Family UK Trip: Adventures in Cambridge

Oh Cambridge of Cambridgeshire, ye city of 2000 years.  Yeah, seriously, Cambridge is so OLD! 

So it comes at no surprise to see such OLD buildings, though admittedly these ones here haven’t quite hit the two millenia mark.  This alleyway/really narrow street in Cambridge really is just an example of what I envision in my mind when I think of this city. 

 

It has been a few years since the Watsons last visited Cambridge, and so along with our good friends, the Grovers, we decided to embark on a traditional punting expedition. There are plenty of starting points for punting, and you can choose to either self-punt or hire someone else to do it for you.  Well these dads - Kurt and me - didn’t need nobody to push our boats for us (more on that later).

The sightseeing was of course dramatic as we enjoyed the sights along the river Cam. 

Clearly the boys are having a blast while I attempt just to navigate us out of the starting area. 

Cows.

Grovers.

Da Ladies.

See, not so hard.  lol not true.  This was one of the hardest things I’d done.  That pole is NOT an oar!  It is literally just a long pole.  Typical events for newbie punters 1) pole gets stuck in the muck at the bottom and either you lose your pole or you hold on too long and get pulled off the punt. 2) you lose your balance and end up in the river 3) you bonk your head on the bridges as you go under 5) you go around in circles and 6) you crash into other boats.  Believe it or not both Kurt and I only experienced the last two and no one on either of our boats fell in the river. 

I’ll though it did take some getting used to and props to the wives and kids for being patient with these middle-aged men learning new skills.  What’s that about old dogs? 

 

Water Fowl. 

Da Boyz.

ALMOST crashed into the bank, but Alex used his rowing skills to steer us out of an otherwise precarious situation. 

Same event, different angle. 

Don’t hit the bridge!! j/k We just went under it albeit DUCK!

Okay, this requires some explanation.  In order to move the UPPER portion of the river, we had to cross a road.  Yes, that’s what I said.  We had to cross OVER a road with our boat. To do that it was all hands on deck, or rather OFF deck.  Everyone out of the boat!  Heave! Ho!  These boats weigh a ton (or at least felt like). Up and over!  

It was definitely a spectator sport - you can see the folks watching from the other side. 

FINALLY made it across and back to punting.  NOT pictured: Kurt almost falling into the river, though he did dunk his foot in. Also not pictured, one of the boats almost floating away but someone from spectator area grabbed it and helped us get it back. Turns out the hardest part about the rollers is not losing your boat as it goes down the second ramp into the water. So we sacrificed one of the children and had them ride the boat as it went into the water.  

Speaking of back, we had to go back down the river the way we came which meant we had to do the roller ramp AGAIN! But the second time was much faster, though still hard.  We figured out how to take a running start at it.  

Back to calmer waters. 

And a well-deserved treat. 

Also a cathedral. Which one? 

What a fantastic looking group.  BFFs!!

That’s also a church.  Older than any building in America. 

Classic Cambridge. If you’ve ever been to Cambridge, you’ve surely walked these cobblestone streets next to King’s College. 

Until we see you again, ye olde Cambridge.  Farewell for now. 

Robert

Cambridge French Style

Sometimes at the end of March, my cousin, Olia, and I were chatting on facebook and I invited her to come visit us before we move. So we figured out quickly the dates that worked for both of us and planned for her to come see us in Brampton for three days. It's still a bit strange each time when I think about how easy it is to cross over from Paris to London.

So Olia and her two cute kids--Amelia (4) and Maxim (6) arrived safely at our house (after being delayed at Paris Eurostar terminal because of a suspicious package) on Saturday, April 16th. We had a ton to talk about from kids to work, from traveling to schooling. We grew up together, being best friends and all through many years. So it's incredible to see what where our life journeys have taken us:)

The following morning, Robert and the kids went to church for sacrament since it was Sunday, but I drove to Cambridge with Olia to show her some of the most famous parts of the city. The weather was incredibly sunny but absolutely FREEZING. This is April and here I am wearing my wool winter coat and gloves.

First of all--punting tour on the river Cam. It's just a must. It's fun and very cultural. Although Olia is fluent in English she did wonder if our guide could speak with a little less of a local accent so she could understand him better:)). He had quite a strong East Anglian accent.

