Double the Helix, Double the Fun

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In between London and Norwich lies Cambridge, a city bursting with intellect and promises for even more world-changing discoveries to come. I had heard only great things about Cambridge, so when Jillian and I talked about the possibility for a day trip together somewhere in England, I suggested the gorgeous city where Francis Crick and James Watson discovered the structure of DNA at Cambridge University. Well, I didn't really say all of this to Jillian - I just told her that it is a really beautiful city - but secretly, I wanted to visit the place that helped to build the world of biology as we know it today. Plus, I had bought an outstanding pair of double-helix earrings in Amsterdam and needed the perfect excuse to wear them.

For our third time together in England, I imagined Jillian and myself traipsing throughout Cambridge soaking in the intelligent atmosphere, being impressed with pretty university architecture, and having a really sophisticated time drinking tea and reflecting upon our smart travels. Little did I know that Cambridge would actually be a lot more fun than the almost-pretentious city that I envisioned it to be.

Basically, Cambridge is a lot of pretty greenery and parks on the outer edges with everything else - city center, colleges, shops, and dining - concentrated in the mid-western area of the city. The river forms an upside-down L-shape from the top, snaking its way down the west side. Furthest left is The Backs, an idyllic parkland sprinkled with pretty bridges, located behind the colleges and seen from the river.

I met Jillian at Parker's Piece, a big square park in the middle of the city (where the original rules of football were drawn!). From there, we walked to the science and technology museums, which are all sort of packed together in one area, near the colleges. We toured the Sedgwick Museum of Geology and then became too impatient to see all the others (there were at least four other ones in the area - Whipple, Zoology, Archaeology & Anthropology). We walked to the University Centre and then made our way up and stumbled upon Kings College. By the way, all of the colleges mentioned in this blog (and then some) collectively make up Cambridge University. The minute Jillian and I set eyes on Kings, we both wondered why in the world we were not going to school there. It is immensely gorgeous. I mean, hands down, it is the most beautiful school I have ever seen. The architecture is something out of a fairy-tale, and the lawns are perfectly manicured - not a single blade of green, green grass is out of place. We didn't tour inside any of the colleges (most of them charge a fee!), but it was still fun to walk around the campuses and take in the amazing architecture from the outside view.

We walked past Kings and continued frolicking in the beautiful autumn-vibrant parks. Unbeknown to us, we were walking right next to The Backs (we thought they were really far from the colleges, but apparently not). Right next to Kings was Clare College, which is also beautiful and majestic. It looks just like Kings actually, except a smaller version. Next was the City Centre, where we stumbled upon the markets. I was so anxious the whole time! But it was not nearly as large nor crowded as Borough Market in London, and I managed to leave Cambridge at the end of the day with all of my belongings (well, minus many pounds that were successfully spent). It was a good day! We bought chocolate chip pastries at the market and did some souvenir-shopping there as well. It was quite enjoyable, and we worked up a good appetite for lunch, which was at a little place called Tatties on Trinity Street.

After lunch, we walked up Magdalene Street, where we saw Magdalene College. My friends here who have been to Cambridge told me to check out punting, so Jillian and I were looking for that. However, punting found us first. There was a group of guys standing around their punting boats right next to Magdalene College, and they suckered us into going on a punting cruise down the river with them. We decided to continue wandering first because we still wanted to see the sights on our own and stumbled upon the Folk Museum, which we didn't go into because it charged a fee and probably would have been silly anyway. So we grabbed some coffee and headed back to punt!

Originally, I thought punting involved a really thrilling one-on-one race via paddle-boat where each player "punts" a floating ball down the river trying to score somehow. I tried to convince Jillian into believing my theory, but she was too logical for me and pointed out that people don't just let kids like us take their boats to race down the river. Actual punting, unlike my fun imagined version, is a lot like a gondola ride - very peaceful and relaxing, with a man steering the boat lazily down the river while adding bits of historical information and trivia to spice up the conversation. There was only one other tourist in the boat with Jillian and me for the first half of the ride, and then we had the boat to ourselves! It was like a private tour, and I told Jillian it was too bad she wasn't my boyfriend because it would have made for a very romantic date. The view was absolutely smashing, and the river - with the autumn colors reflected in the water - reminded me of the wonderful canals seen in Amsterdam. Also enjoyable was our tour guide, Paul, who was very friendly, and I think he was really amused by us because Jillian and I were having such a great time. He had just graduated from university with an English/literature degree and was working as a punter, mainly for fun, for a few months. We had a good time chatting with him. On the punting tour, we got to see Queens College, Kings College (again), and Trinity College, along with some graduate and law schools. We saw the gorgeous residential areas overlooking the river, which made us so completely envious (especially me, who goes to a concrete school!).

Note for when you're checking out the photos:
Paul told us that Mathematical Bridge, connecting the two parts of Queens College (apparently Queens and Trinity are the only two colleges divided by the river) was built by Sir Isaac Newton himself and that the nuts and bolts were not originally included in the handiwork because he found a way for the wooden structure to support itself. However, consultation with my trusty guidebook says, "Do not fall prey to the punt-chauffeur's rose-tinted myths that it was the handiwork of Sir Isaac Newton or originally built without any nails...." Did dear Paul lie to us??

After punting, Jillian and I headed back toward the City Centre. We bumped into St. John's College, which has amazing stained-glass windows. We continued past all the colleges, walked down Trumpington Street, and found the Fitzwilliam Museum. It was fantastic! There were so many famous artists featured there - da Vinci, Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt, and Michelangelo. It was like an ultimate jackpot of amazement. I also found some very nice sculptures of dancers in arabesque positions, made from wax and bronze, that I really loved - by Hillaire-Germain-Edgar Degas, who was unfamiliar to me before visiting the Fitzwilliam. It was a really wonderful art museum - pretty much every place in the world was represented - from Greece to Rome, Italy to Sudan, France to Egypt. So spectacular.

Despite the lengthy visit to the Fitzgerald, Jillian and I still found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands. We wanted to go visit The Backs (since we didn't know that we had already been there), so we headed back up toward the colleges again. We figured out, after careful scrutiny of my trusty map, that we were better tourists than we thought and that The Backs were one of the first things we had seen! We wandered past the residential areas of Clare College, where I found a really cool DNA double-helix sculpture featured on the lawns. The picture is not as good as I wish it was due to poor lighting, but I was still completely excited to have found the sculpture.

Naturally, with some free time on our hands, Jillian and I then hit the shops, which are basically exactly like every other English modern shopping area. We had dinner at a pub called The Mitre, where we sat and chatted for a long time. It was very enjoyable, and we had fun reflecting upon our successful day. We saw some terrific architecture, walked around a gorgeous city in all its autumn glory, punted, ate good food, saw a double-helix sculpture!, saw some great art...and best of all: neither of us were pick-pocketed this time while together. I guess third time really is the charm.

Now: off to Scotland! Haggis and bagpipes, here I come!

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Photos

Parker's Piece
home of the original football rules!

just inside the gated entrance
perfect lawns

giant marshmallows!
called "flumps" haha

all these pictures are now confusing
so many colleges! not quite sure which one this is

Comments

[WKF]

In case one ever forgets how to spell "Huong" - N.E.R.D. Haha! :-)

[Stephen Richey]

DNA earrings?
I hope you had fun struting your stuff with Archetypal DNA Jewelry hanging from your ears, I sure would. LOL did you step on the grass at KIngs I would have just for a reaction JK....well maybe but thats just me. ;) I liked your other blog as well I commented on it but I think I forgot to put my name on the thing so anyway it was me.