One Day in the Life of a Booklover

Yesterday was a pretty mild day for a winter's Sunday in January.  I'd driven down to London for a bite and shop and on my way home, thought I'd take a walk in the city centre after a long time sitting in the car.  I first started off from the Queen Anne's car park on Gonville Place where I like to park my car because it is cheap and walked across Parker's Piece common in the direction of the city centre.  The sun was peeking through the clouds and there was a cool wind blowing.  People were out and about.  Some had dogs on leashes.  Some were pushing prams and handling toddlers.  Some were walking alone deep in thought and others on their way to a pressing engagement.  I had to dodge some cyclists.  The cafes and restaurants were mostly filled up.

From the city centre, I headed towards the Cambridge & County Folk Museum and followed the road round to Merton House where it joined with Queen's Road.  The view was absolutely beautiful from here.  The buildings of all the colleges of the University of Cambridge can be glimpsed from this road if you care to take a peek through the leaf-bare trees.  The River Cam flowed freely through the grounds and was dotted here and there with punts.  Restrictions on entry were imposed here and there were squarely planted warning signs and smartly attired dons to remind you of that fact should you be tempted to forget.  From there, I took a shortcut through Silver Street onto Botolph Lane which brought me out once more to Downing Street.

In between that walk, I managed to slot in a visit to Heffers, situated at Trinity Street, directly opposite Reiss, a well-known retailer for women and men.  A little and a bit to the right of the bookshop, you will find the main entrance to Nevile's Court, Trinity College.  This is where you can find the statue of Sir Isaac Newton in the ante-chapel.  Heffers has been selling books in Cambridge since 1879.  More information can be obtained on their website (bookshop.blackwell.co.uk).  I spent about an hour browsing in the Crime section checking out new books and new authors.  If you are in Cambridge, do drop by Heffers.  It is a worthy visit for all booklovers.

I ended a lovely day with a pot of English tea, a mouthwatering raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake and The Alchemist's Secret at Cafe Julienne.