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London- Cambridge
crisadrian As part of our 'get to know your backyard' month we decided to add another famous place, yet an unknown place to us, Cambridge to our list. Oxford and Cambridge have a bitter rivalry that goes back for centuries to the point that Oxford is referred to as 'the other place' within Cambridge. Everyone we spoke to assured us that Cambridge was better than Oxford.....so we were selected to be the ultimate jury to decide a winner.
Our jury was made up of 4 members who have been selected from all of England for this role filled with honour and prestige......these 4 people also happen to be friends.
So Nathaly, Stefania, Cris and yours truly decided to meet at Kings Cross Station at 10.00am sharp!
Of course as our last trip to Oxford was architects day out (there were 5 out of the 6!) so this day, in retaliation, was declared a girls day out with the exception of me of course who had to look after the jury panel for the day.....
So with a quick phone call we met Nathaly and Stefania with coffees in our hands and croissonts in our bag and boarded the
10.18am train to Cambridge leaving a beautiful day in London.....
Unfortunately when we arrived in Cambridge it was raining, but being in London has taught us to ignore weather hazards such as rain and snow. We then proceeded to catch the bus into the city centre where all the buzz was.
Our first stop was Trinity College. It was one of the few colleges you can enter this time of year as it is exam time but of course there is a charge...anything for money. Trinity College is a stunning collection of buildings dating back to 1546 when Henry VIII founded the college.
The college consists of several historical buildings surrounding main courtyards which are slightly smaller than the ones we saw in Oxford and were also more interesting (refer to pics to appreciate point of view!).
Some very significant people to have studied here. This includes Francis Bacon, philosopher and statesman, and the Earl of Essex, a favourite of Elizabeth I. The poets George Herbert, Andrew Marvell and John Dryden were at Trinity in the first half of the 17th century. Isaac Newton, one of the greatest of all physical scientists, entered the College as
an undergraduate in 1661 and remained at Trinity until 1696, by which time his most important mathematical and scientific work had been completed.
To add to this illustrious list is the fact that 32 Nobel Prize winners have attended this university.....so all this history was priviliged to receive our presence!
After entering through the imposing gates and gawking at the beauty of the courtyard with a beautiful fountain and gardens.......we proceeded past Isaac Newtons dormitory and apple tree to the chapel. The chapel was rather interesting particularly the gigantic alter feature painting of Jesus standing on top of the devil with fire and smoke, it was quite striking for an alter piece.
We left the chapel and continued to meander around the college and received a bit of trivia as we 'walked' beside a tour group and our ears accidentally 'tuned' into their guides information......
The guide indicated that Prince Charles also studied architecture at Trinity College with his bodyguard and when they finished their course the bodyguard recived the highest grade (grade A) and the Prince......the lowest (grade C). This is a FACT and makes me feel very good!
We left Trinity College laughing
with our new found knowledge......as we continued walking through the town we noticed that there were a lot of different graduation ceremonies that Saturday and there were hundreds of men and women running around in black long dresses with different colour trims. We did not know what colours represented what degree .....so we decided to guess by the look of them ! .... The nerdier they looked the more prestigious the field of study......there seemed to be a lot of nuclear- physicists.....
After our rather childish fun...we went punting!!!! Punting looks easy but we have been warned by numerous people that it is not as easy as it looks....so we opted for paying a french punter to take us through the river. The river is basically the back yard of the univeristy as they all back onto the river......unfortunately there is no "footpath" on the banks of the river allowing you to appreciate this view-so punting was the only way to see them all with their respective bridges. Punting was surprisingly smooth and rather uneventful- other than to say that a lady (think 55 years old!) punting her own family ended up in the water...she had a white t-
shirt on.-not a pretty sight and it was a cold day ...............and as awful as it sounds was rather funny!
Having done the rounds of Cambridge.........the jury has decided that Cambridge was the better of the two cities. It is smaller and easier to get around as there is only one main street...the colour of the stone buildings is slightly more dramatic, the coffee is better and the river punt was relaxing.......
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Cristina
non-member comment
Cambridge looks better....
I prefer Cambridge too, look smaller,and cosy, and of course give you the chance of punting ... All of you look very good and I like the idea that you are learning, you are actually leaving early......Good idea. Love you Mum