We got back to London after a wonderful day and I actually would put it down as one of the best trips I've had so far :)
That night, we went to this incredibly posh night club complete with a red carpet, bouncers, white leather couches and beautiful people of London. It was so much fun to dance the entire night but unfortunately, by the end of it all - all the girls were completely crippled and our feet were killing us from spending over 8 hours in heels. We stumbled back to South Kensington on the bus, all laughing at the wonderful moments of the night but Chloe and I were really concerned with the fact that we had to be up in 3 hours to go to Oxford the next morning. Oh boy.
So needless to say, Chloe and I knocked out at a whopping 4 am and woke up at 7 to catch our train to Oxford. We spent the entire day in Oxford and it also, was extremely beautiful. Oxford geographically, is smaller than Cambridge but it seemed slighter bigger. The streets weren't as narrow and cute but they were old and had beautiful stoned paths. The churches and buildings were gorgeous and I couldn't take enough pictures. One of the churches actually let you climb to the top of the tower to see a 360 view of the city. Panoramic pictures for days. It was so beautiful. I was a little worried about the stairwell being cramped and long because I very easily get panic attacks from claustrophobia and fears. We started walking and it wasn't bad but we did get to a part where my mind started to shake and my heart pace quickened. I could feel it coming on but tried really hard to fight it and was successful! I was really happy that the beautiful experience wasn't ruined by my panic. We had lunch at a very authentic Thai restaurant afterwards and it was quite delicious! After lunch we headed back to the train station and departed for South Ken. It was a really nice day... calm and quiet but we were able to see all the wonderful places of Oxford. The minute we got back to the house, Chloe and I literally collapsed in our beds and I didn't wake up until 8 am today. A whopping 15 hours of sleep. So beautiful. And on that note, I've just finished reading for class tomorrow and I'm going to retire for another wonderful 8 hours of sleep :)
Here's to a great weekend and many more to come with wonderful people in a wonderful city!
On Saturday, I went to Cambridge and it was so beautiful. The town itself was extremely small and quaint and the weather was actually terrible and pretty all at once. It was raining, at times just drizzles, and at others complete downpours. We walked around the town, stopped into a museum that contained a vast amount of collectibles and artworks by Renoir, Degas, and Picasso. It was slightly boring because I'm not extremely interested in collectibles as much as I am in animal exhibits or science museums- but the prestigious artist part was wonderful. After the museum, we found this farmer's market that I literally speed walked to. I saw the white tents and all the vendors and I bolted for it. FARMER'S MARKETS ARE MY FAVORITE. Some people in our group wanted to have lunch and found a posh little tea cafe that was really cute. The rest of us thought we'd explore the farmer's market and I found this quaint little thai tent run by a little old lady. I paid 3 pounds for a heaping plate of noodles with chicken and it was delicious! We continued to walk around the town after lunch and found the river that runs right through Cambridge. We saw these boats going up and down the river that looked very similar to the canal boats in Venice- except, the huge wooden stick is really just a stick that you use to push off the river floor, not an oar. This is called punting. We started talking to one of the guys who worked at the punting business at the riverside and he told us that we could rent a boat for 18 pounds for an hour and take it out ourselves. He warned us that it was really difficult, but we're crazy college students and so we, a) always go the cheaper route and b) aren't afraid of adventure. We got on the boat and I can genuinely say that it's been a long time since I have laughed so hard. Everything from Matt accidentally letting go of the wooden stick and it standing up straight in the water, stuck at the bottom of the river and us trying to get it back but accidentally riding directly over it to Gao yelling about his difficulty with paddling at the front made the experience such a fun one. We raced with some drunk British men and laughed the entire way. Not only was the experience so much fun - it was so beautiful. I can honestly say that after walking the town of Cambridge, there's no better way to see the city than to take out one of these boats. We were able to see all the main landmarks and the colors of the green grass, blue water, and historic building were so beautiful all together. I said previously that it was raining all day but miraculously, it was extremely sunny and bright when we took the boat out. It was almost as if the skies cleared just for us and our trip on the river. After our punting experience we headed back to the train station to catch the next train. It was 4:20 and the train left at 4:30. Ryan and I were determined to catch the train and so we speed walked the entire way to the station, making it onto the train and in our seats with about 5 minutes to spare but without any of our friends. We watched Matt and Katie run across the platform from the train window. A few minutes later... now 4:29, we saw Gao. Gao looked confused. He didn't exactly know what platform the train was on but he quickly figured it out and he started bolting for the train. We were all watching in suspense/hysteria from laughing so hard and thank goodness Gao barely made it on the train - completely winded and sweaty from running the whole way. We got back to London after a wonderful day and I actually would put it down as one of the best trips I've had so far :)
That night, we went to this incredibly posh night club complete with a red carpet, bouncers, white leather couches and beautiful people of London. It was so much fun to dance the entire night but unfortunately, by the end of it all - all the girls were completely crippled and our feet were killing us from spending over 8 hours in heels. We stumbled back to South Kensington on the bus, all laughing at the wonderful moments of the night but Chloe and I were really concerned with the fact that we had to be up in 3 hours to go to Oxford the next morning. Oh boy.
So needless to say, Chloe and I knocked out at a whopping 4 am and woke up at 7 to catch our train to Oxford. We spent the entire day in Oxford and it also, was extremely beautiful. Oxford geographically, is smaller than Cambridge but it seemed slighter bigger. The streets weren't as narrow and cute but they were old and had beautiful stoned paths. The churches and buildings were gorgeous and I couldn't take enough pictures. One of the churches actually let you climb to the top of the tower to see a 360 view of the city. Panoramic pictures for days. It was so beautiful. I was a little worried about the stairwell being cramped and long because I very easily get panic attacks from claustrophobia and fears. We started walking and it wasn't bad but we did get to a part where my mind started to shake and my heart pace quickened. I could feel it coming on but tried really hard to fight it and was successful! I was really happy that the beautiful experience wasn't ruined by my panic. We had lunch at a very authentic Thai restaurant afterwards and it was quite delicious! After lunch we headed back to the train station and departed for South Ken. It was a really nice day... calm and quiet but we were able to see all the wonderful places of Oxford. The minute we got back to the house, Chloe and I literally collapsed in our beds and I didn't wake up until 8 am today. A whopping 15 hours of sleep. So beautiful. And on that note, I've just finished reading for class tomorrow and I'm going to retire for another wonderful 8 hours of sleep :)
Here's to a great weekend and many more to come with wonderful people in a wonderful city!
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