cambridge. our college away from college

Another early morning and another long day to follow, we repeated almost the same process as yesterday with the underground, transfer, underground again, and long train to Cambridge. Yes the college, but little fact, it’s an entire college town, so quaint and hip. The shops were fun and contemporary, definitely an artsy side of England. We met up and split into groups for a tour with Sally. She was the stereotypical old British lady plaid pants, blue eye shadow, white hair, and best accent I’ve heard. She really knew here stuff too and was so excited to tell us about her town. Here’s a tad bit of information, Cambridge was founded in 1209 by the King. It has 31 colleges, all with separate little buildings and quirks, or lawns that line the Cam River. We went to King’s College Chapel which was designed by the King and is where the boys choir sings every Christmas that is broadcasted around the world. The ceiling had amazing fan vaulting.
The king had originally wanted the chapel to be white stone, but since there are no real quarries close he white washed only ¾ of the façade. They also have this school tradition where a group of students play pranks on top of the building. They have 6 hours to do it between the night watchers. One year they got a car on top, another year they put chamber pots on the corners, interesting and a good idea for us at USU.
We continued our tour to the Eagle, which is the pub where famous things happen. For example this is where the double helix, the elixir of life, was first mentioned, and where the first signed graffiti appeared on the ceiling. It’s so quaint and adorable with brick walls, flowers on the tables, and fish and chips signs. Mentioning the food, divine fish and chips and dessert, and I hate fish. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I sat with Megan, Ashley, and Michelle in whom I went shopping with shortly after. I decided that I’m not a shopper. If I have a purpose that’s great but I hate aimlessly wandering in stores to glance around and hoping to find divine things. Even if I’m in the mood, an hour is best at most. I did find this adorable market where I got some nice vinyls, first edition Beatles records produced in the UK. Not only is that great music, but a great bargain and art piece.
We returned to a tour with Sally at the Fitzwilliam museum which basically was artifacts found in England at some point in time. I loved her as our tour guide because she had spunk, got to the point, and went fast. Yet, I found myself wanting to spend more time with her and her mind. One such piece in the museum was the first prototype swiss army knife complete with spoon and spice sorter. Pretty incredible. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures, but everything was spectacular.
Our next adventures led us in the rain down to the river. A cute little trail of umbrellas behind Sally. What do we come to find… punting! Let me explain, a punt is a small flat boat that is pushed by a long stick. You may say that sounds a lot like a gondola Kylee, in fact it is! Only better because you can actually sit comfortably, not smell like garbage, and see beautiful scenery. Speaking of scenery… Harry Potter bridge, quidditch field, and grasses, filmed right where we were. Our punt Shaffer, or chauffer, was named Orlando and he went to Oxford. Complete traitor, but he was extremely nice and good at steering us down the river which made him okay in my book. He also had a wicked accent which made the experience that much better. We were all so tired so anything and everything made us laugh. We got off the boat, took a picture, and headed back into town to shop for a tiny on our way back to the train. Train time came and you know I fell asleep on it. So nice. After this we just decided to call it a night, but not before our train pulled up to platform 9. For all of those Harry Potter fans you know what is about to be said, lo and behold, here I was at platform 9 and ¾ pushing the little cart in and looking like a drunken sailor tourist. We officially made it back had a nice time hanging out in our commons room and did homework. Patterns are due so we’re doing those and I’m not tired one ounce. Megan, Brady, and I decided at two thirty, time now, that we’d watch a movie… so in about two hours I’ll be in bed making it 4:30. YAY! Mind the Gap. Cheers!