Here is our first selfie for you. I haven't perfected my model face just yet, unlike Olia:)

I have to say I am simply amazed at the quality of these pictures taken by Olia's phone!

Incredible views of the Wedding Cake building.

And the Bridge of Sighs.

Finally, King's College that we have seen so many times in all seasons now and never seize to be impressed.

Olia, Maxim and I (with Amelia possibly sleeping near Olia?:).

After the boat tour, we met up with Robert and the rest of the crew. 

We made our lunch extra special for Olia by going to Harriets Tearoom to experience a traditional afternoon tea with sandwiches and scones. 

Stuffed, we walked around the center for a little bit. 

Mark and Maxim are one year apart, well actually a year minus one day. 

We got lost a little bit in this beautiful courtyard. 

And here is a quick pictures of the two of us.

Till next time, Cambridge!

Lyana.

SaveSave

Cambridge With Julie

After a great weekend in London with my girlfriends, we received a fun bonus--our friend Julie took the train up to our house to spend her last day in England with us. I picked her up from the train station and we all went to church. After a quick lunch, we squished into our van and drove 30 minutes to Cambridge. After a few diversions en route because of the marathon that day, we finally got to central Cambridge. 

Because it was Sunday, we didn't want to do anything crazy. We made it just in time (a few minutes late, actually) to the King's College Chapel choral service. The chapel was beautiful inside! Music was wonderful, but the kids only lasted maybe twenty minutes. 

Across the street we stopped by our favorite fudge shop for a sample and then walked over to the River Cam. 

Punting once again-hahaha.

I think I've done it five times now. This is a picture of me raising my hand when the tour guide asked if anyone had done the punting tour before. 

Our guide this time was very knowledgable actually. He told us a ton of interesting stuff about people who went to Cambridge and a lot of historical connections that other guides never mentioned. It was very educational, and the boys enjoyed it as well (little turkeys--they always want to go on the boat just to relax and see surrounding buildings. They've done it three or four times now).

Robert and Katya stayed ashore walking around in the drizzle and taking beautiful pictures of the river...

...and of us passing under the bridge.

This early spring scenery has its own charm, doesn't it? Do you notice how the grass is still green--always green?

Unfortunately, this visit had to be a short one. We had to go home to our regular stuff like eating dinner:). So glad Julie was able to join us even for one day! And somehow I don't even have any pictures of me and her to post here (just a group one).

Visitors are still welcome! But you only have about a year left. Book in advance to make sure we are home:).

Lyana.

Grandma Visits Cambridge

We love Cambridge. Thirty minutes drive from our house will take you to this iconic college town-perfect for a relaxing afternoon out. No wonder it is our favorite places to show to our visitors.

This time kids got to accompany me (well, they were stuck with me technically) since they were on summer holidays. We parked in the center of town, walked over to our favorite spot to hire a punting guide. I negotiated our price down, as always, and this time decided to the more professional looking company, despite it being more expensive than the other one.

We had to wait just a little over five minutes.

Grandma was not quite sure what to make of it all just yet.

But then our river journey began…pass all the beautiful colleges hovering over river Cam.

We got to see this building covered with fall leaves and now with fresh green ones.

Bridge of sighs.

Katya, decided to put on her “I am too cool for Cambridge” face. No, truly, she did enjoy it (for the third time).

And I had fun taking pictures of (oops, almost said “Baby”) Mark. This is his “I wonder if we’ll crash into another boat” face.

My handsome boy.

See? That’s what I am talking about. Love those freckles!!!

And here is Grandma who now knows what punting is.

She did enjoy this beautiful river tour. Forty five minutes later and she learnt all the main facts about Cambridge University.

Mark just chilling…

The building behind Grandma is called “the wedding cake”, it’s really pretty.

So what else did we do in Cambridge this time? Well, we, as always got ice cream from the same ice cream stand, from the same lady on the corner by the candy shop.

Usually, we don’t even go into that candy shop to avoid having to say “no” all the time. But since Grandma was the biggest instigator of going there, kids followed, and came out with all sorts of goodies. Yeah…they felt so spoilt! I am sure they though that their Grandma loves them more than their parents do that day.

Well, good bye, Cambridge. See you sometime soon (and not just for shopping at the mall or Primark).

Good night.