London Trip, Part Two:Cambridge

So I really should have called this series "England Trip," because we spent as much time in Cambridge as we did in London, and it's really the reason we went to England in the first place. My friend Britton from Alabama was doing some summer study there, so we went to see her.

We got up and got to the train station early--didn't want to make the same mistake we had made with the flight! I got a few pics of Sadie playing with one of those... things that I only see at doctors' offices.

We got on the train and I slept the whole two hours. In London, we went to King's Cross Station, where I caught a glimpse of Platform 9 3/4, but there was a big crowd around it so a close up look/pic will have to wait for a subsequent trip. The train to Cambridge was pretty quick; we got there and headed to check in to our lodgings. We were staying in a Bed and Breakfast, which in England is a more budget-friendly option than I think it is in the US. Hunter was a little wary about it--he thought it would be all group activities and teddy bears with missing eyes. I think this is where he got that idea:

Most of that first day was spent just walking around, seein' what we could see. We had a couple beers and walked around some of the colleges. I learned that in England, you can ask for tap water and they give you a big glass of it. It may even have ice! We saw some gardens, and thought about going into the King's College Chapel, but it's a bit expensive. I mean, basically everything in England is expensive, plus Germany is really cheap, so it was a bit of a shock. We had some fish and chips at the Eagle, where Watson and Crick announced their discovery of the double helix. After that, Sadie needed to take a nap, so we went back and noticed I was a little sunburnt. I definitely didn't expect that to happen in England, but the weather was very "nice" while we were there, if you like that sort of thing.

We planned to get some tapas for dinner since lunch had been a bit heavy. The first place we went into wouldn't let me go in with Sadie, but we found another place that did. I am so used to bringing Sadie everywhere with me in Germany, but one lady at a pub said it was like a safety issue, they wouldn't allow kids in there after 10pm. I guess there is a stereotypical image of English pubs being rowdy which may be somewhat true.

As Hunter and I walked back to the inn, we saw a LOT of drunk people. Cambridge is definitely a college town, and people there seem to party pretty hard. Even I was like, yeah, maybe Sadie shouldn't be out in this.

The next morning we got to have the traditional English breakfast. Honestly, I don't get the thing about English food being bad. Everything I had was DELICIOUS.  I would seriously eat it every day. Then I would gain 50 lbs and die... but seriously, it's good. Hunter got sick of it after like a day, but I don't think that would happen for me.

So, Sunday we went punting. It's where you go in a boat and someone pushes it with like a stick that they push against the bottom of the river (I think?). We brought some drinks and it was pretty fun. I didn't take any pictures, because I was afraid Sadie would try to grab my phone and it would end up in the river. Sorry.

I did, however, get a picture of this pretty amazing afternoon tea we had:

I love how she's licking her lips

You can't actually see all of it in the picture, there was also raspberry jam and clotted cream. I could seriously eat that every day.

Here's a picture of just something kinda weird:

So, it may not be completely obvious, but that portrait is made of jelly bellies.

The rest of that afternoon was pretty relaxed. We saw the college where my friend was staying, and sat down on the grass a bit.

We also went to the free Fitzwilliam Museum, which had some pretty cool stuff. We were there pretty close to closing, so we didn't see everything, but for a free museum I thought it was nice. Outside, I got a picture of Britton holding Sadie:

We had a few more beers, but then figured Sadie needed to get to bed, so we went back to the inn and got some take-away curry, which was quite tasty.

Next stop, London!