I just came back from Cambridge. I went there to visit a few friends I used to work with back in the old days. At first I didn’t know what to expect since I hadn’t seen them in quite a while. It turned out to be a very nice weekend. Yesterday we went around some of the colleges over there, of which there are many. It is quite amazing to imagine there are student living and studying in these places. These buildings seem to come from a different age.

In the evening we decided to hit the town centre for a few drinks. My flatmate – who lived in Cambridge a few years ago – suggested to go to the Anchor, a pub on the river side. It is quite a nice pub. I can imagine it must be even nicer during the summer. Cambridge at night is very lively. I suppose having so many students explains why. We didn’t stay out too late and went back to my friend’s flat to catch a bit of sleep.

Today we went to say hello to other friends there. We came a bit uninvited but were welcomed with a nice lunch followed by a few sessions of Nintedo Wii. That was a lot of fun.

Now I’m back home, quite tired but happy about a nice weekend away from London.

Last Saturday my flatmates and I went to a German bar to celebrate Oktoberfest. I have to admit I didn’t know this festival, or any traditional German festival for that matter. So I wasn’t too sure what to expect. It turned out to be a great evening. I think we all had an amazing time. Once in the bar we got some beer – by the litre of course! – just to put us in the mood. There was some mix of German and American music playing in the background. The waitresses were all wearing traditional outfit. Then came the food. I had a platter of sausages. Good stuff but too much. After another few rounds of beers, things started to get a bit wild with people dancing on the tables. At some point two big men in traditional costumes started to sing some German folklore. I have no idea what they were singing about but it was a lot of fun. Anyhow, the evening progressed very smoothly thanks to the shots of alcohol we had in between the beers – man, Germans drink a lot! -. By that time I think everyone was quite drunk. Even the staff started to drink with us. I don’t quite know at what time we left but it was early in the morning. We struggled to get a cab. They were all busy. We found a pub open near by so we ordered a last round of beers to keep us waiting for the cab. At last we got one so we managed to get home. One final drink and we all went to bed tired but happy.

The moral of the story: German festivals ROCK!

The last month or so has been quite hectic. First and foremost, work always keeps me very busy. Then, I went to see my girlfriend in Canada. We also went to New York City for a weekend. All of that was great but not the most relaxing of times, especially in NYC. Upon my return to the UK, very good friends of mine came to visit me so I played the tour guide for a few days. it was great time too but again not very relaxing. That’s why I decided not to do anything this weekend, just chill out at home. Well, I went to catch a movie with my flatmates and had to pass by the Apple Store to pick up a MacBook Pro (more on that on a next post), but that’s all. It’s good to take things slowly once in a while.

For most people in the UK the last weekend of August rhymes with holiday as this is the last Bank Holiday weekend before Christmas. For me this year it doesn’t mean much. I don’t really have plans. And although I’ve got quite a lot of things to do – my laundry, releasing latest version of Cobertura for J2ME, working on my Java developer certification, books to read, play the Playstation, buy bookshelves -, I don’t look forward to it so much. My girlfriend being on a different continent, doesn’t give me the same perspective on free time. On the bright side, I’ll see her in two weeks and we’ll go and spend a weekend in the Big Apple. How cool is that?