We spent a romantic Valentine’s Day on campus

Some people might cringe at the prospect of a romantic Valentine’s Day on campus, but for the more practical-minded, the idea seems downright convenient.

With dissertations and deadline madness weighing heavily on the shoulders of the entire student body, going on a date on campus is great – mainly because you can fit it in before class or after the library, as my boyfriend and I found on Saturday morning.

No one wants to be on campus on a Saturday morning

We arrived at around 11:00, feeling a tad demoralised by the morning arrival on campus on a Saturday (not to mention Valentine’s Day).

I thought the best idea would be to get as far off campus as possible, so off to the Sainsbury Centre (or SCVA if you’re a cool museum studies kid like me) we went.

The café inside the Sainsbury Centre is exactly what you would expect of a museum café – the food is good (but not great), and the coffee is basically the same as at uni, but with nicer packaging and a price to match.

So much cake

Overall the breakfast was a hit. The food was good, the coffee was hot, and the café itself is really beautiful and sunny which is practically unheard of considering this is February in England.

It’s a really good date location or for anyone who wants to impress their parents when they come to visit.

My mum always used to complain that I didn’t do enough cultural activities, so I decided something intellectual was in order – you never know when inspiration to study will crop up.

Fish facing since 1502

The gallery is warm and dark – not ideal with post-food drowsiness. The entire experience was entertaining and my boyfriend was highly amused by some of the more abstract pieces.

I don’t think it ended up being much of an intellectual endeavour, although we did very successfully spy on an artist who seemed to not be accomplishing much with all his gadgetry.

After breakfast we went to explore the great outdoors. Picturing my lovely jaunts out around the lake during the spring and summer I mistakenly assumed that this would be a pleasant experience, turns out it was pretty uncomfortable. If the damp and rain wasn’t enough to drive us inside, the mud certainly was.

Muddy lovebirds

One of the unfortunate aspects of a winter at UEA is that a lot of the main attractions are outside. This is lovely on a balmy summer day, but not so much today.

Not even the charming view of the hill on the outskirts of campus was enough to lift my sodden spirits. So we fled inside, but not without getting someone to take a corny couple’s photo of us in front of the bridge.

It was only around 1:00 so we figured we would peruse the books in Waterstones, the most tantalizing shop on campus. It was a good place to look, but unless you actually have to buy a textbook for your course there it’s unrealistic to spend a small fortune on a designer notebook that looks leather bound but isn’t.

Finally after about 20 minutes we succumbed to the pull of the pub, and decided to celebrate Valentine’s Day properly – with copious amounts of alcohol.

Long live the Union pub and its incessant pull.

Overall I would say our romantic day on campus was a success, despite the cold and wet, and the constant reminder that my student loan is long gone so I can’t buy much of anything.

If you’re looking for a good day out with your amore, don’t hesitate to go to the Sainsbury Centre (or more realistically, the pub.)