A Day at Cambridge

I took a day trip to Cambridge on Saturday and had a wonderful time.

I caught a commuter train in the morning and arrived in Cambridge around 10 AM. The walk from the train station to the city center took about 20 minutes, but it was a pleasant morning with lots of sunlight. For this time of year, I really could not have picked a better day to visit the town.

My first stop was a Starbucks (sad but true) for some green tea to get me going. Then, using my trusty "Best Day Trips from London" book (great present, Mom!), I quickly found the tourist center. I signed up for a combo tour that included "punting" along the River Cam and a walking tour of a few of the colleges.

I decided to take the punting tour first. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a "punt" is "a long narrow flat-bottomed boat with square ends usually propelled with a pole." You can see one in my first pictures. Here's some more:



The water was almost completely still that day, which made the slow cruise up and down the river very relaxing. My guide (who was quite cute) told us stories about the various colleges and buildings as we passed their "backs." I'm not sure I believe all his tales (including one about Prince Charles' bodyguard getting better grades than the Prince himself), but they were entertaining nonetheless.

After the river tour, I scurried off to meet my walking tour group. Our guide, Stephen, was both informative and entertaining. He definitely went out of his way to give us extra information, which I appreciated. The famous King's College Chapel (seen in the first photo) was our first stop. The construction of the chapel began in 1446, continued during the War of the Roses (English civil war between the Red Rose of Lancaster and the White Rose of York), and was completed a century later. It is a truly magnificent building, especially the ceiling and windows. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the chapel, but here's an official photo from the college website:



The windows (twelve to on each side representing the twelve apostles) depict stories from the Old and New Testaments.

We also visited St. John's College, where we walked across The Bridge of Sighs, and Trinity College, where Sir Isaac Newton studied. (You will find a bit more about these colleges in a new feature on my blog--Flickr. If you click on the photo below the Flickr link on the side bar, you will be linked to some photos from my Cambridge trip. Below many of the pictures I have included additional information.)

Anyway, in the evening, I attended the evensong service at King's College Chapel. The famous King's College Choir performs the service daily; the choir consists of male choral students from King's as well as boys from a local school. Naturally, their choral performances were outstanding. During the service, the chapel is lit almost exclusively by candlelight, which gives it an almost haunting feeling.

Following evensong, I ventured down to "The Anchor," a local pub I had spotted near the river. I had a typical pub meal--fish, chips, and a pint of ale--and managed to meet a few of the local Cambridge blokes as well. They were great fun and told me stories about the pranks they had pulled on other colleges. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I was tired and it was getting late. I hopped a train back to London and had absolutely no problem falling asleep that night.