A Magical Day

Sorry I haven't been posting a lot, I've been quite busy. So, today was wonderful in every possible way. 

I started my day at Mass where I got to see four cute little babies be Baptized. Also I got to see and receive Jesus which is always amazing. 

Then I went to the bookstore to pick up my copy of The Cursed Child, the script of the new Harry Potter play. It was released today in honour of Harry (and J.K. Rowling's) birthday. 

After eating I set out to the train station to collect my tickets for the train to London. I got there plenty early so I started reading my new book - as you probably know I enjoy devouring books and I finished it well before I made it to London. I'm not going to spoil anything but I am up for talking about it to those who have also finished it. 

The train I took arrived at King's Cross in London, which of course just made everything more awesome (for you muggles out there; that's where students catch the train to Hogwarts). 

Following that I traveled on, with several other Cambridge students, to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour. The tour was absolutely fantastic, I loved every minute of it. It was certainly worth the ticket price and I would love to go again. You got to see so many parts of what made the movies so magical. All the details and special effects are unreal. There were even exhibits and knowledgeable persons to tell about all the behind the scenes design work and character design - someone was even displaying how they made troll bogeys and dog drool from the first movie. As it is the fifteen year anniversary of the first movie they had a few special exhibits just for that one. My favourite part was the model of Hogwarts that they used to create the large outside shots. It is incredible and it was so amazing to get to see it.

It was such a long day and it took lots of running to catch trains and the tube to make it back to Cambridge but I had such a magical day that I just had to share.   

The Cursed Child!!!!!

London; King's Cross

The front of the studio tour

Rare selfie with the Hogwarts Express

Costumes from the 19 years later scene (one year and one month from today)

Number 4 Privet Drive

Diagon Alley

Hogwarts!

Hogwarts again!

Dia Dhuit!

So I am in Éire! I'm really excited. I got here around 8 this morning and have been very busy since, I've already seen most of what I wanted to see! The easiest way to get around here is by bus which I am not used to. I much prefer cars and trains but I'm getting better at it.
If you know me than you know it makes perfect sense that the first thing I did after finding where I am staying was find the closest Catholic Church. I went in just to say hi and then I said a rosary and right after I finished that there was a Mass so I really lucked out. In contrast to all the churches I've been visiting in England, this one is post-Vatican II and very much a product of what I believe is the 70s (sometimes architecture is a little off based on what country you're in). It actually felt very homey since no American churches are gothic and the neo-Gothic ones are not too common either. Personally I spend most of my time in more romanesque churches but this church reminded me of the church I was baptised in. Not traditional but lovely all the same.

Here is a photo of the church - the stained glass is lovely - very similar to Christ the King in Omaha. As you can see it was overcast all day and way colder than I expected - however it did not start to rain until I was putting the key card into the door - St. Bridget must be watching out for me on her feast day (the priest certainly had something to say about that- St. Bridget might be the patron of Europe but St. Brigid is the patron of Ireland!).

Forgetfulness and Birthdays

I know I have neglected to post for nearly a week now but I have been quite busy. My class has had a lot of field trips around Cambridge and I've had some papers to write. Also some of my extended family came to visit me this weekend and we had a lovely time touring Cambridge, after which I was quite exhausted. Also I had a slight allergic reaction and I was not feeling too well afterwards, I slept for quite a while. Sorry about all that. 

So when my family came to visit we went punting. Punting is a Cambridge must. The boats featured here are called punts and they are taken down the Cam using poles. While you can do it on your own, there were seven of us and a professional guide seemed like a must. Our guide was really friendly and as he took us down the Cam he told us many stories about the sights we saw. Being a weekend in July it was crowded, there were lots of small collisions along the way. A chunk of our punt even fell off! Fun things we saw included; the backs of several of the colleges - including about where the Theory of Everything was filmed, a punter being towed because their pole broke (our punter had a less breakable aluminium pole), someone who couldn't swim falling in less than a minute after they pulled away from the dock, and many many people failing at punting. It was quite fun! 

