Friday, November 14th
Today was one of our scheduled trips through the university, this time to Cambridge. Despite a rough start with a cranky bus driver who also got lost, it turned out to be a great day.
We started off with a walking tour of the town, where we got to see punting boats, the famous ‘Mathematical Bridge,’ lots of churches, pubs, and colleges. This city is known primarily for its 31 different colleges and universities, including of course, Cambridge University and Kings College.
We stopped at Kings College and were able to go inside of the cathedral there. Wow, is all I have to say. I cannot begin to explain how impressed I have been walking into some of these amazing European cathedrals, and this one was no exception. It had beautiful fan vaulted ceilings, intricate stonework inside and out, incredibly detailed stained glass, beautiful woodwork inside, and I could go on forever. The altarpiece was a giant painting by Rubens, also quite a notable aspect of the church. I was in awe with the entire ensemble to say the least.
When we were sitting inside for the tour, Shawn turned to me star struck, absolutely convinced that the elderly man walking in front of us was the actor who played the old man in Jurassic Park- John Hammond, I believe he said it was. I’ve seen the movie, but I can’t say I really know if it was him or not… Either way, it was funny watching his reaction. Haha.
The tour ended outside of the Kings College grounds, with the rest of the days ours to explore. There was a man singing outside of the main square where we stood, playing guitar and singing. More of a broader voice, singing folk songs. I loved it.
After walking around here for a while, we went down the street and ate lunch in the pub we stopped by on the tour. Apparently ‘The Eagle’ was one of the favorite local pubs for the scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory. It was here on February 28, 1953 that Francis Crick and James Watson announced their discovery of how DNA carries genetic information.
Today was one of our scheduled trips through the university, this time to Cambridge. Despite a rough start with a cranky bus driver who also got lost, it turned out to be a great day.
We started off with a walking tour of the town, where we got to see punting boats, the famous ‘Mathematical Bridge,’ lots of churches, pubs, and colleges. This city is known primarily for its 31 different colleges and universities, including of course, Cambridge University and Kings College.
We stopped at Kings College and were able to go inside of the cathedral there. Wow, is all I have to say. I cannot begin to explain how impressed I have been walking into some of these amazing European cathedrals, and this one was no exception. It had beautiful fan vaulted ceilings, intricate stonework inside and out, incredibly detailed stained glass, beautiful woodwork inside, and I could go on forever. The altarpiece was a giant painting by Rubens, also quite a notable aspect of the church. I was in awe with the entire ensemble to say the least.
When we were sitting inside for the tour, Shawn turned to me star struck, absolutely convinced that the elderly man walking in front of us was the actor who played the old man in Jurassic Park- John Hammond, I believe he said it was. I’ve seen the movie, but I can’t say I really know if it was him or not… Either way, it was funny watching his reaction. Haha.
The tour ended outside of the Kings College grounds, with the rest of the days ours to explore. There was a man singing outside of the main square where we stood, playing guitar and singing. More of a broader voice, singing folk songs. I loved it.
After walking around here for a while, we went down the street and ate lunch in the pub we stopped by on the tour. Apparently ‘The Eagle’ was one of the favorite local pubs for the scientists at the Cavendish Laboratory. It was here on February 28, 1953 that Francis Crick and James Watson announced their discovery of how DNA carries genetic information.
When we were done with lunch, we walked over the the River Cam where we wanted to try out some punting. This is basically a boat that is less fancy looking than a gondola, and instead of a paddle on the back, you have a big stick with a metal end for pushing yourself down the river. We decided to try it out… doing it ourselves. It was cheaper, and we thought it would be more of an adventure.
We all took turns punting down the river. It was really funny. The chauffeurs made fun of us as we left and then we had some fun with the others as we rowed down the river. When it came my turn, I was terrible at first… I ran into the wall and it took a little while to get out of that mess, but once I got the hang of it, I got us going straight and didn’t do too bad. It was really calm too, so that helped.
We kept flowing past ducks and the other five girls on the boat with me made duck calls to them… I’m sure the ducks loved it… ha. As we were on our way back, we ran into another boat filled with some friends of ours. I was rather jealous, because Shawn was giving them a tour of the area as he chauffeured then down the river. I caught a bit of his speech, and it trailed off a bit after I heard the bit about the tree passing by that inspired Grandmother Willow from the Disney film, Pocahontas. I guess later he was singing to them as well… jealous!
We all took turns punting down the river. It was really funny. The chauffeurs made fun of us as we left and then we had some fun with the others as we rowed down the river. When it came my turn, I was terrible at first… I ran into the wall and it took a little while to get out of that mess, but once I got the hang of it, I got us going straight and didn’t do too bad. It was really calm too, so that helped.
We kept flowing past ducks and the other five girls on the boat with me made duck calls to them… I’m sure the ducks loved it… ha. As we were on our way back, we ran into another boat filled with some friends of ours. I was rather jealous, because Shawn was giving them a tour of the area as he chauffeured then down the river. I caught a bit of his speech, and it trailed off a bit after I heard the bit about the tree passing by that inspired Grandmother Willow from the Disney film, Pocahontas. I guess later he was singing to them as well… jealous!
We made it back, successfully, and then walked around town down to the markets. I bought a really cute scarf that I am pretty excited about.We headed over to Kings College Cathedral again, for the 5:15 Evensong. We were a bit early, so I took advantage of the opportunity to call Nickolas. Tonight was the last playoff game before state for Kimberly football, as defending champions, so I wanted to call and wish him good luck. I caught him just at the right time and it made me happy. :)
Evensong was awesome. Once again, it was so soothing and pleasing to hear such beautiful voices resonating throughout a gorgeous cathedral. This one was a bit different in the fact that there was no organ accompianament, and the only light in the cathedral was by candles on the altars. It looked completely different lit up in the evening- absolutely beautiful. I have posted a recording I took of the choirs.
When evensong had finished, Cody, Rachael, and myself all went down the street to a café where we got some hot chocolate and ate dinner. We relaxed in here for a while and explored some shops before heading back to the bus for our way back home to London (boy, I like the sound of that :) )
Punting down the River Cam
More Punting
Recording at Evensong- Kings College Cathedral
Man Singing in Square
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