Bicycles of Cambridge

Cambridge has such a warm feeling; students flood the streets riding their bicycles to and from college past the fluorescent green grass and perfectly squared hedges. The bicycles rule the roads and footpaths with their style and character. These photos are for my brother at home, a lover and creator of classic vintage bicycles. Take a peak at his blog that he has also just begun, it's called 'mr old roads'.








I took this picture on top of the tour bus of Cambridge. I like to believe this couple are riding
to meet each other after a long destination.

Cambridge

Yesterday we explored the city of Cambridge by foot, bus and car. The Cambridge University Town celebrates 800 years of existence; past students include Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and Steven Hawkin. The town is full of incredible buildings, colleges and churches.

OLEM (Our Lady and the English Martyrs)


King's College.


Pathway into King's College.


Inside King's College.

Arrival

In transit, Kuala Lumpur.

After a long journey to the UK and a few dilemmas with our age and car size (thank God for Shaz working at Europcar Rental), we drove away with a diesel vehicle slightly larger than what our age should have probably permitted. In honour we have named our sat nav ‘Shaz’.

Shaz showed us (Elly - driver, Krissy and myself) a clear path to Cambridge , our first stop. We realised a little later we were doing 50 miles instead of 70 miles an hour and hence why truck after truck signalled horrid gestures to us along the motorway.

The street we are staying in, Cambridge.

Patsy and Clive, friends of the family welcomed us to their typically British cottage with ample food and drink! After arriving in Cambridge, Patsy informed us that one of their dogs, Lilli (a Chihuahua), is a model for Harrods’ annual Dog Fashion Parade, showing off the new collections in dog couture. Patsy gave us three tickets to attend the parade, which was the next day! After a bus tour of Cambridge, we set off in their car to London to explore Harrods and exclusively attend the ‘Pet a Porter’ Harrods Dog Fashion Show with champagne and foie gras outside the dog department, Level 5. Last year Vivienne Westwood made a wedding dress for Lilli, and so she is quite a big deal in the dog fashion world. Lilli prepares herself for a year for the annual parade.

Out the front of Patsy and Clive's Cambridge cottage before Harrods.


Lilli in Westwood.

and so it goes..

On a quest to find the perfect journal and after visiting four book stores and two florists (how would this help), I decided to create an online journal to record my adventures yet to come.
Snapdragons were the flowers my grandma Betty used to grow in her garden. I vividly remember standing in her snapdragon bed reaching well above my head to squeeze a dragon-like flower head and watch its mouth snap! Snapdragons remind me of all the happy times I had in my childhood: the smell of a freshly baked chocolate cake that drifted up though my room, being awakened early on a Sunday morning to my mum playing Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie on the grand piano, and the many colours you could find in my grandma Betty’s garden. Even now, as a 22-year-old, I still find myself drawn to my childhood influences.

Great big hugs: Grandma Betty, brother James and me (Maria).
Betty's lawn, 1990


I begin this blog one night before I set off on my journeys - three months travelling through Europe to be followed by three years living in Paris. I am lucky to have the opportunity to continue studying fashion design in Paris. Having travelled to Paris in 2006 with my family for one month, I discovered a city devoted to the creation of beauty, where the population worships attention to detail and treasures the finer things in life - a city with an aura of simplicity and sophistication from window displays and food presentation to the layout and architecture of the buildings. My desire to return and to pursue my love of design within such a captivating and creative environment will offer me endless inspiration and opportunities for which I am so grateful.

This is one of my favourite photos taken on our 2006 trip to Paris.
My brother suggested I dance under the Eiffel Tower - and as the lights
twinkled - I did, and I didn't stop.