Starting out. 

Bridge of Sighs at St. Johns I believe. 

Back of King's.

My class gets to go on lots of field trips to see the architecture of different places. This week one of the places we went was Selwyn College. It's one of the newer schools so it's a bit off the beaten track. It's about fifteen minutes away from where I live, maybe twenty. The new schools are so different from the old ones - they are much more open and don't contain all the same remnants of a medieval education. It is very beautiful but we mentioned that it is something that we would not be too hard pressed to find in the United States. Which is strange because seemingly everywhere else predates even Columbus. I really would like to know how history classes are set up here compared to the USA. We were privileged to walk into their chapel as an organ teacher was warming up. Our professor was able to sum up the feeling as a dark Victorian experience. Super cool.  

Selwyn Chapel.

Besides class stuff I've also enjoyed just walking around Cambridge. I'm amazed by the parks here and how even though they are surrounded by a city I feel like I've walked straight into a faerie tale. The parks in New York and Paris that I've been to are nice and all but they feel so planned. At the park pictured below I literally ran into a herd of cows just wandering on the same path opposite me. They just sort of ignored me and continued on their merry way - much like a New York pigeon or a Jones Beach seagull. Yes the humans are there but pay them no mind, do what you want. While this park in particular was not as planned as most city parks I've encountered elsewhere, I've also come across some nice English garden type parks that bring me back to a childhood spent running around at Old Westbury Gardens. 

The park

Now that I've covered most of what I've forgotten to share, let's get to the birthdays part of my post. This week was Best Friend's birthday, today is my Papa's birthday (I was super happy to get to Skype him), and next week's birthdays include those of JK Rowling, Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, and Cinnels! So many birthdays! 

Colleges and Universities

While I am studying at the University of Cambridge, I'm actually split between several locations. The University is a whole that is made up of several different colleges, all of which seem to be within an hours walk of the center point. The oldest is Peterhouse, founded in 1284 - after the University itself had been established, and it was developed from the original church on the site that was dedicated to St. Peter. I believe I discussed this earlier when talking about Little St. Mary's. Today there are thirty-one different colleges and several other moving parts that make up the entirety of the University. While I belong specifically to the College of Liberal Arts at my University, it isn't quite the same thing. Each college at Cambridge provides their own mini ivory tower to keep the students ensconced in their studies. Everything you needed could be found within the walls of your college, there are chapels, dining halls, classrooms, bedrooms, and whatever passed as a bathroom that century. It wasn't until the late eighteen hundreds that the university as a whole modernized beyond such things, and in many ways it still hasn't. Many medieval practices are still maintained to this day, in a pun on my teacher's words: you can get rid of the Catholics but not the traditions. 

Today I got to visit Corpus Christi College which I pass several times a week. We seemed to have gotten special permission (although I'm fairly certain my professor is just one determined gate-crasher) to enter their chapel while it is being repaired. It is a neo-gothic chapel that had an extra part tacked on a few years later when amount of students created demand for a larger chapel. I really enjoyed getting to see this college and the chapel was lovely. I think that chapels always look just a little more put together when they were built with the religion they currently host in mind. The older chapels are lovely too but were made for Catholicism not Protestantism. 

A bad view of the chapel from the entrance, please appreciate the new neo-gothic courtyard. The dining hall is to the left and the world famous Corpus Christi Library is to the right.

In the next two photos you get to see the Old Court - the one that dates back to the Middle Ages and surprisingly enough has not had a major face-lift like most of its friends, just a few botox shots. 

Many of the original buildings had to be renovated due to increased enrollment, desire for comfort, wear, new functionality, and much more. It is so cool to see how old these buildings are and how they might have once functioned. I have wondered often enough at my school what students from two hundred years ago would have been doing on an average day, here I have to add a few hundred years. 

