London Day Sixteen- Cambridge

Another early morning, up at 5:45am so we could meet at 7am. Two early mornings... Not the best thing for sleep. After a pretty short train ride we arrived in the great city of Cambridge. We walked from the train station down into the heart of the city. We came upon a really cute market. People were selling all sorts of stuff. I couldn't resist the fruit and bought two nectarines, it would later turn out only one was good. I also found this booth that sold bread. It smelled WONDERFUL, so I couldn't resist and bought a loaf of french bread. It was heavenly. It tasted so good. Then we met up with the group and two of our guides. After saying hello we got divided into our two groups. I was with the lady, Margot. She was very pleasant and enjoyed her job. We first walked to the Eagle Pub. This pub has a lot of history. The coolest part I thought, was that during World War II sailors would go in there and would write their names and draw pictures on the ceiling with smoke. Apparently you can still see all the names and things. I wasn't able to go in so I don't know if it is still visible. Also there is a window that never closes. There was a fire there and the entire family died. So in remembrance they leave the window open so the spirits of those who were lost can come and go as they please. That story gave me the chills. After walking away from the chilling pub we made our way to Benet Chapel. It is the oldest building in Cambridge. We went inside and it was really small but charming. It had a peekaboo window that the monk could look to make sure the students were praying every morning. It also had an arch which was the oldest part of the church. After seeing this historical sight we headed for a building that held a clock. The clock was gold with a grasshopper on the top, designed by Dr. John Taylor Corpus. It was really impressive. We all took photos of the clock and then redirected our attention to Kings college that was directly across from it. Kings College is one of the many colleges attached to Cambridge University. Kings College is the oldest college. It was founded by King Henry the VI. There was also a chapel. This Chapel is considered to be a great example of English Gothic architecture. It was first started by Henry the VI, and was supposed to be really modest and a place for God. Then King Henry the VIII started to have work done to it after work stopped during the Civil War. The plans for it to be modest completely changed. He didn't want it to represent God, King Henry the 8^th wanted it to be about showing what the Royal family had. It was built for the Royal Family. Across from the college is the Cambridge University Press, home of the oldest paper in the world! It was really cool and crazy to imagine that. We paused in front of this amazing building while Margot told us about a secret society. I was instantly intrigued. Apparently people missed the mountains and climbing in the states when they came to Cambridge for school. Because they missed the mountains so much they decided to start climbing the buildings at night. They have done many pranks with this ability. They try to see how long they can go without getting down. They go from roof to roof. My favorite prank she mentioned was when these kids put a car on the roof. They took out the engine to make it lighter. They then climbed up and hoisted it up, all in one night. It took the school two weeks to try and get it down. No one ever found out who did it. One of the professors had a hunch on who did it though so he sent them a bottle of champagne. A few years ago the people who did it finally came forward after 40 years. A festive prank was pulled a year ago. The night climbers climbed up on top of Kings College Chapel and on each point they put a Santa hat. How they did it I have no clue because those suckers were really high. You can't be afraid of heights to do that! Now there are pointy spikes on the spires so no one can put things on it. The other prank that happened in the 20s-50s had to do with a statue of King Henry the 8^th. He stands above the great gate, the entrance to Trinity College, and he holds the globe with a cross in one hand, and in the other used to be sword. Now it is a chair leg. Many people have never seen it without the chair leg, and no one knows where the sword ended up. I seriously love this club! We also saw this building where they put all the grades up on a board. How embarrassing for anyone and everyone to see what they got. It is also the building that students come out of when they graduate. Their gowns are black with white fur collars. I don't think I'd like to graduate in that... At graduation there is a huge ball, where the students dance all night on a lawn that no one can walk on except for at this ball. After the ball when dawn starts to arrive everyone in their ballgowns and tuxes climb into a punting boat and they go up three miles to a little town were they eat breakfast and then come back. Imagine that, all these people in fancy dresses in a boat on the river. Very impressive.

After that we saw Trinity College; it is the largest college in Cambridge. Many people who want to be in the medical field go through Trinity. Getting into a college is quiet a process. When you submit your application you submit it to one college. You can't submit it to any other. Then they ask you for an interview. If they don't think you fit you don't get asked to join. Then you can try others. But sometimes other colleges will get your application and decide that you could be a good fit so they will invite you. In these colleges you can study anything. They offer all majors in the colleges. Some just are picked for certain things. After the walk we went into Kings College Chapel. We started off in King Henry the 8^th's section. It was ornately carved with the Tudors rose. There was also a dog and a dragon. There were symbols for everyone in his family. There was also a screen that holds Anne Boleyn initials. In this Chapel the oldest Renaissance windows are held. They are stain glass and quiet impressive. The colors are beautiful and surprisingly almost all intact. The people have only been worried about them twice. The first was during Cromwell's reign. He hated stain glass and in most places had them destroyed. But he didn’t destroy these. He had the place turned into an exercising place for the soldiers and horses. It was realized after a very long period of time that the soldiers added some artwork to the chapel. They had different pictures on the walls. The second time people were worried about the glass was during World War II. Cambridge held many military personal and so they were a target for the Germans. A university in the United States paid for all the stain glass to be taken out and stored in a safe place. Once the war was over the glass was put into place, but it took them forever to do so. And the Virgin Mary's face went missing at some point so was replaced by her mothers. So in one scene she looks really old. After looking at all this we moved pass the screen and into the older part that was started by Henry the 6^th. It was very simple. I couldn't believe the difference. There were very few carvings, it looked like a completely different church. We then left this impeccable designed church and headed for another church. We headed for the All Saints Chapel. It was built in 1850. It was part of the Arts and Crafts movement. In the church there were 5 different wall papers. And all the glass was done by William Morris. And many of the items in there were done in the medieval style. They wanted to get as far away as possible from industry. The tiles were impressive too. I loved them. They were also in great condition! There was one podium that had so much detail and was painted with tempera. It was impressive. To get all that detail in, must have taken forever. It looked like a real person. It was a moment where I was totally in awe. It may have been a little much, but it was impressive. After this church we were released to go get some lunch. I went with Leslie back to the Market so she could get a necklace for her uncle. We walked around enjoying the culture. Then we went to a church and sat at a bench were we enjoyed our lunch. I had my bread and some pastry I had bought at this amazing looking place. And it was way good. I also had some fruit I had packed at the end of lunch I had a lot left. It would be my dinner as well. Then we went into this candy shop, and Leslie bought some candy for her family. It was a really cool shop. It was candy that was homemade or that you don't see all that often. Then we walked to a dock were we were supposed to meet everyone for our punting appointment. Punting was so much fun. We were split into two boats. I was nervous about how close we were to the water. The two guys who propelled us forward were hilarious! I don't think I ever stopped laughing. It didn't hurt that they were cute too. They were constantly joking with each other and telling stories about the school and about their experiences working for this business. The views along the river were also really pretty! I enjoyed looking at everything and the experience on the river. It was just a nice relaxing afternoon. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. After the punting a group of us decided to head back to London. We walked the rather long walk to the train station. It was a good work out though. Then we arrived in London and everyone was dreading packing. Then next day we were headed to Ireland. I ate my bread and fruit for dinner. I didn't have much left and didn't want to buy anything. I wasn't too hungry either. I packed my backpack with the few clothes I needed for the weekend trip. I also cleaned our room a little so we wouldn't have much to do on the day we got back from Ireland. I also talked to my dad online. The evening was a time to get ready for the trip and get everything organized. We were only allowed a carry on so finding items that would go through security, like fluids, was stressful. But that day was really enjoyable!