First Impressions of Cambridge

Leaving beautiful, late summer, Pasadena was hard to do.  Especially since we arrived in rainy Cambridge after about 20 hours of travel with 300 pounds of luggage!  We are staying in a small apartment which we are borrowing from George's colleague so that we can get our bearings and try to find a place to live.  Getting our bearings has been made particularly difficult by the absence of the sun or any topography to speak of.

Today, the sun finally came out and we spent the day exploring the Cambridge City Centre (yes, that's how you spell it).  All of the students are returning to Cambridge for the start of term next week and the city is full of people: students, parents, and visitors of all nationalities.  No one even blinks when they hear our accents.  I'm not sure there is a language or culture not represented in Cambridge!

There is a market that takes place every day in the Market Square by St. Mary's Cathedral.  The market is packed with people who shop in little tea shops and shoe stores as well as in Borders and Starbucks.  Things are quite expensive but not quite as bad as I thought.  I had my first coffee today and, much to my relief, it was pretty tasty and cost about 2 pounds (~$4).  I'm glad we don't have a car yet though because gas is over $8 a gallon!

George is now a fellow at St. John's College, one of the many colleges that make up the University of Cambridge.  I'm still not quite sure how the colleges function except that they are residential areas for undergraduate students and that each seems to have its own church.  We will be dining at St. John's next week (if we can find enough tweed to wear before then) so we'll know more then.  This last picture is a picture of the King's College Chapel, famed for its choir (spurned by George out of loyalty)!