I'm so glad to have gotten this experience, just being here has allowed me to absorb so much, I'm so excited to learn much more in the coming month. 

Journeys and Concerts and Lectures, Oh My!

Today, in contrast with pretty much the entire past week, I did a lot. I woke up several hours before class this morning and decided to go exploring. On my journey of exploration I passed the Round Church pictured below, a very unique building very few of which were made, and though I didn't go in I might return at a later date. 

I also did some Catholic sight-seeing and walked up to where the local Dominicans are. Despite the fact that I was once a Dominican Youth Preacher, the thing I was most reminded of was the homeschool theatre group that I was never even a part of. They are a great group of actors and I always love seeing them perform. I might return later in the summer for Mass or something. I also ended up wandering around St. Edmund's College- the newer colleges are not as intense as the older ones it seems. 

After going to class I went to a concert at the Botanic Garden. It is a part of the Cambridge Summer Music Festival. Barokksolistene is the name of the group and they are a Scandinavian Folk group. Luckily I love folk music so this was quite fun. This was one of their Alehouse Sessions, reflecting on the traditional music that would have been found in England centuries ago. 

The gardens were quite beautiful, at least until it started to rain. 

After the concert it was straight to a plenary lecture. The lecturer was the Master (combine a dean and a president and you'd probably end up with a master) of Pembroke, Lord Smith. He is a former MP and has been a very influential politician for the past several decades. He spoke about Brexit and it was a really interesting lecture. It is really quite the opportunity to be in England right now and be right in the middle of everything that is happening. It was in the middle of the lecture that we, Lord Smith included, found out that Boris Johnson had been made foreign secretary. 

Cambridge is an area where the clear majority voted to stay and it is clear that most if not all of the people at the head of this program feel very strongly that remain should have won. I think there was a definite bias in the lecture that was given but that it overall would not have been as interesting as an impartial piece. Additionally, this is a semi-retired politician talking to a group of young students who cannot vote for him - what does he have to lose? 

It is interesting to draw parallels between the USA and the UK at these times of political turmoil. I think many Brits are choosing to pick on American politicians if only to distract from the mess that is their political leadership. Also if I had a pound for every Trump joke, I would be able to roll to class instead of walk. It's the lectures like these that really exemplify all that I am gaining by studying at a university like Cambridge. 

Lord Smith. 

Fun fact: according to Dr. Jarvis you are more likely to be executed as Master of Pembroke College than as Prime Minister but on the bright side you have generally better job security. 

Cambridge After Dark

So the whole skip a day think has not been intentional. I have just been a very good student and haven't been doing much of interest besides school work. Yesterday I had class and then today I had class. I also had choir today which is awesome. We've got some great student directors and we've been able to work through a lot of music. I am quite Mountsick for my normal choirs. I even looked up photos of the ICC today because I missed being there so much. I can't wait for the Mass of the Holy Spirit! 

Cambridge at night is beautiful. The sun has been setting around 10PM so I rarely get to be out at night, there just isn't that much planned for the late evenings. I got to take these pictures around 9:45 and even though the sky is cloudy you can see that the sun has yet to fully set. They are taken in the Old Court at Pembroke.  

This is looking at the old chapel, old library, and kitchen, you can see the plodge to the left and the hall to the right. 

The library. 

Tonight's post is also poking fun at the fact that the light in our bathroom went out and until it is fixed we get to use flashlights to navigate at night. 

A Tale of Nothing and Everything

So Saturday I did absolutely nothing. It was fantastic. I slept for hours and then just browsed the internet and binge watched a little. It was a greatly enjoyed break. I got up around eight to go find dinner since all I have in my room is juice and bread related products. I ended up with a rather horrible salad - salad dressing is not a thing here. I think I might in withdrawal from ranch dressing, all they have is caesar (who makes their own caesar salad?) and vinaigrettes and something called salad cream which just looks like off-colour mayo.  I'm not sure you can call something a salad if it is not at least 1/4 dressing. My ire might be partially inspired by the fact that I was really craving mozzarella sticks or mac and cheese neither of which can be found in the only grocery store open at eight on a Saturday. 

