Cambridge, Grantchester, & The Merchant of Venice

Yesterday I did not wake up when I wanted to, but I was so pooped. I think I just needed the sleep! I used my tiny flat iron for the first time and it was a struggle. I was ready by about 10:00 and had a few hours to kill before meeting up with John, my supervisor from my internship at the University of Cambridge. I wanted to go to the Grafton Centre, another mall, to see what I could find for shoes.

I called an Uber to save myself the 20 minute walk and it showed up in one minute at the doorstep of the AirBnB. The driver was playing Drake. The juxtaposition of being in this historic place while Drake is playing is just funny to me. The Uber to mall cost £5--money spent well, in my opinion.

After perusing several stores and debating on if I wanted to buy cheap shoes that might further destroy my feet or more expensive shoes that I might not wear when I get home, I decided on a pair from Primark (which is kind of like H&M, but cheaper even?), which had memory foam and soft material that I thought might be okay. They cost only £10, so this was risky. I can't tell if they look orthopedic or like knock-off Nikes. You be the judge.

Either way, they were a good decision because my feet don't hurt! Sidenote: women here must have petite feet because I had real trouble trying to find size 9.

After that, I walked down to the Disability Resource Centre to meet John, the head of the department. I was nervous! I knew it would be fine, but seeing someone after 8 years that you haven't really talked to...I dunno. The sweet reception girl chatted with me for a minute; a different person than was there when I was.

John came in and gave me a hug, which was welcoming. He then gave me a tour of the place. Much was familiar, but a lot has changed too! It was hard for me to pay attention because I was distracted by the fact that I was actually there. It was surreal! I spent a few minutes talking to Helen, a Specific Learning Difficulties Advisor, who was there when I was. John is working on his PhD right now so they were talking about t-tests, ANOVAs, and SPSS and it made me grimace in horror remembering stats in grad school. I asked John if he enjoys that part of research and I got a flat-out, "no." Haha!

After that, John and I headed to Brown's, which is next door to the DRC and is sort of an upscale bar/restaurant. He ordered a pint of something and I had a cappuccino. I am so awkward when ordering at a bar. We sat and talked for about an hour--more about his PhD research, a new student services centre that's opening next year (a central location for the DRC, counseling, careers, admissions, and registrar), more about student services in general because I couldn't stop asking him questions about it, Brexit and what that means for higher education in the UK, Trump (John wondered why he seems to be the only one to get away with all this...right), the cost to live in Cambridge, and how I can get a job there (just kidding...kinda...he said I shouldn't discount the fact that I've worked at Cambridge).

It was a super pleasant visit. I'm grateful that John is so nice and down-to-earth. I told him that I wanted to get a photo and he said we could ask the barmaid to take it. Yes--he actually said "barmaid."

I then took an Uber to Grantchester (cost about £8 and my driver was from Bulgaria, so that was an interesting 8 minute car ride), a small town outside of Cambridge that is perhaps now best known for the television series of the same name. It's also famous for being the hangout spot of author Virginia Woolf and friends. My plan was to do a proper afternoon tea at Orchard Tea Garden, which I did...and did well!

I had to walk through the orchard to get to the building where you order. It is a disheveled orchard with overgrown grass and apples that have come to rest where they've fallen from the trees. It is charming in its imperfection. I didn't really know what I was doing ordering afternoon tea, because the people in front of me in line were just ordering a scone or drink, not a meal. Luckily the girl at the counter was helpful and explained the three options to me. She also led me out to the orchard to pick a spot and said she'd back with the tea and food. When she asked if I take sugar in my tea, I said yes, even though I don't put sugar in my tea. Again, why am I so awkward?

Anyway, this meal was amazing. There were four finger sandwiches: one turkey and spicy mustard on white bread, one cucumber and cream cheese on white bread, one tomato and cream cheese on brown seedy bread, and one cheese and caramelized onion on brown seedy bread. I think my favorite was the cucumber and cream cheese. 

Next was the sultana scone with cream and jam. (Sultana means that the scone had raisins in it.) You guys. This scone was like a muffin in shape and texture, but like a biscuit in density. The cream was cool, whippy, and sugary--but not too sugary. The jam was raspberry and its sweetness really set off the cream. I am aiming to have a scone with cream and jam many times before I go.

Next was the Victorian sponge cake. This was so much food, but you know I ate it all haha. I've never really been a fan of sponge cake, but I am a believer in English sponge cake after this experience. It was like regular white cake texture but a layer of strawberry jam and cream cheesey powdered sugar icing in the middle, with powdered sugar in top.

All the while I'm enjoying this with a pot of Earl Grey. When all was said and done, I was there for two hours. What an experience! While I read a book, about five bees were enjoying the little empty jam jar and birds were singing because they were proud to be English.

It was about 66 degrees and sunny, so basically perfectly chilly.

After this, I walked a couple of blocks to find the Church of St. Andrew and St. Mary. The first thing I saw was a sign that said "visitors are welcome," so that made me feel good. The second thing I saw was a banner letting visitors know that this church is where filming happened for the television series, Grantchester. Cool beans. This church was so quiet. I was the only one in there. I don't think I've ever been in a church completely alone. It was quite nice. I walked around the cemetery a bit because cemeteries make me happy, especially ones with stones from the 1600s and 1700s.

 

After this, I wanted to head down to the river. I knew the general direction, but also followed people knowing that's where they were headed. I came to a fen, which is basically an open field, sometimes where animals graze. On the fen I found a yellow bike propped up against this bush covered chicken wire. I recognize it was an Ofo bike, which is an app I downloaded in case I wanted to ride a bike. You unlock the bike via the app by scanning a QR code. At this point, I wasn't sure if I was going to call an Uber back to Cambridge or walk, but when I saw this bike, I figured I'd go for it. The ride into town is through fields and has its own bike path (I knew this because I visited Grantchester briefly on bike in 2010), so it seemed pretty easy.

I tried to unlock the bike and it magically worked, so I guess it was meant to be. It felt so good to be on the bike with the countryside wind in my face...until I realized one of the fields had a gate to keep animals in...and I guess also me, with a bike, out. Luckily there was a super nice couple who helped me lift the bike over and told me there was another gate on the other side of the field, but then it was just a 10 minute ride into Cambridge. Perfect. Amazing. Thank you. Off I go.

The ride looked fairly familiar, until it didn't. Here I am trying to ride a bike while holding my phone and looking at Google Maps. I still got lost. This 10 minute journey took 45. I got so much exercise yesterday! I am pretty proud of myself for riding the bike in Cambridge traffic, though. You just have to ignore the fact that vehicles are passing you with, like, inches to spare. This bike ride cost me a little over £2, but I earned the adventure!

 

I dropped off my stuff at the AirBnB and relaxed for about an hour, then it was time to head to the theater! A short and cheap Uber ride and I was there in line at the box office to pick up my ticket and then in line at the bar to order a "bardtender," the special of the night. This drink was gin with sparkling elderflower and lime, garnished with cucumber. It was refreshing--sort of like Sprite with a twist of grass. 

The show started promptly at 7:45. I was underdressed and underage for this theater performance given the attire and geriatric nature of the audience. It was Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice," which I had never heard of before. I understood about 31% of what the actors said, but could follow the general storyline. I enjoyed it! Imagine the most British sounding accent you can coming from an older woman saying, "EX-cellent!" when it was over.

Ubered home and crashed! Thanks for reading about this epic day!