Cambridge

After a night of hanging with drunken Aussies for Australia Day on the 26th, I needed a dose of European company. I was lucky enough to be invited along to a daytrip to Cambridge with Raquel (ESP) and Anna (DEU) and Miren and Pedro who are Raquel's friends from her hometown of Madrid. We met in Balham at 9am (grrr) so we could set off early and make the most of the day. We made our way to Kings Cross Station and managed to score return tickets for less that £10, which is quite cheap by London standards. After about an hour on the train we set off on "Raquel's walking tour of Cambridge". She had lived there for a whole month a few years back so was qualified to show us tourists around.

Myself, Miren, Raquel, Anna & Pedro

Platform 9 3/4 where Harry Potter left Kings Cross

Cambridge as you probably know is a student town, but not like Palmerston North where I studied. The colleges in Cambridge are considered to be world class on a par with colleges from the likes of Oxford and Harvard. It was where the likes of Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking and New Zealand’s own Ernest Rutherford studied. Unfortunately our friend John, who actually studied there as well, is in Poland a drinking cheap beers at the moment, so couldn't be there to give us an insiders view. But that didn't stop us poking our head into some of the college campuses and halls of residence to marvel at the buildings and lovely grounds. Some of the buildings are about 400 years old and I you can feel the history of the thousands of students who have studied there over the centuries.

Kings College Chapel

Of course it is primarily rich kids who go to these colleges, so it is not surprising to hear the 'upper class' accents around the small city. I'm not saying these people are snobs, but I imagine some might be. I know they don't choose their accents (or do they?) but somehow it's ingrained in me that people who speak with a posh British accent are elitist and look down their noses at me. Hopefully one day I’ll get to know someone with such an accent that can break that stereotype for me.

One of the main tourist attractions we wanted to see was the Bridge of Sighs. It’s named after a similar bridge in Venice. We had problems finding it and were told the only way we’d be able to see it was by way of going for a punt ride down the river Cam. We didn’t want to do that, but eventually found that we could go onto St John’s College (incidentally the name of my high school) campus to see it. We made our way there only to find out they were charging to see it. Raquel, who’s always looking out how to beat the system, decided if we walked through the gates quick and confidentially enough, the security guard would think we were students and we’d save some money. We tried it, but sure enough the guard called after us “are you students?” We carried on trying to ignore him, but he was a persistent buggar and we had to acknowledge him. Raquel said we were students to which he said “do you have ID?” Raq: “No”. I thought the gig was up, but she started trying to convince him she just wanted to show her friends quickly. To my surprise he gave in and let us proceed with a look of resignation on his face. I guess being a girl with an accent helped a bit…

The Bridge of Sighs

After checking out that and some markets etc, we thought we’d done enough to deserve a drink so found a pub for a few hours and even went off to a Cambridge student party for an hour before we had to split back to London.

Pedro's feet were sore after all the walking, so we sorted him out...

I had a fun time and enjoyed meeting Miren and Pedro and look forward to seeing you in Milan. Have a good flight home.

Scotty.