New-stalgia

After our anniversary dinner at Loch Fyne
This chest was given by Henry VII to finish the chapel - it held £5000 in cash.
King's College Chapel, as seen from the River Cam
On the punting tour, in front of Cambridge's Bridge of Sighs
With Emma, Nick, Anne, and Nathan Ladd (click to enlarge)

Today was our second day in Cambridge, and may I just say that I am so excited to be here again. I have such good memories of the time I spent here six years ago, so it's been great to walk around and look at the places I visited then. I wish we could have had more time here, but I'm glad to even have had two days to relive such a memorable time in my life - and to visit some things I didn't get to see last time. Hence the title of this entry - new-stalgia.

We started off the day with a healthy breakfast. This might not seem like a big deal, but the food you get at B&Bs, while delicious, is more of the fried and expansive variety. I think this is the reason that I have stayed exactly the same size here, although we have done tons of walking. That and scones with clotted cream and jam. Yuuuum. Anne Ladd is a great hostess, and got a great breakfast of tea, toast, and cantaloupe together for us. We had a good chat with her over breakfast, and then set off toward the center of town.

Our first stop was King's College Chapel, which is probably the most recognizable landmark in Cambridge. Words can't really do it justice, so I've included a picture. It was built in the 15th and 16th centuries, started by Henry VI and finished (several kings and a civil war later) by Henry VIII (whose statue is mounted on the outside of King's College). The chapel is definitely a display of royal wealth. We got a kick out of seeing Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's initials carved into some of the walls and the organ screen - since he executed her three years after their marriage, that gives historians a pretty accurate idea of when those specific pieces were built. We got to see some of the grounds of the college as well, although there isn't a lot in Cambridge that tourists can see, campus-wise. It's kind of strange for us, coming from a university town with a campus that is open to everyone, to be somewhere where entry is only allowed to students and faculty. On the one hand, that preserves the sacredness of the educational experience, which I can see the value in. On the other, I think that I have a kind of American distaste for exclusivity. So I'm not really sure how I feel about that.

Anyway, we were very impressed by King's College Chapel, and after spending a good amount of time there, we did some shopping and visited Great St. Mary's, the university church. Oh! I just have to mention that the son of the first Duke of Marlborough is memorialized in King's College Chapel! You remember the Duke, he was the one from Blenheim Palace, whose victory over the French is commemorated all over the place. Well, his son died of smallpox at King's College, so he has a memorial chapel. It was just funny to see our friend the Duke again. Anyway, we checked out Great St. Mary's, and climbed to the top of the bell tower, which gave us some great views of the city. It was also the toughest tower stair climb we've done, including York Minster. There weren't as many steps, but they were a lot steeper. My short little legs had a tough time, and have already been complaining about the whole experience. I can't imagine medieval priests, who were probably about my height, doing the same climb every day in a robe.
We had some lunch at Nadia's Patisserie, the bakery/sandwich shop where I ate every day when I was here before. There have been some changes to the menu in the last six years, but it was still a great lunch. It was raining a little after lunch, so we waited the rain out for a while and then took a punting tour on the River Cam. A punt is a long, flat-bottomed boat that is steered by a guy standing on the back with a long stick to push the boat along. Ours seated 12 people and came with some great information about the university provided by our punter. We saw several of the colleges, and missed out on riding along with part of a huge Japanese tour group, so I count the tour a success. Japan seems like a lovely country, but it is a little unnerving to find yourself in the middle of a Japanese tour group - sort of like being suddenly caught in a (camera-wielding) thunderstorm that comes upon you from a clear blue sky and is over before you've really gotten your bearings. The best thing to do is usually to stand still and wait for everyone to move on, and then you can go back to what you were doing.

After our punt it really started to rain, so we came back to the Ladds' house and rested a while. We had a delicious dinner and a dessert called summer pudding, which was really outstanding. We watched part of Wimbledon, which Nick had TiVoed, but missed the end of the match because the BBC moved the broadcast over to another channel without telling anyone, and since it was TiVoed it was too late to do anything about it. We had a very nice evening watching other TV shows and chatting with Nick and Anne, and their kids, Emma and Nathan, and have really enjoyed our stay here overall. We owe a lot of thanks to the Ladds for their hospitality - they have made us feel really welcome and we've had a great time. We also owe a lot of thanks to the American-based Ladds for putting us in touch with their relatives over here. So thanks, Ladds the world over!

Tomorrow morning we are catching the train to London for the last five action-packed days of our trip. Our schedule is going to be pretty hectic, because we want to see as much as possible and I think you could live in London your whole life and not see everything there is to see. We're a little sad that our trip is coming to an end, but we miss our family and friends and will be happy to come home as well. And now I'd better head to bed - it's getting late and we need to be well-rested to take on London tomorrow. Good night, and see you soon!

-Emily

Comments

Anonymous said…
I think scones and clotted cream should be considered health foods - they are definitely good for my mental health!
July 2, 2008 at 11:28 PM
Unknown said…
I finally caught up reading your blogs. Time really goes by in a hurry when your living your history lesson.

Wish we were there.
July 3, 2008 at 3:38 PM
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