Jan & Fred: swapped their village house in France for Cambridge
"We lucky to have a second home in the town of Soreze, in southern France. We spend a lot of time there but, as we don’t live there, it opens up all sorts of wonderful home exchange possibilities. We were delighted when Mark and his family approached us, looking for a stop-off on their tour of France. We thought their home in Cambridge sounded really nice with lots of interesting places nearby to explore.
When we arrived we found their house was lovely – spacious and light. We spent a lot of time sitting in the open plan family area with the double doors open to the tree-lined garden. It was so nice and quiet, in the morning you can listen to the birds with your first cup of tea.
We took the bus into the city each day, choosing a different museum or gallery to explore. Cambridge is small and easy to walk to most of the colleges. Not all the colleges allow public access of course, but the ones that did have magnificent grounds and gardens – free to sit in and just take in the beautiful surroundings.
We visited as many museums as we could, but didn’t get round them all in a week. We’d really need another visit to see everything. The museums themselves were phenomenal. From quaint mahogany cabinets, to state of the art presentations, zoology, archaeology, sculpture, geology, science, Darwin, Newton, etc etc. We loved the Whale Café at the Museum of Zoology, and spent a happy hour in the quirky courtyard at The Punter bar on Pound Hill.
Of course, we had to leave time to explore the little coffee shops and restaurants too, so it all takes time. But we took things slowly and savoured it all in the marvellous weather we experienced. Had it rained or snowed though, we would have found plenty to do! We could have taken a punt down the river and under the many bridges, but as it was, found a lovely walk along part of the way.
I read the guide books after we returned, which made me realise how much more there is to see. We’ll just have to go back sometime! Highly recommended beautiful city, full of marvellous architecture, very clever people and a gorgeous river.
Thank you so much to Mark and his family for a wonderful stay in their home!"
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