This weekend began Friday morning when I traveled with a small group to Greenwich. We set out on a boat ride along the Thames with a group of about 100 small children...joy. Our boat conductor thought he was a real comedian. He wasn't. However, the ride was gorgeous and we saw many beautiful riverside apartments. Upon first arriving in Greenwich the group headed to a market to get a delicious and cheap meal. Tessa and I met this really interesting hat maker who had worked with the Harry Potter films and knew many famous people like Paul McCartney and members of The Who. 
After a brief pit stop in the Painted Hall (a joke compared to Versailles), I rushed to the Royal Observatory to stand on either side of the Prime Meridian. Therefore, I had one foot in the Western Hemisphere and one in the Eastern.
After quickly taking the photo, I rushed from the top of the observatory down to the overground station and then to the underground to get home and grab my bags. The heat was incredible, but I didn't have time to focus on it as I rushed to the Victoria Coach Station to get on my bus to Cambridge.
I arrived in the early evening to the picturesque town of Cambridge. The Williams met me at the station and quickly steered me toward Emmanuel College where I stayed for the weekend. The University of Cambridge is made up of many different colleges. I found that in order to attend the university, a high school student had to be accepted to both the university and a specific college. The college is where they take their meals and live. Emmanuel was very pretty and my dorm was quite spacious.
After settling in, I cleaned up and we all went out to eat at a fantastic
Indian restaurant.
I normally don't enjoy Indian food as much as other Asian foods, but this meal was delicious! After dinner we found a place to get some ice-cream and coffee. Our cafe was right next to a night club called SoulTree, get it, "Sul-try." We just sat and talked and people watched for a long time. It was so nice to be taken out to a proper restaurant and not have to worry about the cost or where to go. That theme continued throughout the weekend.
The next morning we arose early and had Chelsea Buns (cinnamon buns with raisins) at a nice cafe. Then we went on a walking tour of Cambridge. Normally, I don't enjoy tours, but Cambridge is such an interesting place, so full of history. I saw the laboratory where Watson and Crick discovered DNA and the site where Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity. Cambridge was started in 1210 by a group of Oxford University students who ran away after having affairs with a prostitute. For hundreds of years it was a men's college and not until 1988 did all college admit women.
We ended our tour at King's College Chapel. It was gorgeous with fan ceilings which required no columns. The stain glass windows are supposedly the most impressive in Europe.
After the tour
we went "punting" in the Cam River. Punting is similar to a gondola ride. We had a punter named Ben and got to see many Hen Parties (Europe's form of Bachelorette parties). We rode down the river bumping into many other boats, but according to Ben that day was not busy. He said on a busy day there were more than 200 boats on this narrow river.
After punting we had a great British meal at The Eagle Pub. That too was rich with history. It has been around since the 1500's and during WWII U.S. and British soldiers took lodging there. The ceiling is covered with charred marks where the soldiers burnt their names and the names of their girls in. I even found one that spelled out "Rach"! I had delicious steak and ale pie, one of the first truly "British" meals I've had.
Mrs. Williams and I then set out on a short bike ride to an old Apple Orchard where Virginia Woolf and many other famous writers and poets used to take their tea. It was very peaceful and pretty. We then headed back so we could get cleaned up for the play we went to go see. It was called Quartet and was about four aging Opera singers. I've seen such great theatre since I'
ve been in London. What more could one ask for?
Sunday was a great day. I was pretty down about being away from home on the 4th of July, but it turned out to be one of the best one's I've had. Mrs. Williams and I went to church at King's College Chapel which was beautiful and had communion. We then took a taxi out to the Cambridge American Military Cemetery created to remember those who gave their lives in WWII. It was given to American by the British and considered American soil. I started tearing up when I first saw the American flag. Something about being over here has made me more patriotic and appreciative of America.
With a heavy heart I got back on the bus to London. I had a wonderful weekend. It was so relaxing and comforting to see such familiar faces like those of the Williams. I headed back pretty upset and depressed. When I got back to Madison House, I checked with those who were home to see if there were any July 4th plans.
We all ended up going to a Blues Club which was great, but a little overpriced. I got some delicious gumbo (in London!) and my first Long Island Iced Tea to celebrate all that is America! Macki took it a step further. She joined a hot dog eating competition where the buns were literally like extra thick baguettes. Though she placed third out of three, we were proud none the less.
We headed home soon after, and I crashed early exhausted from such a great weekend. Luckily the Amsterdam crew all got in safely though some were moving a little slow today. Well, until something noteworthy happens....adieu adieu parting is such sweet sorrow (I had to read Romeo and Juliet for Theatre).
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