Cambridge and other parts

A little catch-up here. The last week or so has been almost entirely "internet free". I left my hostel bed (after three weeks it was feeling positively like home!) and went to spend a pleasant few days with Dervilla in the King's Cross area, then a few pleasant (rainy) days in Cork.

I did pay my farewell respects to the British Library. Oh, I'd really like to take that library home with me. Aside from the obvious aspect of lack of permission, I fear the shipping would be quite beyond my means. I did mention the fact that I would quite like to have the library myself to one of the young ladies working there, and she allowed as how she rather liked the library herself, and that they would be keeping it. Oh well.

I strolled the canal that runs down the back of Camden Town and parts. In the morning, it is very pleasant, with dog walkers and bicyclists. Dervilla and I walked back via the canal Sunday evening, and it was quite a different story. Camden Market is a trip! Quite the walk back in time, but without the walk back in time prices...

Cambridge

In and around strolling the canal and Camden and attempted library acquisition, I took the train to Cambridge for the day. The weather held fair for the day and I had a lovely visit with Dervilla's sister Erina and her husband. In and around lunch at The Eagle, I strolled through Cambridge's delightful Botanical Garden, in and out of Trinity College, the backside of King's College, and the Fitzwilliam Museum - a gem!

I paid a (smallish) fee to stroll through the hallowed grounds of Trinity. There were only a few places that I was able to go; one of those places was definitively not the lawn. Goodness. The perfect lawn. Of course, no-one is permitted to walk on the lawn. It is quite obvious to me that this law is observed entirely and strictly. There are no worn bits, no bits of litter, no doggy contributions. It has been mowed in perfect alternating stripes. One could stand for hours and just admire the grass...

But on. It was very easy to trip over my feet walking about Cambridge (more so than usual, anyway), because I kept looking up - at the marvelous, over-the-top Gothic spires, gargoyles, statuary and other assorted architectural furbelows. Gracious. Here is a town to go to school in.

After lunch, a short guided tour of King's College. This included a stroll down to the Cam to view the punters, down the back side to Queen's College, and past the Mathematical Bridge. This bears the excellently historical urban legend that it was originally designed and built by Isaak Newton without bolts. In any case, it was not available to cross by such plebs as myself.

I finished up my Cambridge day with a quick (for me) dash through the Fitzwilliam Musuem. The highlights were: a splendid little armory, an entire room full of floral still-life paintings, and an excellent special exhibit of Georgian gold ("Gold of Colchis").

Camden Town and Camden Market

Well, you don't really need me to rave about how trendy, how charming, how popular Camden Town and market are... So I won't. They were. That was fun!

Dervilla and I also strolled through Regent Park that day, rounding out my visit to London to perfection.

I'm coming back to London. That's all I can say.

Cork

I flew off to Cork to spend a (very little) time visiting with the rest of the family. A very pleasant reunion! It rained most of the time (no surprises there), but I was comfortably ensconced in their house in Glanmire. I blogged Cork extensively before, but that blog (Goliard Dream) has long since vanished into the Great Blogyard in the Sky...

Back to London over night. Today; off to Cornwall. Pictures will be taken. Internet may or may not be present. We shall see.