A Day on the Town

juliegilley.typepad.com

Saturday was the first day Scott really got a chance to catch his breath, so we took the opportunity to meet Mom at her hotel before having a "day on the town."  It was actually pretty warm (I only needed one sweater, and I even got rid of that later on in the day), so we decided to see what kind of outdoor activities we could do.  Of course, the Market Square market was the obvious choice.  Located right in the center of the downtown area, the market fills up the entire square every day, with vendors selling everything from fresh produce to antiques and crafts, and even some rare Great War memorabilia.  I hadn't eaten breakfast yet, so I naturally headed straight for the bakery stall for a crossaint.  We mostly just looked around and enjoyed the  sunny weather, but Mom did manage to find a pretty cool gift for Lindsay--a backpack hand-made from an old flannel shirt!  I don't have a picture of the actual one she bought, but the one posted is a pretty good representation.  We also enjoyed the renditions of a bluegrass band playing folk tunes in the corner by the church.  I know England is a very multicultural place, but I do have to say that Cambridge, UK, is probably the last place I ever expected to hear bluegrass (and done so well, too!).

Once we'd had our fill of classic American music, we figured we'd better take advantage of being in England to learn a little bit about the history of that country.  But first, it was time for coffee.  We stopped off at my favorite coffeeshop (so far; I haven't tried them all yet): Caffe Nero across from King's College.  Caffeine-laden beverages in hand, we took some seats among the multitudes of people sitting along the wall in front of the college.  Apparently, I just look like a tourist no matter where I am, because we were approached by a student selling tickets to the "Cambridge Alumni Walking Tour."  We were reluctant at first, because there seem to be an infinite number of colleges in Cambridge and we weren't sure how we'd all hold up to walking that much.  Eventually, the student managed to convince us by giving us all the children's priced tickets.

http://online.sfsu.edu

The two-hour tour was definitely worth it.  While I think that the guide must be Scott's long-lost sister (they both are quite partial to taking the most confusing route possible, even when much more direct routes are available), it was nice to finally see the colleges that make Cambridge so famous.  I wish I could say that I remember which one is which, but since I can hardly tell you which of my seven students is which, much less which of 31 difference colleges! I do remember passing by the Cambridge University Library, which is kind of like Britain's equivalent of the Library of Congress--it is required that every published book be housed there.  Of course, not all books have the purest content matter, but the guide assured us that "those kinds" of books are kept away from the others (and from the eager eyes of the thousands of university students), locked in the highest tower.  Yes, you read that correctly; there is a porn tower in Cambridge.  Sadly, that was not part of the tour.

Other highlights of the tour included a visit to the descendant of the tree under which Sir Isaac Newton was sitting when he "discovered" gravity while at Trinity College in 1666; a visit to the courtyard of the oldest college in Cambridge, Peterhouse; a view of the narrowest stretch between two college buildings, between which students used to dare one another to jump across; and the Mathematical Bridge at Queens' College, said to be the most perfectly designed bridge in the world (this is, of course, a source of much debate).  There was plenty more to see, but you know what they say: "a picture is worth a thousand words."  I'll let something else do the talking for once.

Could you make the jump?

The Gravity Tree

The Mathematical Bridge--Perfect?

I took a few (read: hundreds) more photos, but you'll have to check out Facebook for those.  After walking back and forth across the city for two hours on the tour, we were more than ready for a drink!  On the tour we'd passed a pub called "The Eagle."  Now, passing a pub is not any special thing in England, but this one was pretty special--not only is it really old (at least 16th century), it also played a fairly important role in modern science.  It was a favorite place of Francis Crick and James Watson to relax and enjoy a drink as they discussed their theories.  They even celebrated their discovery of DNA there!  It was a natural choice to end the day.  It turned out to be even more of an experience for Mom, who had never even heard of cider before!  She was a little reluctant to try it at first, but upon one taste of mine, she insisted on ordering her own.  We also enjoyed some authentic British pub food--Scott and Mom both had pies, while I had my new standby, fish and chips.  It was a great way to end a lovely day.