While I was out looking for dinner I went by the major tourist area - King's Parade - and I was pleasantly surprised to find it empty. It really is a gorgeous spot especially when there aren't a zillion tourists blocking the path. 

King's 

I also walked by Our Lady and the English Martyrs around sunset and got a gorgeous shot of the building. It is beautiful inside and out. I got to go to Mass there this morning and I loved it. It is so amazing to hear a choir sing in a space like that. I really want to go to the Latin Mass next week. I've been to so many gothic churches that have been stripped bare, even though this one is neo-gothic I would love to get the closest I can to what a church-goer would have experienced all those hundreds of years ago. I always love being in His presence but there is just something so incredible about this space. It is so clear why people built churches like these to honour Him. This has been my pre-nerd moment, expect more to come. 

Our Lady and the English Martyrs at sunset. 

If You Build It, They Will Come

Yesterday I did absolutely nothing of interest. I went to class, the grocery store, dinner, and talked with others. Today I had a field trip! We went to Ely Cathedral which is about a ten-fifteen minute train ride away. It is a gorgeous part Romanesque, part Gothic cathedral. It is the inspiration for today's title because originally it was just a slightly large Anglo-Saxon church but after William the Conqueror conquered the monk who was in charge of rebuilding it "had delusions of grandeur". Ely was and still is a small middle of nowhere town (sound familiar?) and this church was being build with what is still one of the largest (3rd maybe) naves in Western Europe. It did not even become a cathedral until after it was finished and they made a new diocese. 

The structure itself has had some problems, the original crossing tower (the center tower) collapsed and they had to rebuild both the tower and a little bit of the surrounding parts. The north west tower also collapsed more recently and was never rebuilt. Additionally the guy who designed the museum I went to the other day, the Fitzwilliam Museum, he was inspecting the crossing tower to see if it needed repairs when he fell to his death there. Not one of the safest buildings. (Though Thomas Becket and Oscar Romero could tell you something about safety in churches.) 

It was really great to see this church because it was a perfect representation of everything that we have been learning in Gothic Architecture. While it started off as a Romanesque, the East End (the front) was finished and renovated in Early and Middle Gothic styles - and then some of the later additions were done in Late Gothic style. (Though since King's College Chapel is probably the best example of Late Gothic anywhere, the later additions were brushed over.) We got to compare the different styles and point out the features that changed over time. For example, Middle Gothic is also known as Decorated Gothic, and so looking from Early to Middle it was easy to see how things become more intricate and there was just more there. 

Because this was a field trip I broke my no photos during class rule and I hope you enjoy what I ended up taking. 

Ely Cathedral

Looking up in the Crossing Tower

Looking towards the West (back) of the cathedral from the Choir in the East (front).

Looking at a neo-Gothic panel behind the main altar

The West façade (back end) of the Cathedral - note the missing North tower 

The East End stained glass window 

The Lady Chapel (chapel devoted to the Blessed Mother, the largest in the entire world perhaps) and the outer front (East) of the cathedral

