Cambridge colleges

---

Today we planned to go for a guided walk around the town of Cambridge so that we could see wheee the major colleges wee and get an insight into the history of the university. The weather was again variable, but thankfully here did not seem to be rain coming in the morning, when we would walk. The walk left from the fudge kitchen at 11am, so we were there in plenty of time. There were lots of tours walking around, with guides giving information in a great variety of langauges. our guide, Catherine, was a recent graduate of Catherine College. Although there was a slight bias in her information, with a history degree, she was certainly able to explain the different rebellions and changes in the long history of the university. As we began our walk outside Kings College, she started with this college. It has a most fantastic Chapel, and it's buildings are very impressive. We continued our walk around the town, seeing many of the colleges and their land. The river also runs through the town and the whole effect is beautiful. There are many punts on the river Cam, and when the students are in town- it is vacation at present- Catherine was able to tell us about a number of the tricks they get up to with the boats. We saw a number of bridges in the town including the Mathematical bridge. Cambridge has so many buildings that are part of the university, many of them residential. It seems that all the students live at a college, and once you a accepted into a college that is the college you remain in for your degree. Graduation is done by college, not faculty, and there is an established order for the graduations. Our walk lasted about 2 hours and we saw a lot of the town. We were ready for lunch at that point, and the rain chose to bucket down then too. We had lunch at Michaelshouse. This is a church that has partly been converted into a cafe. It is a great place for lunch,and the food was plentiful and nutritious. It is also part of the outreach of the church. We enjoyed sitting in the warmth with our focaccias, before going out into the cold again. A rest was in order after the morning walk, so we returned to the hotel. Later in the afternoon Peter returned to Kings college to walk through the chapel. the fan vaulting is spectacular, as are the windows. Dinner tonight at Trinity. This has an excellent reputation , which it certainly lived up to. As we were eating at 6.30, we had a choice of one, two or three courses of a set menu at a very good price. We certainly enjoyed our meal. Finally back to the hotel and bed. We move on tomorrow.

.

---

Photos

The back of Kings College
There is a piece of disputed land at the back of Kings. At present some cow live there. Two colleges are in dispute, so nothing can be built on the land.

Dinner at at Trinity
Peter's pork belly and puy lentils