Cambridge!

So, Cambridge. Actually, before Cambridge I woke up at 5am, thought it was 7am due to a stupidly erroneous clock on the oven, got dressed, went for walk, wondered why all of London was rising so late besides a few bikers and construction workers, went home, unloaded the dishwasher, made a cup of cocoa and THEN figured out my grievous error. Sigh. So again, who knows how coherently this will turn out. Here’s hoping for the best!
But after everyone was up, and showered and breakfasted we did make it to Cambridge. And what a day it was! Beautiful, and sunny, warm (well, not for Texas, but still warm) and with just a slight hint of a breeze. The train from King’s Cross to Cambridge was an express train, taking only a little more than an hour, and out of the window the impressively verdant countryside slide by, studded by towns, townships and what can only be termed hamlets (to be or not to… oh, never mind). It really was amazing green, the emerald expanses of fields, hedges and fully-leafed trees.
Then we arrived to Cambridge. Arriving at the town center, we booked on to a tour, something I have never done before. Generally I just wander around and get a bit lost and try to see as much of a place as feasibly possible. This was the best place to do so, however, as I learned many a thing I simply couldn’t have learned on my own, no matter how observant, although perhaps with the aid of some tome or other. These interesting facts included:

* Cambridge was founded by students fleeing the townfolk around Oxford, with whom they were feuding and at odds. Then they decided to stay.
* The golden scepter in Henry VIII’s hand on the Trinity College gate (the college he founded just before his death) was replaced by a table leg years ago, probably by students. It remains there to this day, and no-one has ever confessed.
* Tennyson’s statue in the Trinity Chapel (where there also stands one of Newton) has his pipe tucked into his robes at the base of the figure. Showing it was judged inappropriate for a chapel, but they just couldn’t leave him without something that was so integral to his personality so they found a way to work it in.
* The apple tree planted outside of Trinity dedicated to Sir Isaac Newton is said to have come from an apple from the tree that first inspired Newton by dropping an apple on his head (and possibly giving him a bump in addition to that inspiration).
* The famous King’s College Chapel was founded by Henry IV but finished by Henry VIII, who also built a prayer screen through the middle in honor of his marriage to Anne Boleyn. He actually also decorated it with symbols from both York and Lancastrian sides of the royal family, including a coat of arms with the York dragon and Lancanstrian greyhound on either side to celebrate (and, one supposes, attempt to finalize) the end of the War of the Roses. I would like to take a moment here to thank Shakespeare and Winedale for my knowledge of English history. Cheers! I owe you a beer.
* The original college printing press was housed in a relatively grand building with a tower in it. Apparently they used to - and possibly still do - attempt to convince froshies that the first Sunday of the term everyone had to go to that church and worship on Sunday.
* The oldest part of the college is a tower composing part of Corpus Christi chapel that dates to Saxon times (before the Norman invasion!), marked by a particular kind of stonework at the corners that my descriptive powers are simply not going to tackle, but which I could probably draw.

There were other things, but my memory didn't grab on to them with sufficient force, so they probably weren't quite as interesting. After the tour, we had lunch in a church converted into a cafe, recommended by the venerable Rick Steves (if you don't know who Rick Steves is, I should explain that the comment is partly tongue in cheek, since he basically writes guidebooks that make it easy for Americans to travel, and idea not entirely without merit but not exactly the sort of thing I would normally follow). The cafe was very pleasant, and it must say something about the number of fairly ancient churches in Cambridge that they can afford to turn one into a cafe - although it should be noted that services are still held there, in a section walled off with glass. And that actually reminds me of another thing the guide said; apparently there are so many churches in Cambridge that it seems like each small section of the city wanted their own, even if the nearest was only about 200 yards away. In other words, there are a lot of them.

Then we went punting. After a few false starts and hiccups we were moving with a fair degree of accuracy and speed down whatever the river in Cambridge is called, along the backs of the colleges, under stone bridges (including the "bridge of sighs", which students apparently walk across to get their exam results, a very understandable name) and by groups of picnickers taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and glowing grass to watch punters drift by, navigating with greater or lesser degrees of accuracy. In fact, the punting as a bit like playing bumper boats at times, especially in very crowded areas - the flat boats aren't exactly known for their maneverability and since they allow groups to take them out themselves inxperienced punters come up with unexpected and hilarious manuevers. During my time as punter an experienced punter luckily shouted out pointers ("are you left or right handed?" "right" " then pole on the right side, using the end to steer"), and while I can't say we were exactly zipping along, weaving in and out of other boats with ease (have you seen those boats?), the accuracy and enjoyment certainly improved. In fact, I really enjoyed punting, and the day and town couldn't have been more beautiful, nor the current more obligingly languid. I just had to remember to duck to get under the bridges.

Punting marked pretty much the end of our Cambridge trip, although I did visit a two-story candy store (or, "Olde Sweet Shoppe" which should obviously be pronounced "old-ee sweet shop-ee") and tried a rhubarb and custard sherbert (!) that actually had those two flavors, although more custard than rhubarb. Its really a gorgeous city and a charmingly college town, although steeped in tradition in amazing amounts. The architecture is astoundin ly old and yet varied, a city of stone and narrow streets everywhere one goes, and the colleges add to the charm. Wouldn't mind going there myself, although mainly in theory given my lack of plans.On the train back I made an effort to look out the windows instead of read (an overlooked way of isolating myself, ah!), and was rewarded by gorgeous vistas of the English countryside, and even a community garden.

The final adventure of the day was an attempt to walk from Kings' Cross Station - where the Cambridge train came into - and South Kensington, by the house. Using only a Tube map, not an actual map. It was fun! And made me once again very aware of how little the Tube map has any relevance to the actual scale of the city. I was also surprisingly successful, and made it all the way to Green Park station (four away on the Piccadilly line) before deciding I should probably get on the train just to get back for dinner. Notable sites included the LCE, "Goodenough College" (the actual name!), the Treasury, the entrance to the old City of London, Convent Garden and many other things that just happened to be along the way. I love wandering in cities.

What a long post. Tonight it Macbeth - I got the date wrong - and who knows what else. Hurrah! London!