Cambridge, Day 2

Our second/last day in Cambridge was a free day for us. I was excited to see more of the charming city that we toured on Friday, so Becky and I set out early to explore parts we had yet to see.

Our first stop was the Wren Library. I wanted to see it for one reason: Winnie the Pooh. AA Milne was a student of Cambridge, so when Winnie the Pooh became popular, he donated his hand-written script of the first novel to the Wren Library on Cambridge's campus. Upon arrival at the library, we learned that not only was it the home of this classic treasure, but it also housed transcripts and letters of Sir Isaac Newton and an eighth-century illustrated Bible. The collection was vast and each treasure was hidden under a thick velvet covering inside of a locked glass case. The atmosphere was hushed and slightly reverent, as if each visitor knew we were in the presence of things that were nearly mythical.

Towards the outside of the Wren Library are columned halls where Newton discovered the speed of sound by clapping and then measuring how long it took to hear the echo through the marbled hall. This delighted me to no end, so once I was done viewing the books, I stomped and clapped and pretended to be all scientifical. In all reality I probably looked and acted like a crazed toddler, but I'm sure I'm not the first to try it.

After satisfying my need to make noise, we headed to the open air market in the center of the city. There, booths sold everything from shimmering scarves to techinicolor flowers to potent cheeses and fresh meats. There was a myriad of people from all areas of the globe and all walks of life mingling and eyeing the goods for sale. Aromas filled the air as sausages were grilled and pad thai was concocted for hungry market-goers. Becky and I wandered for a couple of hours, fingering the gorgeous scarves (I ended up with, um, 3 new ones--I have no willpower), people-watching and sampling the local food.

It began to drizzle in the early afternoon, so my suggestion to go wander a bookstore sounded good by Becky. We found one and I set about finding a copy of Winnie the Pooh. I figured that I had just seen the original copy, so I shouldn't leave without a copy of my own. I found a beautifully bound copy, so I was happy. The rest of our afternoon was spent out of the rain in a cozy coffeeshop (ok, so it was Starbucks, but that was all we could find), reading and journaling. It all felt very collegiate and homey. I love afternoons spent with a good book, so the fact that it was coupled with the fact that I was in England made me all the more blissful.