Downtown Cambridge: The Marketplace

While everyone was off gallivanting in the Grafton Shopping Centre, my favorite place to spend my time in Cambridge was downtown in the marketplace. I was less interested in the actual shopping than I wan in immersing myself in British culture. Truth be told, there's nothing spectacularly different about the marketplace fare between Cambridge and, say, a flea market in Darien, but there was something majestic about perusing the various tents in a foreign country. There were statues of Big Ben in place of Lady Liberty, and painted pictures of the Bridge of Sighs in lieu of pictures of the Chicago skyline. One afternoon I bought a pound of fresh strawberries and ate them while searching for a gift for my sister. What I didn't finish I took back to the dorms and later mixed them with blueberries and yogurt for a parfait.

The Bridge of Sighs

If I ever felt that I had done a decent job observing each stall, I would wander into one of the many side streets in search of a nice jewelry shop, a decent place to grab a bite, or just to roam the streets in the sun.

On rare occasions there was sometimes an event taking place in a corner of the marketplace. Once I saw a magician whose tricks I can't remember, but I recall thinking that he was quite spectacular. He was funny, handsome, and the show was free unless you wanted to donate to his cause. I had a couple extra pounds on me, so I handed a coin to the Woman (my boyfriend before Jigsaw), and kept one for myself. We went up together to present our offerings. Somehow, we managed to shake this magician's hand at the same time, my hand in the magician's, the Woman's on top of mine. The magician said it was the first time he'd ever experienced a double handshake, that he was honored, and he would never forget it.