A Cambridge Holiday

A View from Parker’s Piece

The flight landed at Heathrow and the long queues at the immigration was the usual and familiar sight. The onset of holiday season sets off an avalanche of tourists to this sought after destination.An hour long wait and we stepped out of the terminal. A quick cup of coffee was refreshing after the long     flight.By the time we boarded the bus for Cambridge it was almost 10 pm.

The flickering lights around the airport and nearby hotels, a few cars rushing to their destination gave us company besides the few passengers who boarded and disembarked on successive stops like Luton before the final destination. A short ride brought us to the apartment where we were to spend the coming days

The chilly wind with overcast sky greeted us in the morning.The breeze was redolent with fragrance of roses and rhubarb in the neighbourhood. The eerie silence was interrupted by an occasional chirping of the birds.The vicinity of small houses with velvety green grass was soothing to eyes having seen a fiery summer back home. A lovely breakfast of freshly baked bread, blueberry jam and butter with steaming hot tea and muffins was a perfect way to start the English holiday.

A short stroll through the meadows past a small brook where the lazy cows grazed were a sight that I was eagerly awaiting to see. Later in the day a walk to the main market square a short walk away was very fulfilling.The tall spires of the Church of Our Lady and English Martyrs, Chapel of the King’s College, dot the beautiful landscape as the River Cam quietly flows through the vitals of the city with punters and small rowing boats. A number of cute bridges separates the banks of the river like the Mathematical bridge and Bridge of Sighs. More than 30 portals of great learning can be seen when going around the town or punting down the river like The King’s College, The Trinity College just to name a few. Some of the greatest brains and intellectuals have walked down the alleys for more than 800 years on the cobbled streets. It has perhaps produced more Nobel Prize winners than any other place on the earth, close to a 100!Among some of the luminaries are Lord Rayleigh, Ernst Rutherford,S Chandrashekar , Amritya Sen and Stephen Hawking who hailed from Cambridge and rose to astronomical heights in their careers 

There are a huge number of attractions for all age groups ranging from Fitzwilliam and Sedgwick And Polar museums that are mostly free.The Botanical garden provides a glimpse of some rare flora and fauna.

Mill Road has eateries from all over the world and one can find Turkish, Lebanese an Bangladeshi food with as much ease as ,Fish and Chips in any part of the city.Do not forget to have the best coffee at Fitzbillies and scones and cakes in many a bakeries in the town. 

Innumerable pubs scattered all over the town is a best place to have an intellectual conversation with students and rub shoulders with the cosmopolitan crowd from all over the world.

A visit to the Market Square where the fresh produce from nearby regions like fruits,vegetables, bakery products made by locals is a pleasure beyond words for the olfactory and visual senses.Last but not the least, the most delightful aspect of the city is the cleanliness, pollution free environment and cyclists doting the city and very little traffic! A true Mecca for unhurried holidays.