Cambridge: Travel diary #3

Today we got up a little earlier because we had already reserved lunch again at 1:30 p.m. And when breakfast was only two hours ago, you don't really need anything else.

 

So we had to spend the morning doing something else. We chose to visit the Zoological Museum in Cambridge. There is one thing I really love about England: even though you are always expected to leave a donation, admission to most museums is completely free. This is also the case at the natural history museum here in town.

So we finished relatively quickly and went back to a few shops we had overlooked the day before. For example: Bodies in the Bookshop. As the name suggests, it is a small bookshop that specialises in crime novels. There you can find well-known authors such as Ben Aaronovitch and Richard Osman, but also lesser-known authors from Cambridge itself. And you should always keep your eyes open: every bookshop has certain editions that have been signed by the authors. You can't say no to that.

After a quick chat with the bookshop owner, it was already time to return to the holiday flat to freshen up for our restaurant visit. We had reserved a table for lunch at a small Michelin-starred restaurant not far from our accommodation.

It is called twenty-two, like the number, and offers various menus. The small lunch starts at around £60 per person, excluding drinks. Nevertheless, it is a really fair price considering that the food is excellent in terms of quality and taste. Each table has today's menu and, on the back, the suppliers of their food. Most of it comes from within a 25-mile radius, which is a very sustainable approach. After an amuse-bouche, we had croissant bread with different types of butter, cod fish, duck as the main course and a delicious dessert with white chocolate, strawberries and a hint of lemon verbena. Optionally, you can order tea and petit fours for £6 per person afterwards. Both were once again very tasty, especially the rare mint tea, which smelled like fresh chewing gum and tasted excellent.

The two hours we spent in the restaurant were almost like a spa treatment, and we were able to just relax and unwind. However, as we were the last guests, we had a very nice chat with one of the waitresses and got a recommendation for the next day. The little town of Ely, 30 minutes away, is definitely worth a visit. The cathedral and the little cafés are particularly worth seeing. So our plans for the next day were already set. True to the saying, ‘After eating, you should either rest or take a thousand steps,’ we opted for the latter and took a short walk through the outskirts of Cambridge before returning to our flat to rest for a while.

Because in the evening, the Shakespeare Festival was on. We had bought tickets online in advance for the play ‘As You Like It’ in the Trinity College Garden and were really looking forward to it. However, our anticipation was dampened somewhat by the rainy weather, and we had to pack our warm clothes. After a 20-minute walk, we arrived at the venue. And I must say: Trinity College Garden resembles a castle garden more than a typical college park. Shortly after we had settled in with umbrellas, rain capes and plastic bags on our chairs, the performance began.

Although we did not understand everything, the play was very easy to follow and entertaining throughout. The actors made the best of the weather and there was always something to laugh about. In the end, we returned to our accommodation happy, albeit a little frozen, and enjoyed a hot shower.