Across The Pond – Cambridge

Today we will visit Cambridge. We made the short 1.5 hour drive north to this magnificent and very historic university town. Cambridge is most widely known as the home of the University of Cambridge.   The University was founded in 1209 and is consistently ranked one of the top five universities in the world. Kings College, St. John's College and the University Library are main attractions on the campus grounds, which dominate the landscape in the town. The rowing and rugby teams here are quite well respected throughout the world.

Go here for more history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge

We parked just on the edge of town and took the shuttle bus into the town center. This is the best option, as you will see, the roads here are VERY narrow and parking is impossible. 

I just love this place. It is the quintessential British town. Very, very historic, classy and clean. The streets are very narrow with many tiny walking paths running everywhere. Makes us feel like we are truly in a very medieval setting. 

Map of Cambridge here: http://www.planetware.com/map/cambridge-map-eng-cambrid.htm

Corpus Christi College

 The ornate ceiling inside the Corpus Christie entrance way

 Approaching Kings College

We are lucky to be here on a Sunday. The church bells are ringing everywhere. Here is a movie of the Kings College area with the bells of St. Mary's ringing in the background.

We went up to the King's College entrance to see if we could go inside the cathedral for a tour. I have done this twice before and it is something not to miss. Because it is Sunday, there are no tours, but we can go inside for a church service later today for free :o) and we get the bonus of hearing the world famous boys choir sing. This is VERY EXCITING indeed. So, we make our plans for the rest of the day around the church service at 3:30 this afternoon. Of course the only thing we could possibly do while we wait, besides walk around the campus is EAT! Soooooooo, my sister finds one of her favorite things on the planet, a German sausage on a bun, and I find my passion while in England, meat pies! Oh dear, more stretch pants in our wardrobe.

Culinary Note: When in England, if you want to find the absolute BEST meat pies, you need to find a traditional Cornish Pasty Shop. There was a FABULOUS one here in Cambridge. I got a lamb & mint pie and Jake got a cornish special beef pie.

About now we are wondering why we packed that picnic lunch we brought along with us. Oh well, that just might be dinner. We carried our food with us as we walked through the windy narrow streets a few blocks away to find a bench on the river so we could watch the punters while we eat.

As we crossed the river Cam, we enjoyed watching the many punting boats. This is one of the main attractions here in Cambridge. You can rent these boats by the hour to tour around the campus on the water. Go here for info. on Punts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punt_(boat)

 

We found our bench and  down went the pies :o) Seriously the best meat pie I have ever eaten.

St. Johns College

Some photos as we walked back to Kings College for our church service.

 A video from just inside the entrance to The Kings College. It is really a magnificent sight.

A couple of the very young choir boys waiting outside the cathedral just before the service.

 Inside the college grounds

 There are no cameras allowed inside during the church service, so sorry, no photos or movies. If you can imagine being in front of angels while they are singing, this is what it is like to be in that chapel and hearing their voices. It took our breath away. A recording could never do the live performance justice. Here are photos I got from the internet of the inside of the chapel.

PLEASE go here for a You Tube video of the boys choir. The closest thing to share with you about our experience. Turn up the volume: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc_Mo2KrIzw

And go here for more information about the boys choir: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choir_of_King's_College,_Cambridge

Here are a couple of photos as we came out of the hour long service. The Minister at the door.

 A zoom shot of the organ pipes at the back of the cathedral.

Out in front of the Kings College, there was this CRAZY guitar player in a rubbish bin, yes, INSIDE a rubbish bin, playing continuous music and singing (and not a bad guitar player either). I thought I had seen just about everything, but this is a new one. Here it is....

Here is a photo of the guy inside the can.....

Going to church has just made us FAMISHED! So, I went back into the pasty shop to ask them where we could get some good fish and chips (looks like those sandwiches we packed for lunch will now become breakfast). The chap pointed me in the direction of a pub called The Eagle, so off we went.

Some history on the pub, because everything here comes with some history.

As we came into the pub, we noticed that the Minister from the church service was already there with a few of his college age members from the choir. Even those good church boys need a pint once in a while. It also made us feel less guilty. :o)

After our meal, we made our way back to the car and Chelmsford. Another day well spent in the English country side.

Pat and Jake are off tomorrow to visit other friends here in England, so we will bid them good-bye in the morning.

We will be off to Wales. Stay tuned.........

Across The Pond - Rest Day - More Food

After our jam packed day in London yesterday, we decided we would have a bit of a rest day today to catch up on some laundry, email, watch some Wimbledon tennis on the telly, do some more grocery shopping, take naps, a walk and just recover from the last 4 days of non stop going from here to there.

We made another trip to Sainsberry’s  (oh boy)

…..and went to the local baker for a very traditional English treat - Meat Pies!f We had lamb & mint, chicken & veg., cheese & onion, sausage & cheese. Really delicious.

 Our dinner this evening will be baked Scottish salmon with prawn sauce,  fresh sweet peas & new potatoes. We all got busy with different parts of the meal to get things ready.

 Jake was a real expert scrubbing the potatoes. He says he had a job in one of the cafe's at his college back in Seattle so has had lots of practice. We have never eaten potatoes this clean!

 The yummy result of our group effort. Simple and DELICIOUS!

…..and of course, we can’t forget the cheese course and the pudding course! UGH!

Sharp English Cheddar, Stilton, Camembert, Branston Pickle, butter, tomatoes and biscuits.

Here comes Dad with his very own Sloe Gin to have with the cheese course. He picks the wild Sloe berries from the fields just down the road from their house, adds the gin and lets it sit in big glass jars, in this case, since 2006. A perfect match with the cheese course.

......and we can't forget the pudding course. Fresh English strawberries and double cream. Here Mum is using the new strawberry stemmer Pat got her when we were out shopping today. Mum thinks it is a hit.

We woke up the next morning to MORE FOOD! We will take off for a trip to Cambridge today, so we will need our strength. Our breakfast was smoked kippers (for Dad and Rowan) and scrambled eggs and rashers of bacon, toast, fruit, coffee, etc., etc………

Looks like sister Pat and I will need to be buying those stretch pants sooner than we think! :o)

Oh, and Mum also showed Pat how to make the DELICIOUS fruit cake we have been eating on since we got here. Lots of sultanas (raisins) and spices go inside. Looking forward to getting one of these from my sister at Christmas time (hint, hint) :o)

Our trip to Cambridge is next...............