CHAPTER 8: CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND
Tuesday, September 14

Cambridge. Conjures up visions of properly dressed young British scions relaxing by the river, with a Gothic cathedral dimly seen through the mists, doesn't it? Well, that vision is not that far off.

We had a good drive down from Windermere. We stopped at a military base near the northern town of Harrogate to have lunch with an old friend of mine, then headed south. Brits drive awful fast ... I was doing 85 on the M1 and was still getting my doors blown off by BMW's, delivery vans, and small Fiats. On the way, we drove by the villages of Giggleswick and Wigglesworth. LOVE those Brit names!

Cambridge is wonderful. We didn't have any reservations at all, but quickly found a B&B (the Suffolk House) just a few blocks from the city center. This is a classy little business and we have the largest room in the facility. Once we got settled in, we headed out on foot to find dinner, and wound up in a student dive called the Boathouse. Good food and we enjoyed watching the other patrons. Some were typical college kids (the English equivalents of “hey, duuuuude”), while others (a bit older) were discussing deep philosophical issues, business ventures, and other weighty topics which you'd expect to find in such a world-renowned college town.

We spent the whole day Tuesday wandering around the city, exploring everything. I've always heard about the world-famous "Cambridge University", but we found out that there are actually 29 largely autonomous colleges in Cambridge. They are almost all within a quarter-mile radius. Each originated separately, but all are now loosely affiliated under one “University” umbrella organization. The city and colleges are a great collection of buildings anywhere from 50 to 500 years old. Isaac Newton was a student at Trinity College, and held a primo professorship position there which is now held by Stephen Hawking, the physicist who wrote "A Brief History of Time". Our visit was right in between the tourist season and the start of school, so the town was busy but not jammed. Still, you could just feel the brainpower walking around the city. We saw one long-haired college guy walking along the street, in the drizzle, totally absorbed in reading a textbook ... and almost walked into a brick wall.

We had heard about the King's College chapel, so we visited it. "Chapel" isn't the right word ... "cathedral" would be more like it. It's going on 600 years old, with vaulted stone ceilings 60+ feet high, huge stained glass windows, a painting of the Madonna and child by Rubens, and a history that includes Henry VI, VII, and VIII, along with Richard III and James. Absolutely jaw-dropping beautiful.

Besides the colleges, Cambridge is a big market town. Seems like every building in the city is either a boutique or a college building. Janis, of course, had to visit every clothing and jewelry store in town. Okay, so I exaggerate ... ALMOST every clothing and jewelry store in town. Her never-ending quest for the perfect accessory reached a peak when she found a store selling one-of-a-kind, handmade leather purses. One of them left the store with us. I am forever looking for art galleries, but my search today was pretty much in vain.

I mentioned drizzle. Our 3-week run of great weather finally broke, and today was wet and gloomy. There was some rain, but mostly it was just a slow, gray drizzle.

Today is the first time we have been able to connect to the internet from a hotel room. This is quite the treat. We're hoping that our flat in London will be the same.

Previous Chapter | "Trip" Table of Contents | Next Chapter