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!
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