Cambridge turned on the weather on Saturday.  My plan was a simple one.  Wake up at 11:00am, get ready and head into The Pickerel to meet Miss Marjory.  I was window shopping at a charity shop and when I went to enter the store I had to give way to a pedestrian.  I thought to myself as I waited, “I bet that’s Marjory.”  Sure enough – it was her.  Shame the pub wasn’t opened.  So we walked around the city center.  It was weird to meet someone who I’d only ever had contact with on the internet.  She was as lively and nutty in person as she is online.  It was hilarious.

We toured Cambridge on the big red city sightseeing bus.  I finally got to ride on top of a double decker bus!!!  The bus seemed to go down every street in Cambridge.  It was great.  We got to talk and catch up while watching the sights go by.  When our tummy’s got the better of us we got off the bus and hit the The Pickerel for a late lunch.  We both had chicken kiev with chips.   It was great, I haven’t had a kiev since forever.  The pub is amazing.  It’s still got all the old beams from when it was first built.  It was really great.

We then did some more window shopping, I spent more money.  It was then time to go our seperate ways.  We shared a cab to the station – talking all the way.  When Miss Marjory exited the cab, the cabby asked me if we were best friends.  Of course I answered truthfully.  “I don’t even know her.”  *wink*

Bored with the Cambridge offerings I decided to go into London and see Portobello Road on Sunday.  I caught the train from Cambridge to Liverpool St Station.  I had the good fortune to end up sharing a four seat spot with a young woman from Romania, that was a merchant banker with a bank that went bankrupt a month ago.  She had an American accent and had gotten her undergraduate degree from Yale.  The was a middle age man from India who loved cricket, was study for his Masters in Cambridge and thought he knew how the world should operate.  Needless to say the discussion was interesting.  It got a little heated towards the end and the woman and I loved him and left him.  She was really lovely to me and gave me directions and help to catch the tube to Notting Hill Gate.

I wondered around Portobello and looked in all the little antique stores and looked around at all the amazing looking homes.  I stumbled on a print and map shop and picked up guaranteed over 100 year old printed map of Cambridge.  I thought it was a nice way to commemorate my trip to the UK – I work for a mapping data company and I stayed in Cambridge.  Ah, the symmetry.

I found this little shop that had about 100 rubber ducks.  Needless to say, I have added more rubber ducks to my collection.  I’ve been surprised at how many rubber ducks are available in the UK – it’s a rubber duck paradise!  I guess they all fly North for the winter.

I caught the train back to Cambridge.  I had a cornwell pasty from the  West Cornwall Pasty Company on the way home.  One of the best pasty’s I’ve ever had – even surpasses the pasty I had a decade ago in Western Australia.  Maybe it’s something to do with the Pirate theme the company has embraced.  I love a good pirate.  Another thing to add to the list for HUBBY to experience when he gets here.

I’ve decided to order us tickets to a West End musical – I’m thinking either Wicked or The Lion King – or both! <insert evil laugh>