cambridge.

cambridge was majestic. large patches of grass. gothic architecture. medieval-looking turrets/towers. lots of coat of arms. the river cam. Also, there happened a degree ceremony going on, so lots of students walking around in fur-lined robes. interesting. it made me love and want to be on a college campus that is actually like a campus, or almost like a palace. we think it's a big deal that the ivies were founded in the 1600s, and in my case, exeter was founded in the late 1700s. BUT! cambridge celebrated its 800th anniversary last year! every corner you turn, british and royal history slaps you in the face. from isaac newton to princes henry and william. henry VI to prince charles. so great.

it's just like a russian doll of communities. the college within a university within a town! it sounds similar to a traditional US campus, but .... not really. of the college campuses i've been to, it most closely resembles yale's i think. but it's obviously much less overwhelming and more manageable.

we took a 2 hr bus ride from islington to cambridge, and as soon as we got off the coach at 11, several tour guides were waiting for us. our tour guide was an elderly gentlemen with a thick scottish accent. he pronounced "gown" like "gone." love accents. in general, the entire trip was really pleasant, especially because it was one of the sunniest days since i've been to london. i could actually see the sun! such a rarity.

entrance to queen's college. on the left, you can see the green sign that says "visitor's entrance CLOSED." but our tour guide was badass, and he let us go in. woot woot.

very serene. felt more like the cloisters at a church, than a college "quad."

sun dial! and it was actually working today because it was so sunny.

the eagle. oldest pub in cambridge.

ceiling graffiti at the ceiling. they're from solders during the second world war.

king's college. started by Henry VI and finished by Henry VIII. it was built specifically for the graduates of the famous Eton school for boys. so, for 400 years only eton boys were educated at this college. don't know quite what to say about that.

king's college chapel. and epic tree.

so my favorite story of the tour was the "night climbing society." once upon a time, cambridge kids created a mountain climbing society, but there are no mountains near cambridge, so they decided to climb.....the BUILDINGS! they had to do it at night, because if they were caught they'd get expelled. the picture above shows a narrow gap between one of the colleges, and an administrative offices. apparently, the students like to hop over that gap a lot when climbing.

the best anecdote of that club is that one morning, people found a CAR on the roof of one of the university administrative offices!! the best part is that no one knew who did it, and how they managed it! so after 50 years, the pranksters revealed themselves during a reunion event, and they said they got the car up using ropes and pulleys. that pretty amazing.

reminds me a lot of the infamous '57 Volkswagen prank at exeter. i miss pranks.

famous king's college chapel. epitome of gothic architecture. large bay windows, buttresses and pointed pinnacles.

beautiful fanned vaults. there is no mortar or cement holding those stone pieces together. they're upheld purely by their own weight.

tudor coat of arms. dragon and greyhound. king's college is intricately tied with the War of the Roses, but the details escape me.

altarpiece by peter paul rubens. priced at about £50 - 70 million!! which is about $90 - 120 millions!

trinity college.

another great story about the night climbing society. what you see here is the statue of Henry VIII at the entrance gateway to trinity college. when first put in place, the king was holding a royal scepter representing the state. then one day, the night climbing society replaced the majestic object with a wooden chairleg. since then many students have replaced the chairleg with objects like toilet brushes, but in order to preserve the tradition, the university still keeps the chairleg in his hand. i would LOVE to be a part of the night climbing society, except i'd be too scared to actually climb. i'd just want to take part in pranks.

castle-esque.

river cam. and punts that take you on the river around the town.

last but not least, a picture of me. well, the shadow of me taking a picture of myself. i personally like this photo a lot.

while walking around cambridge, i thought to myself "i can see myself going to graduate school here." guess that means i love cambridge, london and great britain in general. but...i think too many people would miss me in the states if I am gone for more than 4 months haha. or at least that's what i hope is the case.

i must say, i'm extremely proud of/surprised by how diligent i've been about this blog. once every or every other day is much better than i ever thought possible. i'm so dedicated to this blog, that here I am up at 3am .....good night.