Hi everyone, I suppose you are all wondering what I have been doing since my last update - so I am going to give you all a quick run down now and share a few photos with you. I have found a temporary job at the Cambridge Assessment Centre doing basic admin tasks. It is not the most riveting job in the world, but at least I am earning some money to help pay for my future adventures. I have also organised an appointment with the Cambridge University to be put on there books for some temp work too - I have looked at a few jobs they have available and it looks as though they might have some interesting stuff to do in interesting divisions of the University. It is getting really cold here already - the locals have told me that it normally isn't this cold yet, so at least I have longer to get used to the cold before it starts to snow etc. One day last week, my early morning train was cancelled and the next one was delayed, so I spent an hour a the station waiting for the train. This morning the temp was 0 - the puddles on the side walk were frozen over, the station platform had been sprinkled with rock salt to help melt the ice - but it was still frozen and slippery in some parts! My feet and legs were that cold that they went numb and stung once I was in the warmth of the train.
I have joined a Jazzercise class in the village which is a really fun class to do - and it is a great cardio workout. I ride to the class, so that is also good for the waistline - and I also feel quite proud of myself for venturing out in the frosty air :-) Richard & I went to a pub for a few drinks in Cambridge on Friday night called The Flying Pig. The whole place is decorated with old music posters, pictures & statues of pigs of course, the beer taps had a little pig head on them and each table was lit by a candle in a bottle - it was very cool and had a great atmosphere. Afterwards, we went to a Salsa class in Cambridge and that was heaps of fun, although a little awkward at times. You change partner continually throughout the class, so you get to know some of the people and have a little fun. But my question is: when you are salsa dancing with a strange guy - where do you look? Do you look into his eyes the whole time, look at the wall, watch everyone else around you, look down (but be careful of where you are looking!). It was funny too when the instructor added a final touch for the guys - to drop down to the girls crutch height and do a seductive swivel back up, while the girls shake their booty - when it was Richard & my turn to dance together - we had to draw the line with that one!!!! It was Halloween that night also, so they had a party after the class, and some people were all dressed up in the spooky gear. It was fun to watch the experienced dancers on the floor - they can really move!! The teacher said that you can get to that level in a few months - I am not sure about that, but we are going to go again, so I will soon see how fast the improvement happens. I met a nice German guy there too who has been going for a few lessons, he asked me to dance and we had a bit of a chat. Before we went out we went to our regular chinese/japanese restaurant for dinner - as we were leaving a group of little kids came down the street all dressed up in their Halloween costumes - it was so cute!!! Richard bought Lucy a pumpkin outfit - it is adorable.
I have been researching holiday destinations in Europe, UK and Canada - I have found a few good trips to do, but I am not too sure which ones I want to do yet. I will have to spend a bit more time on them and just pick one and book it in. Richard & I are going to Sicily in November for a week - I am really looking forward to it. It will basically be the last part of Italy that I have not yet seen, and it will be quite cool so it will also be a different outlook on the country - in a changing season. We are going to hire scooters while we are there to hoon around the streets on - I will definately want to ride a Vespa - I am in love with Vespas!!!! A pink one would make it even better :-)
I have been to a few local spots recently too - little museums / tea houses set in an orchard, walks through fields and along the canals. I find it really amazing that you can walk through fields with cows grazing in the same paddock and through private property like angling clubs as you follow the Fen walking trail throughout the region. The walk goes for miles and branches off into many directions, I want to keep taking different paths to explore the local vicinity from many angles. It was funny one day when I walked through a paddock with cows grazing. It must have been close to feeding time, because when I was heading back the cows had all gathered at the fence and I couldn't get through. I petted a cow and waiting for a little bit, but they weren't budging, so I had to go down close to the canal and climb over the fence there to get through!!!
A few weeks ago Richard, Lucy & I went to the miniature trains in Cambridge - it was there final weekend for the year. It is a club that makes small trains for people to ride on - it is very British and the kids had an absolute ball. Today we went for a ride along the canal and then to the Milton Country Park and stopped for lunch. The park is set around a few large lakes, has a cafe there and also a kids playground. The ride was quite chilly, but it was good to be able to ride to such a large park and have a picnic.
I have been spending my spare time working on a project I cannot disclose at the moment, because I am hoping to have it finished before Christmas. It has turned out to be quite a time consuming task, so I am not quite sure if I will reach my deadline, so Santa may come late for a few people this year! I will let you all know what Sicily was like when we get back and I will put up a few photos.
It is quite beautiful in the village and Cambridge at the moment, as Autumn takes hold. The trees are changing from green, to red, to orange, to yellow and then becoming totally bare. I have been for a few walks through the streets of Cambridge and there are some really stunning buildings, with most of them being some sort of college, school or university. One of the most popular forms of transport is bicycle - the train station has a large area for them to be parked and you also see shelters for them outside businesses.
Til next time ... take care
