Cambridge!

Today I went on the train to Cambridge for my sister Lucy – her second violin needed a new bridge, her bow needed re-hairing and she needed some new rosin. There are no music shops in King's Lynn now and so Cambridge is the nearest place to go. I have not been on a train for over seven years! The last time being 2010 to go to Aberdeen and onto Fair Isle!

My recent tailbone injury is still painful and the ride to Cambridge was rough – there were at least a couple of times when it felt the train was coming off the tracks and everyone around me looked alarmed! I love train journeys, but this one was extremely uncomfortable.

With Lucy's violin, I walked all the way to the recommended music shop and it took me 40 minutes to walk from the train station – it was far longer than I had anticipated. I left the violin and bow in the shop for the work to be done, purchased the rosin and left – will have to return to collect violin and bow in approximately a couple of weeks time.

I then had another long walk to the Rainbow Cafe, which is a vegetarian cafe just off King's Parade – a longer walk than expected, as I walked past it by about 1/4 of a mile! I have been to this cafe before and loved the food, but I wasn't over excited by what I had today – I can't remember the name of the main course I choose, but it wasn't anything special. I choose what I thought was an exciting dessert: Mango and Coconut Cheesecake but it was bland and had no kick to it whatsoever. The best thing was the ginger beer! The sheer numbers of people in Cambridge was almost claustrophobic – lots of sight seeing tours were going on, mostly Chinese tourists I noticed.

I then went clothes shopping for particular items – none of which I found – very rare for me not to spend any money! I did find a stunning resin ring by a designer in a unique jewellery shop along King's Parade, which was a mixture of deep blue and turquoise swirls, but it was £65.00 and I didn't succumb! I went into "Sahara" – love this shop, but didn't find what I was looking for. The general clothes shops eg: Wallis, Top Shop, Gap, Next etc were full of tedious sale rails, which stressed me out and I didn't hang about in these for long! I didn't even make it to the newest shopping centre "The Grand Arcade" before the shops closed. Made my way back to the train station and on route stopped to buy a Pear Tart from a small bakers – it was the best thing I had eaten all day!

I would have had a more productive day if I had started earlier – nobody's fault but my own! I had intended in visiting the beautiful Botanic Gardens too, but didn't have time for that either. Maybe next time. The train journey back to King's Lynn was no smoother than the journey there and I was glad to get off at the end – walked back to my car, which I had parked at Lucy's, gave her the rosin and then returned home exhausted.