Happy Monday guys - I'm back in the US of A and coming to you from my home office since I (unexpectedly) get to work from home this week! I am playing catch up because I took so many pictures and had a lot more adventure than I thought I would... so I'll be sharing the rest of those pictures this week! Yay!
Last Tuesday I had the joy of getting to explore the town of Cambridge - which is made up of 31 colleges - the earliest of which; Peterhouse, was founded in 1284! My Mom and I had about two hours to wander through the streets looking at the colleges, the numerous green spaces and walked alongside the River Cam. A normal activity is punting down the River Cam but of course - you can't really do that right now. *sigh*
Just to explain a few pictures - the above picture is one of the more well-known colleges, Kings College. The pictures below are; on the right - Kings College and on the left - St. John's College.
Another unique sight in Cambridge is the Corpus Clock - which is part of the Corpus Christi College and let me tell you, it's unique! It was installed in 2008 by none other than Stephen Hawking and it is just... something else. The little creature atop the clock is called a "Chronophage" - which literally means "time-eater" and it moves it mouth, "eating up" time as the clock ticks around. The hour is tolled by the sound of a chain clinking into a small wooden coffin hidden in the back of the clock as a reminder that time will catch up with us all in the end.
The Latin phrase on the bottom of the clock translates to - ...the world passeth away, and the lust thereof... So - that's nice. The designer of the clock said that it's meant to be terrifying and should cause people to realize that time is not on your side. So - that's.... interesting, right?
The streets of Cambridge are; like many towns in the U.K., just filled with delightful buildings, twisting and turning walkways, alleys and perfect little shops popping up everywhere you look! I suppose when a place has been around for hundreds of years... it accumulates charm! The picture above is Peterhouse College - the oldest college in Cambridge that was opened in 1284 and the picture below is the Fitzwilliam Museum - which looked so very different from most of the other buildings in Cambridge!
The pictures are a bit out of order but I just decided to leave them that way... I mean, why not? We strolled along Jesus Green and the River Cam before winding our way back through the streets and side streets, walking through the Square and past St. Mary's Church. In the middle of Parker's Piece where the walking paths intersect there is a light pole that says Reality Checkpoint and at the base - a fairy door, of course!
I decided to be a bit bold - each of the colleges was closed unless you were a student - some even had a guard at the door, but others didn't. I raced through the doors of Pembroke College (below) and snapped a picture. I would imagine this post would have been miles long if I'd been able to walk through the doors and onto each college's picturesque green square - but alas, you only have about twenty(ish) pictures instead!
Walking along the River Cam was so nice - the original weather forecast was to be overcast but happily for most of the morning that we were wandering, the sun was out and the sky was blue! It was great! That changed as the day progressed and by the time we'd decided to grab Honest Burgers and eat them in a courtyard, the clouds had rolled in and the wind had picked up - it was a brisk little burger picnic! I chose to get the Cambridge Special that had bacon (not the same as our bacon, which the Brits call "streaky bacon"), onion and apple chutney and Cheddar cheese. And yes - it was as good as it sounds!
I snapped Peterhouse College (on the left) from a couple angles and was glad of it after realizing that it was the oldest of the colleges. I stole the snap on the right of Corpus Christi College from my Mom, who was the sneaky one with that picture! We popped into a bakery called Fitzbillie's to get some yummy macarons and chocolate mice - ha-ha! The picture directly below this is of Jesus Green - which is a part of Jesus College - and I don't have a picture of that particular college... I do wonder how long it would take to wander around and get a picture of every single college?
The boats all in a row on the River Cam are used for punting - you move the boat along the river with a long pole and apparently my little sister is quite the skilled punter! I guess that's a skill she would have never known she had if she hadn't move to England? The final two pictures from Cambridge are of St. John's College (on the left) and the well known Trinity College (on the right). We met up with my little sister and had our burgers for lunch and then headed back toward Bury as the clouds rolled in...
We drove through a small town called Newmarket that is major spot for horse racing in England - so much so that there is a statue of Queen Elizabeth with some horses that was put in place at the entrance to the large racing track in 2016! I do believe if the Queen hadn't been crowned, she would have ended up living on a horse farm in the English countryside... and if even half of The Crown is to be believed, she'd have probably been a lot happier doing just that.
As we came back through Bury and passed the St. Edmondsbury Cathedral, I noticed the front doors were thrown open and had a bit of a fit! I rushed us to find a parking spot on my sister's street, grab our coats and race back down along the sidewalks... convinced that the doors being open had been a complete fluke or a trick of my mind... but nope - they were wide open until 3:00 and so we FINALLY got to go inside the Cathedral!
It was quite a lovely day and the rest of the evening was spent binge-watching The Crown and just relaxing! I am hopeful that maybe if my Mom returns to Cambridge once the shops open, I might get a sweatshirt or the like... but I also know there will be plenty to see and do once everything opens up on the 2nd (she comes home on the 6th) and so I think just knowing I've been to Cambridge can also be gift enough!
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