Raising our IQ in Cambridge

It's not often in the UK that we are blessed with temperatures in the high 20's.  At the end of May we were blessed with a whole weekend of, dare I say, perfect weather.  Eager not to waste what we knew would be fleeting sunshine, we headed to Cambridge (a mere 45 minutes away from London - how had we not visited earlier?!).

Cambridge is so charming.  We loved it's college vibe and it's quaint streets.

We couldn't resist a 'punt' down the river and instead of trying to do it ourselves we joined a boat with a guide who told us really interesting things about each of the colleges (like where Emma Thompson, Colin Firth and Prince Charles went to university).  We did enjoy watching complete novices loose their poles, run into the river beds and even fall into the river.

Randomly, we ran into two different sets of friends both visiting St John's Chapel (said to be the biggest chapel in the world). 

A lot of the colleges were closed for exams but with a teeny bit of confidence we strolled on through, pretending we were students.  Lucky we did because we got to sit along the river banks and strolled around the manicured grounds usually closed to the public.  I could not imagine what it would be like studying at Cambridge in some of the oldest, most beautiful buildings.  Sometimes, it had a very Harry Potter-esque feel to it with students walking around in robes (rumour has it that you must turn up to an exam in such attire).

We had a really lovely (long) day, eating ice cream, sitting in the sun having a drink with friends.  I hate to say it but I even got burnt and had a little bit of sun stroke - a very embarrassing fact for someone from Brisbane.

xoxo
E&S

Tennis Court Road - Best street name ever!

Bridge of Sighs - it's name comes from the fact that students have to walk over the bridge to get to their exam and sigh in the process (both going to the exam, and coming back)

Peak hour on the River Cam

Chelsea Flower Show

I adore flowers. Well actually, I love them beyond belief.  So this year I could not resist a visit to the popular Chelsea Flower Show.

Thousands of flowers all in one room - how could I not go.

The displays were stunning.  It is certainly one thing that the UK does right.  The flowers here are so colourful and vibrant.

Apart from being one of the hottest days we will probably have this year, Shane and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon strolling amongst the Grand Pavillion and the garden displays.

Check out my favourite flowers at the show below.

E&S
xoxox

Stockholm: so stylish it hurts

Whilst the hoards flocked to London to celebrate Her Maj's Diamond Jubilee, we headed to Stockholm for a Scandic Adventure.

What an absolutely fabulous place!  Not even the horrific weather the first day (3 degrees, gail force winds and rain in Summer) dampened our time.  Stockholm city is made up of 14 islands and part of an archipelago with some 20,000 other islands.  We loved strolling through Gamla Stan - the old town - weaving our way through tiny little lanes with terracotta buildings, hiding in cute little shops from the rain.

We went for a few coffees in uber cool Sodermalm and noticed how utterly stylish the Swedes were.  We also noticed a high number of 'pram pushing daddys' chilling out together.

Since it was raining on and off, we ducked into a few museums - The Noble Prize Museum and the Vasa Museum containing an entire salvaged ship from the 1600's which was utterly fascinating.

One of the days we caught a ferry over to the island of Djurgarden were we walked to Rosendals - a dreamy nursery with a cafe selling fresh food made from their own farms.  You can sit in the fields of lilac or in the glasshouses overflowing with flowers.

I had been dreaming about visiting a shop an English friend had told me about - Odd Molly - and was delighted to stumble across it in the poshest part of town.  The interior design shops absolutely killed me with their perfection - I adore Scandinavian design.

On our last day, we took a ferry to one of the islands further out in the archipelago called Vaxholm.  We absolutely adored this place.  So charming with perfect little red wooden cottages and miles and miles and miles of purple lilacs.  We stumbled across a house with a cafe and garden selling waffles and pancakes with fresh berries - my idea of perfection.

Stockholm reminded us a little bit of Brisbane - much smaller and more laid back.  It was ultra clean and the people were overly friendly.

I don't know if it's possible for a place to be both charming and uber stylish but Stockholm certainly carries the flag high.  We loved it and would highly recommend a visit.

xoxo
E&S

 Gamla Stan

 Stockholm city central

 Vasa

Rosendals

Beautiful Vaxholm 

Lilacs, lilacs and more lilacs

Chilling on the ferry