When I opened my eyes, I blinked continuously to be sure that I wasn't dreaming. I was still in London, and I had entire day in front of me to explore. That morning, my friends and I decided that we were going to take a train into the country and see Cambridge.
The train ride would be around an hour and a half, and it was expensive to ride the train. I knew that it would be worth it to see the countryside of England, which I heard was exceptionally beautiful.
We got ready as quickly as possible, and went and rode the Underground to meet Kayla at the overground train station. It was sunny and nice out, and we knew that we could just wander around this little town all day.
The best thing about England is the architecture. It's obvious that all of the buildings were built for beauty just as much as functionality. This was big one difference from America, where we build things as quickly as possible and do not care so much what they look like, especially in large cities.
Cambridge had such a nostalgic feel to it. All of the buildings on the main street looked like quaint, little cottages, and it was such an inviting place. People were riding bikes on all of the streets, and I could feel how life here was a much slower pace. Everyone was not in a hurry to get somewhere, and some people weren't going anywhere at all.
As we wandered around Cambridge without using any directions, we passed by ginormous cathedrals, and finally made it to the universities. I wondered what it would be like to attend a college that's campus literally looked like something of a dream.
I couldn't believe the old architecture, with buildings that had stone pillars in front of it, towering above all of the lush trees in the green parks. There was a canal right on campus that had boat tours, and I questioned if these students realized how remarkable it was that they got to see such beauty everyday, or if they were just used to it.
We happened upon a little famers market that was happening in a closed-off square in the midst of all of the roads and buildings that surrounded it. I could feel hunger creeping up on me, and could smell all of the food, so I decided to get something to eat. There was a booth where two women were cooking hotdogs and hamburgers, and it smelled so good, so decided to get a hotdog. I covered the hotdog in dijon mustard and ketchup, and ate it in a matter of seconds. It was insanely good, and did not taste like the hotdogs here in America, which the meat is questionable at best.
Kayla and Annika came over to me with their hotdogs, and Kayla said "Those ostrich farmer ladies were so nice." I frowned for a moment, confused at what she meant. It finally clicked that I had just eaten an ostrich meat hotdog, and I burst out laughing. Even though it was delicious, I couldn't get the idea that I had just eaten one of those weird, gigantic birds out of my head.
After we were finished exploring the market, we went to the cutest ice cream shop, and had large cones of ice cream. For some reason, the ice cream in England tastes so much better than back home. I ate it so quickly that I had a brain freeze.
We were walking around a campus, when we realized the last train into London was leaving in only 20 minutes. We all three started sprinting, and made it just in time as the train pulled up. It was a theme on this trip to have moments of utter calmness turn into moments of utter chaos.
I wouldn't have had it any other way.
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