After being in London for a few weeks it was time to venture out into the country. One of my school friends is doing some crazy smart stuff at Cambridge so it was necessary to take a trip, if only to feel super smart for the day! I have heard that Cambridge is picturesque and indeed it has some incredible architecture. The fact that Cambridge itself is over 800 years old and many of the colleges in it, about the same, is truly spectacular. I wish we still paid as much attention to our new buildings as we did to our old ones. I guess once TV was invented, our imagination and time for detail slipped a bit. Here are some of the highlights of the day.
The bridge of sighs. I am told that the students used to walk across this bridge when they were off to write exams - hence the sighs! It's counterpart in Venice (also the bridge of sighs) was the crossing for prisoners to get to the gallows - I think they had more reason to sigh! Although I hardly feel that a sigh is enough when you're about to have your head chopped off!
I think this is St John's Collage, and I gather this is the one that secretly everyone else wants to be in, because there is a lot of rivalry towards and between them. I don't blame the others - it's a spiritual experience walking within these walls.
Photographic evidence that I punted! You may notice that all the other boats are going in the other direction. We took this photo after I had managed to turn us around and get us stuck along the bank. I was punting upstream so I had that against me, but man, it looks much easier than it is! I wonder if rowing would be easier - at least you have two oars. As London is hosting the Olympics in 2012, one of the sports they would like to propose to be added to the games is punting.. this seems ridiculous but I do think there is a lot of skill and tenacity involved. As few nations punt as a pastime, hopefully the British will actually win something.
Philippa and Jen with a birthday cupcake and sparkler for Jenny's birthday, celebrating birthdays as you should on a lazy Sunday afternoon, with old friends, along the river Cam.
And with ying, there must be yang, and thus I present you with the ugliest thing in Cambridge - truly grotesque. The guy that invented the cordless kettle, clearly rolled in the dough - and decided to design this clock which is on display for all to see in a very public area - unfortunately. The 'chronophage' (made up word? are you kidding?! chrono as in chronological and phage as in 'yum-yum') is supposed to be eating up time. This weird cockroach combo dinosaur moth creature sits on top of the clock like a hamster in a wheel and occasionally sticks out his tongue. What possessed this man with all his millions to desecrate Cambridge's ancient, natural beauty is beyond me. I will have to focus on its clever design and innovative mechanism to get passed this one. Eew.
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