Close by at Cambridge

Today I woke up and decided to go to the Fitzwilliam Museum which is a stones throw away, I can practically see it from my window. Despite the fact that it is a small museum that belongs to the university they have a lot of interesting pieces. I normally dislike going to art galleries, not enough to read and no historical context, but this museum kept me entertained. I was excited to see not just local British artists but also works by Rodin, Monet, Degas, Seurat, and so many more. I think my favourite painting was 'Girl With a Sunshade' by Jules Bastien-Lepage. There were a lot of very loud children there which I didn't love. I do plan to go back again before I leave.
I also went to the first of several plenary lectures here. I got to hear Professor Stefan Halper speak on the upcoming American Presidential election. It is very interesting to hear the opinion of a man who has worked on past American presidential campaigns. Overall there was a sense of the ominous unknown when discussing the election. There were also connections drawn between the recent Brexit vote and the upcoming election. Nobody seems to have anything overwhelming positive to say about the election and I think that shaped the view of everyone who attended the lecture. There is truly a sense of I hope the lesser evil wins.
After the lecture there was a reception in the lobby, some of the people I was with engaged the Professor in a discussion. I myself, have used the opportunity afforded to me by being thousands of miles away to avoid American politics and news, so I just stood there with my drink trying to look like I cared and understood. Imagine my surprise when he turns to me and compliments my dress (I wasn't wearing a dress) and said it looked very Irish. While I am very proudly Irish, I happened to be wearing French clothes which amused myself and my companions, not that I told the professor that of course.

This is the front of the Fitzwilliam Museum which nearly lines up with the start of the street that I live on. It is celebrating its bicentennial this year. That makes it pretty young in this town. It just so happens to be next to Peterhouse and Pembroke, the oldest and third oldest colleges in Cambridge. Even the Mount is older than this museum! 

Of Great and Little Fun

I had class yesterday and after a morning lecture we had another little field trip. We went to Great St. Mary's Church and Little St. Mary's Church. They are very different but are both a reflection of important parts of Cambridge history. Where Little St. Mary's stands there was originally a church called for St. Peter - this was the inspiration for the original college at Cambridge - Peterhouse. Little St. Mary's was their chapel for about three hundred years before reverting back into a community church. Due to unknown (but most likely plague related) circumstances there is some inconsistency in the architecture on the west side.
Great St. Mary's belongs to a community that most likely originally lived where King's College is but the King wanted a college so they were given the boot. They were able to build a beautiful church that has been renovated many times to reflect the needs of the parish. It was most likely built by the same people who were building King's College Chapel but obviously there was much less money and detail put into this one.
I also had choir practice today. It was comprised of basic songs but the very large group picked up on them very quickly. I didn't realize how much I missed singing. At school I'm supposed to be in choir rehearsals five days a week, here I normally only get to sing at church. Having music in my life is such a blessing, I can't wait to get back to both choirs at home.
I know this is coming late but I actually got to sleep early last night - practically a Christmas miracle. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures but I always find it easier to learn when I'm not on my phone during class or choir practice. I'm well aware that there are many people who disagree with me.

Happy America!!!

Hello and Happy 4th of July!! I think it is strange to be celebrating Independence Day in the country from which we gained our independence. Because I went to the Catholic Chaplaincy yesterday I decided to go to the big parish church today. Our Lady and the English Martyrs is a beautiful Gothic Revival church. It was quite lucky that adoration was going on as I entered the church and I got to spend a half hour with Jesus there, thanking Him for my wonderful country. 

After class I decided to go over to the library and do more research for my honours project. I went to the King's College Library and it is gorgeous there but the floors are so creaky. I felt like a PhD student was going to snap every time I took a step. There was also someone sitting right in front of the Theology books I wanted to look at so I will have to go back later. As if I need much convincing to go to the library. 

I'm enjoying class and I'm glad we're focusing in on certain cathedrals and churches though a lot of the material is still familiar thanks to my experience at the Mount. I had my first class at the engineering department today and it is different from my previous classes, the building is much newer and was built for scientific purposes. The older colleges were built more with a traditional liberal arts curriculum in mind. Something I am very familiar with. 

I will be celebrating my love for my country tonight with several other Americans. I just hope we don't see any tea floating down the Cam tomorrow. 

These are two different views of the back of Our Lady and the English Martyrs, the Catholic parish in Cambridge. This is one of the newer churches in Cambridge, it's even younger than the Mount! 

