The day at Cambridge

6:30 got on the bus, then the tube to Kings Cross St.Pancras

7:28 about to get on the train to Cambridge

8:38 arrived at Cambridge

Cambridge…I don’t even know where to start… it is place that I have always been curious about. And now my wish has been granted.

After existing the train station I decided to walk to Trumpington street which was about a 22 minute walk. I was filled with excitement and expectations! At first it looked like a normal college town with an European flair but as soon as I started walking down Trumpington street, I was transported back to 1700s. Most of the roads and walkways are cobbled stone. The first building that caught my eyes was the Our Lady  and the English Martyrs church ( this is actually not on Trumpington street but I had to include it). Now moving on to the buildings that are actually on Trumpington street. The first one is the Fitzwiliam Museum (please look up photos of all of the churches and buildings I wrote and will write about), next stop was the Peterhouse which is the oldest college of the university of Cambridge it was founded in 1284. Moving on to the Little St. Mary’s Church, it is a really cute (not the best word but it will suffice for now) and it was built in 1352. Walking down the street a little ways I walked into the St. Botolph church which was established in 1350. For some reason the ceiling looked like it was carpeted but it was painted lol. Just walking down the streets I was already very very satisfied. After awhile I saw the Corpus Clock, I stood in front of it for awhile and just watched in awe. Then I moved on to the next exciting thing, Anthropology!! I LOVE Anthropology!! But I am too broke to buy anything(go fund me? Anyone?). I got to Cambridge pretty early so a lot of the store were still closed so I decided to continue my street tour and save what I do best (shopping) for later. My curiosity lead me down Trinity lane and I am glad I diverge from the main road and oh at this point Trumpington street became King’s Parade and I just have to say the is very fitting. Now back to where I was before, going down Trinity Lane lead me to the River Cam and oh my! Weeping willows, the river and a bridge that came right out of a Jane Austen book. Pure bliss…after taking it all in for awhile I went back to King’s Parade. Trinity college is closed off to guest but even just being able to see it from the streets was amazing. I bought admission tickets to go into St John’s college and it was 6 pounds well spent. The college was founded in 1511 and it is also one of the largest colleges in Cambridge. Walking through the St. John was one of the best thing that I did. The chapel, the Bridge of Sighs built in 1831. After that I walked down a few the little shopping alley ways, then I  retraced my steps back to the Great St. Mary’s where I was able to climb 125 or so steps (very narrow and spirally) to the top of the church and I was greeted with an amazing view of the Town. The team of bell ringers which are from the Society of Cambridge Youths date from 1724 and is the oldest bell ringing team in England. Another interesting facts about this church is that they have two organs and also it was the first home of the university when scholars came from Oxford in 1209. After a nice leg exercises I did a little bit of shopping here and there. By then it was time for lunch and i delighted my taste buds by having sourdough mozzarella pizza yum! After lunch I went to the King’s College Chapel. I will insert this here, “it is the most magnificent building in Cambridge and it’s the greatest work of the Middle Ages. Henry VI gave instructions for the building of this enormous chapel.” Lengthwise it is 289 feet, width 40 feet and height for the exterior is 94 feet and interior is 80 feet. I had to stretch my poor neck just to properly see the ceiling, a fan vault installed in 1512-15, the last great flowering of the English Middle Ages. But there is an argument about a specific painting (‘the Adoration of the Magi’ by Rubens)that can be found on the Sanctuary Altar. Some believe that the painting does not go well with the overall aesthetic of the chapel which I agree with. The painting has pretty bright primary colors but the colors of the church are mostly dark somber colors. If this is something that you are interested in, I would love to know what you think of it. Behind the chapel is an expensive back lawn with the River Cam flowing right behind it. By the time I was done I was very worn out, mind you I was running on less than three hours of sleep (yeah I know…) so I decided to take the bus back to the station which was nice, even though I almost had a heat stroke in the bus(No AC!!). Took the train back to London and I went to Camden Market and straight to the Doc Martens store. It has always been a dream of mine to buy a pair of Docs in the country where they originated from. After awhile Abby and Lorz met me there and we hang out for a while, then they went shopping for souvenirs and I came back to the hotel.

Today is one of the best days of my life so far…I enjoyed every little second that I spent in Cambridge. If you ever get a chance to visit the UK please please go to Cambridge, I promise you will love it!

See you later,

Abigael