Our first destination was the university city of Cambridge. We spent an afternoon wandering through the streets and taking in the stone colleges, pretty courtyards and towering churches that make up this city.
What was particularly interesting were the shops. Every second clothes store sold suits for the men, including new tweed jackets (which should just be a crime) and every other pencil skirts and blazers for the women. Not to mention the classy cafes, hiking and sports shops, expensive
jewellery stores, and shops selling boutique homewares. With 18 past UK prime ministers attending Cambridge University, it would not be hard to accuse them of being out of touch with reality.
We then made our way to our resting place for the night - the Cambridge Caravan and Camping Club Site (the equivalent of the CMCA in the UK) - on the outskirts of the city. As we approached the entrance to the site both Matt and my mouths simultaneously went "oooooooooo".It was the cutest little place we had ever seen - a stretch of green land surrounded by raspberry bushes. We pulled out the awning, set up our chairs and table outside and enjoyed a nice cup of tea and a good book. It truly is a fantastic lifestyle.
The next day we headed back into Cambridge for a leisurely punt on the river Cam. Did we choose a guided tour? Of course not! We set about hiring one for an hour and having a go ourselves. "Surely it can't be that hard" we optimistically said. In short, it was.The first part of our trip was event free and we enjoyed cruising down stream, navigating ourselves under bridges, through weeping willows and away from other boats. We passed the well known Kings College and it's Chapel, Trinity College and The Backs.
The trip back was another story when, as soon we turned around, we were met by a current just strong enough to cause a problem.
Event 1: our pole got stuck in the muddy ground and, as advised, Matt let go of the pole to avoid falling in. A kindly Cambridge student rescued it for us after our attempts to retrieve it using our small paddle failed. I amused our knight in shining armour with a "thanks, *giggle* thats what happens when they let crazy Australians have a go".Event 2: In true Matt fashion he took off his jumper (careful not to lose the pole again) and threw it towards the centre of the boat. The wind picked it up and once again we had to go and rescue something. So for the remainder of the trip we had a very soggy and algae covered passenger.
Event 3: it was quite a workout heading upstream and I paddled as Matt punted to give us more oomph. Despite the extra momentum it still took us so long to get back and we more or less zig zagged all the way back.
When we look back on our time in Cambridge it will be these things we remember. The things you don't expect. The things that go wrong. The things that surprise you. The things that make you laugh and look like an idiot. I hope we have many more of them to come!
