Sunday, December 09, 2012

2012 Holiday To London-NYC-Niagara - Day Eight

Early brekkie - even Mr Rees noticed. Washing day too - 4kg for £5. Tube from Euston Square to Liverpool Street Station. Printed my pre-paid train tickets and killed a bit of time playing games with the camera with The Boy. We'd take a photo and then zoom in on the picture and the other person had to guess what had been photographed. Modern game of I-spy, I guess. 


When it came time to board the train I was unable to locate one of the tickets. Asked at the info desk if it was possible to reprint and she said I'd have to ask at the ticketing office which was very busy and I only had five or six minutes until our train departed. Panic setting in at this stage. Found the ticket, in my wallet with the Cambridge and Peterborough tickets, after some frantic searching. Yikes!

Train ride was pleasant - so surprising to be out in the countryside so quickly. It gave The Boy and I time to catch up on our diaries. Cambridge railway station is situated quite a walk from the town centre. Our bags were feeling heavy and the missus was getting upset and not enjoying herself. Once we reached the markets outside St Mary's Church I found out from the tourist information the whereabouts of the lockers - at the cycle shop, of course. From that point we had a feeling of freedom.


Sat down for lunch consisting of a Cornish pasty, German sausage and some veggie-filled bread. It promptly started to rain. And it rained for the rest of the day (and into the night). So we visited the colleges, those that were open to the public without an entrance fee, and walked around the canal.


The town buildings are beautiful. Even in the rain. We wanted to see the Bridge of Sighs but it was only visible by punting. Spoke to one of the locals who was involved in the punting business who informed me that the university students are not allowed to work and he believes this is so they can concentrate on their studies. I had opened the conversation enquiring if he was a student.


Really enjoyed our few hours in Cambridge and would liked to have had more time there. Caught the 1500 train to Peterborough which arrived 50 minutes later. Martin came to pick us up 10 minutes later. He hasn't changed much - bit fatter (like me). His boys speak with very nice English accents. Finally got to meet Veronika, his wife. We ate and talked about our time in London together in '94 and life in general until 10:30. Veronika had spent a great amount of time preparing a traditional Slovak rice meal but was heartbroken that the rice turned out sticky - just the way we like it. Great catch-up. Ordered train tickets to Kings Cross Station before heading to bed.

Photo Album Vol I
Photo Album Vol II
Photo Album Vol III
Photo Album Vol IV (Final)

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