Cambridge

Yesterday we visited the other top university in England. It's a two-hour busride away, so we had to get up early, which was good because construction began outside our window at 8, so we wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway. Christine took some Dramamine, which knocked her out (and made her just a little bit crabby when she woke up).

When we arrived in Cambridge, we got a two-hour guided walking tour of the city. I was surprised at the differences between Cambridge and Oxford. Superficially, they look much the same: students everywhere, pubs, colleges, museums, open markets. But while on a busy street in Cambridge, it's actually quiet. I only heard one person say the F-word, which is equal to the amount of people who don't say it in Oxford. But while Cambridge is cleaner and quieter, it is clearly less well planned than Oxford. It was much harder to find our way around than in Oxford.

Our tour guide showed us Trinity College where Sir Isaac Newton studied and developed many of his theories. We visited Wren Library where the first folio edition of Shakespeare's works is on display, as well as a first edition of Newton's Principia, one of Wittgenstein's journals, and a first edition of Winnie the Pooh.

We ended at King's College Chapel, which was built by several different kings. We bought another choral CD there.

After the tour, we got lunch at a Mediterranean tavern. It was quite good, but nothing like the Raddy. The salad with feta cheese was awesome, though.

After lunch we visited the Fitzwilliam Museum. They had a great display of black and red figure vases from Greece. A lot of European artwork was on display as well. The highlight for us was the Rembrandt and Albrecht Durer drawings under glass in the Dutch gallery.

The ride home was mostly pleasant. We did overhear a snippet of conversation in which someone said, "No one rents a wet-suit without peeing in it." I'm not sure what the context was, but it has made me think twice about snorkeling.

In other news, Christine got her first rejection letter from Indiana University in Bloomington. She was, however, accepted to Loyola's graduate program, which is incredibly exciting. Please pray that she will be able to get the assistanceships and scholarships she needs.

Last week we were ill, so my last tutorial got moved to Wednesday, which is nice. Travel week starts Thursday, so you may not here from us until we get back next Monday. That post will be amazing though.

Our tentative itinerary looks like this:
Friday - London
Friday evening - go to Paris
Saturday and Sunday - Paris
Sunday night - train to Venice
Monday morning - arrive Venice 9am
Monday afternoon - train to Rome
Tuesday and Wednesday - Rome
Wednesday evening - train to Vienna
Thursday and Friday - Vienna
Saturday begin trip back to Paris with stop in Salzburg to catch lunch and walk around
Saturday evening - train to Paris
Sunday morning, early - arrive in Paris
Sunday morning catch train to London - be back in London about 10ish and then back to Oxford about noon
Sunday - chill and go to chur,ch eat dinner and just hang out, and say goodbye