Mornings and Evenings

As with most Sundays during the summer I started the day off with Mass. One of our PAs arranged for a group of us to meet and walk over to the local Catholic Chaplaincy together. It was a lovely Mass and the homily was very inspiring. It also happened to be the first modern building I've been to here. It was very minimalist which is quite different from the architectural grandeur of literally every other church in this town. While I enjoyed the Mass, I think I might try at the big church next week just to see the difference. 

After Mass, which I sorely needed, and brunch, I went home and made a blog post and took a nap before my next adventure. Today was the last Evensong of the summer at King's College Chapel. Their choir is going on tour now. They reserved seats for those of us who came and I got to sit and listen to the service. They are a wonderful choir and I am quite envious of their ambient space (there is much to be said about a performance space that lacks a dome). It was my first time into the chapel and it is literally right out of my history books. The fan vault ceiling is incredible though not what I had imagined. I'm hoping to go and visit again when there is not a prayer service being sung to look around a bit more.  

Looking at the entrance to King's College

A view of the front of the chapel from across the street. 

Shop 'Till You Drop

So yesterday I spent the day shopping and by the time I got back home I was quite exhausted. I was able to find a lot of things that I needed and for a good price to boot. Some other girls from the Mount and I also got a bag of Tide-pod style laundry soap so we can do laundry while we're here. A lot of the stores I visited were really nice and I hope to return to them again and see what else is there. Because yesterday was a Saturday there was a rather large crowd everywhere we went. I have plans for today so hopefully I'll update tonight with an account of those.

London Calling

So today the school took us to London. I was on lucky coach #6 which is a lot worse than it sounds. We were not the last to leave but when we got to London there was so much traffic and we were running so late that we actually had to get off and walk to our destination, it was less than a ten minute walk but still. Our destination was a boat tour. We had a very funny commentator, James, who pointed out landmarks and gave some brief histories. I'm used to boats and all, but I am naturally a horrible photographer and the rocking of the boat did not help. I've only got so many pictures to share. As you can see it was quite gray and chilly today and I was not dressed for it, I had to go under when it started to rain. Luckily by the time we landed the rain had stopped and I was on to my next location. 

I had very few things that I wanted to see in London, I don't love doing touristy things. Most of the important things - Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, London Bridge, Millennium Bridge, and the London Eye - could be seen from the boat tour. Additionally we docked at Westminster and went over Tower Bridge so I got a good look at most of them. The only thing that I really wanted to see was Trafalgar Square, which as luck would have it, was right on the way to the British Museum. I really love history and so museums are a great joy to me. It was different navigating through London mostly because their street signs are not familiar to me and because I drive on the other side of the road I was looking in all the wrong places. I did get where I wanted to go rather easily which I credit to the amount of time I've spent walking around New York City. 

The British Museum is huge and maps were £2 so I spent a lot of time wandering around trying to figure out where I wanted to go. I spent most of my time in the BC Europe exhibits. There were so many cool things to learn. I was really hoping to find more exhibits that dealt with the post-industrial world, but alas it was not meant to be. I think being American is sometimes really easy, my history doesn't start until after the Middle Ages. Yes there are Native American tribes present but we're really good at limiting them to one chapter at the beginning and bringing them back for Thanksgiving and conflicts. 

I think I at least walked through every open exhibit. There was so much to see and I had to catch my coach back to Cambridge. I was exhausted by the end, besides the half-hour walk between the meeting point and the museum that I had to do twice, it is a two hour ride both ways, and museums can easily be replaced by watching an interactive slideshow on a treadmill. 

I'm looking forward to my first day without a schedule tomorrow, I really need to sleep in! 

View of the Shard from the boat.

The Tower of London. 

Tower Bridge. 

We don't have those in America. 

Ditto. 

Trafalgar Square. 

Senet (Egyptian board game) at the museum. If anyone wants to play with me I know how. 

Parthenon parts. 

After I got out of the museum, the sky had cleared up considerably. 

Eye see you. 

Another view of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. 

While on our way back I spotted a rainbow, it was pretty faint and I don't know if you can see it but it was a pleasant ending to a very long day and week.