Cambridge

I arrived in England last night and it was drizzling. I’d forgotten all about English drizzle. But luckily by the time I got to Cambridge the weather was ok and today you wouldn’t believe how glorious it’s been. I have spent the whole day wandering around Cambridge city centre and it’s such a lovely place. I popped into the fudge shop opposite Kings
College to try the toffee fudge, wandered around the market and then went into all the really Englishy shops that I might have been missing! I then met up with Tim and had a tour of some of the Colleges here. It’s great walking round with a student. They just flash their card and you get instant admittance. So I got to see inside Kings College Chapel – which is so old and holy that it almost makes you believe again as well as a whole host of colleges with forbidding porters at their gates. I think my favourite was Queens College which has the loveliest little courtyard.
Of course I had to go to the FitzWilliam, which is a gem of a musuem. We spent some time looking at Picasso’s stuff and a weird collection of Dutch paintings.
Cambridge is absolutely packed with students, they spill off the pavements looking frightfully clever. The first years only arrived yesterday so they still look a little nervous. The veterans of a year or more loudly discuss tests, questions and other such academic things. The vibe is totally different to my own university town where it was rare to hear students discussing work of any kind.
What I love most is the old buildings. The place is literally steeped in history and tradition. Everywhere you look there is something old and venerable… here is the (descendant of the) apple tree Newton sat under and there a 16th century rood screen.