A Tour of St. John's College and the Backs

It was another beautiful day in Cambridge today and everyone and his uncle decided to try his hand at punting.  Except us.  We'd rather gawk for now and take mental notes while watching others attempt to punt.  What is punting, you say?  A punt is long, flat-bottomed, squarish,  boat propelled by means of a long pole by pushing against the bottom of the river.  George and I have a theory that the English simply take the ideas of others (say a boat shaped nicely for water like a canoe, propelled by a paddle) and make it less efficient (say a punt).  Needless to say, this is now purely a recreational activity enjoyed by everyone, especially those who sit on the banks of the Cam and applaud when people fall in or lose their poles!

The nicest place to be on a sunny day like today is in the park area along a section of the Cam called "the Backs".  The Backs line the river behind some of the most famous colleges like King's, Trinity, and St. John's Colleges.  George and I toured through St. John's a bit and took some of these pictures.  St. John's is one of the prettiest colleges in Cambridge and also one of the largest.  It spans both sides of the river and the two sides are joined by an intricate stone bridge called the Bridge of Sighs.  Whether this is named for its breathtaking beauty or for the thought that you may die when you cross it, is unknown to us.  All of these pictures were taken on the beautiful grounds of St. Johns or Trinity college.

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)!