Cambridge

As this is my first post, hopefully it will be a good one. As I do not yet count myself among those stranded in england due to the volcano eruption in Iceland, seeing the trend, how every day they expand the flying ban for another day, I expect to soon be caught in turmoil.

Well, I've spent enough time in Cambridge, UK, for it to start feeling familiar, so I decided to spend my day wandering around. I've collected a few pictures to post here, so those who read this who have not had the chance to visit Cambridge may live vicariously...

First of all, what do you need to know? Cambridge is in England. If you don't know where England is, it's the island that has a huge volcanic dust cloud hovering above it. OK, moving on...

Cambridge is North-North-East of London, about 50 minutes by train, 1h 30m by car. It is the home of the famous and highly-esteemed Cambridge University. Like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter series, it consists of many mostly-independent colleges that have grouped together under the banner of "Cambridge University". A student is not accepted to Cambridge University, rather, they are accepted to one of the colleges (King's college, Queen's College, etc). The main differences between these colleges are their emphasis, and how majestic their buildings are.

Cambridge is also very old. It was founded in 1209, a good 500 years before the U.S. They have lots and lots and lots of history. It is named after the river that runs through it, the Cam, and the first bridge built over the river (which I'll conveniently call The Bridge). Put them together, and Viola! Cam-Bridge. makes sense now, doesn't it?

One of the favorite pass-times here is Punting on the Cam. That's right. I said Punting. on. the. Cam. As you can see below, punting involves a boat, a long pole, and usually a lot of people running into other boats and getting their pole stuck in the mud.

Another interesting attraction is the large golden clock, seemingly ruled over by an oversized metallic grasshopper that seems to be right out of my bug nightmares. Not that I have bug nightmares, but if I did, I'm sure he would be the king of bugtown.

If you were to stand in this spot, looking at the clock, then turn around, you would see King's College Chapel (see the first picture in my post). This is not the oldest college in Cambridge, but it certainly is the largest.

Just around the corner is one of many pubs that serve beer, stout, draughts, and more beer. oh, and Fish N Chips and Bangers N Mash. And I've eaten both. Not at the same time, that would be crazy.

This is called The Eagle. It claims to have been around since the 1200's as well. It was a favorite hang-out of both English and American pilots during the world wars. There is a room inside where the ceiling has been 'graffittied' with squadron numbers and other messages that these pilots left for us.

Well, not much more to say right now. I'll just leave with another picture. I took it while walking, so now you know why.