A Whirlwind Weekend

King's College, Cambridge

The past few days have been some of the busiest I’ve had in a while, but they’ve been great! London is really starting to open its arms to winter; the cold is setting in and the Christmas decorations are slowly but surely going up. I am definitely a fall and winter person. Nothing warms my heart more than seeing my breath as I walk to class in the morning, or warming my hands against a hot cup of coffee, or sitting on my bed next to a warm radiator while I type on my computer.

Saturday I went to Cambridge with Brittany and Jennifer, and just to answer the implied question up front, I’m leaning towards Oxford as a preference. That being said, Cambridge is absolutely gorgeous. Oxford just has a vibe I’m partial towards. Cambridge, however, seems to be a bit more spacious and the college campuses are truly stunning. The varying architectural styles are interesting too…they make it seem as if the city was pieced together bit by bit over the centuries (which, it kind of was).

Punting!

We did a punting tour of the colleges along the river early on in the morning to get our bearings. For those of you unfamiliar with punting, think of the gondolas in Venice. It’s similar to that, but the boats have flat bottoms, a fact that makes the ride much smoother from what I could tell. Afterwards we visited King’s College and its famous chapel which, for the record, is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. We also saw St John’s College, another stunner. The day was truly wonderful and I loved getting a chance to see a city and university so steeped in history…it’s one of the lovely things about living in England, and one of the things I’ll miss most.

St John's College, Cambridge

Sunday Brittany and I ventured to a Vintage Fair in Clerkenwell, near where I work. I’m so glad we went because it was such a cool experience. The town hall it was held in was as retro as the clothing, jewelry and memorabilia that filled it. Vendors brought their best wares and filled the place to the brim. Frank Sinatra and other classic artists set the mood as their tunes hummed along in the background. They even had a hair and make-up duo decking people out in vintage style, an offer I gladly took advantage of. They did a fantastic job, and I may have just fallen in love with the look enough to give it a try as an everyday look once I’m home…

King's College Cathedral

After the fair we decided to get tea at Bea’s, which was somewhat poetic as it was where we went on our first Thursday adventure many weeks ago. The tea was delicious, and the scones (my first time having them) were fantastic. It came with cupcakes and some mini-desserts that were quite good as well. We walked around the British Museum for an hour to kill some time (oh how I will miss being able to say things like that) before heading to Chinatown for dinner (which was really delicious). It really was a great day, full of the things I love most about this city.

Finally we come to today…feeling exhausted yet? Brittany and I woke up semi-early to go to the Sherlock Holmes museum before our utterly pointless class in the afternoon. We got breakfast and coffee at Apostrophe, a hip and modern café/bar/patisserie on Baker Street. The coffee was surprisingly good, but not the best we’ve had. The museum was the star of the morning, though. We both love Sherlock Holmes, but we wanted to visit the museum as much for our dads as for ourselves. It was super cool and tons of fun, and if you’re a Holmes fan I’d say it’s something you need to put on your bucket list.

Getting dolled up at the vintage fair!

So there you have it boys and girls! I whirlwind weekend and start to the week. I have a feeling my days are going to start getting busy as my time in London comes to a close…there’s so much I still want to do before I leave! I’m starting to plan a long weekend to Scotland and I’m hoping everything will come together.

We’re coming up to Thanksgiving, and though it isn’t celebrated on this side of the pond, I have so much to be thankful for this year. Let me encourage you to step back from your life and really examine all the blessings God has placed in your life, whether its people or experiences or His abiding presence. When difficulties come our way, we often lose focus of those blessings because they seem so small compared to our struggles. But maybe it will help to remember that while struggles often come from the world or Satan…each and every one of our blessings come from the Lord, and nothing comes upon us without having first gone through His hands. There are parts of our lives and of ourselves that the enemy can’t touch, but those things do not bind God! He is everywhere and His hand is in every part of our lives…what peace and joy that should give us! So remember that as Thanksgiving comes closer and the Christmas season follows it…this isn’t a season during which we should ‘remember’ God. It’s a season during which we should press on in our journey with Him to make better our ability to see His hand in every moment of every day.

The Sherlock Holmes Museum