“He knew her to be clever, to have a quick apprehension as well as good sense, and a fondness for reading, which, properly directed, must be an education in itself.” – Mansfield Park
7:00 Breakfast at The Tower Hotel
8:25 Check out of hotel
8:30 Take Uber to London City Airport to Pick up rental car. We had Erno from Hungary as a driver and he was our favorite so far. Pleasant as can be. As a kid, he always wanted to learn English, but under communism, kids weren't allowed to learn anything but Russian. He had a teacher who invited him to come an hour early each day to learn English from her secretly. He's so happy to be in England and feels like he belongs here.
9:00 Pick up rental car - This took a whole hour!
EuropCar Tel: 03713843412
King George V Dock, London E16 2PX, UK
Our car: VW Passat,license plate GF70UNN
Since picking up the car took so long, Carma offered to get us a later punting time in Cambridge. Thank goodness she was free to help us because I was busy trying to learn how to drive on the left side of the road.
Drive one hour, fifteen minutes to Cambridge
Cambridge is a city on the River Cam in eastern England, home to the prestigious University of Cambridge, dating to 1209. University colleges include King’s, famed for its choir and towering Gothic chapel, as well as Trinity, founded by Henry VIII, and St John’s, with its 16th-century Great Gate. Cambridge is well-known for many things, including King's College Chapel, Sir Isaac Newton's apple tree, and the fact that Stephen Hawking and C.S. Lewis were professors.
Carma, Ian, and Braddock (16) met us at a petrol station and Carma jumped in our car with us so she could guide us into Cambridge. That was so helpful because the bus and bike and car lanes and all their different signal lights are confusing.
We parked close to Scudamore’s Punting for £12.
Scudamore's Punting
Tel: 01223 359750
Meet at Mill Lane
The first punts are traditionally associated with the River Thames in England and were built as small cargo boats or platforms for fishermen. Pleasure punts – specifically built for recreation – became popular on the Thames between 1860 and 1880. Since a punt has no keel, it draws only a few inches even when fully laden; this makes it very maneuverable and suitable for shallow water.
1:30 Tour of Cambridge on the River Cam (45 minutes) I loved being on the water and seeing the beautiful trees, grounds and buildings! I honestly didn't hear much of the narration from our punter because I was so busy chatting with Braddock and Ian, but one interesting thing I remember the guide telling us about is the Cambridge climbers. "The Night Climbers of Cambridge" are a group of students who play elaborate pranks on the school by climbing to impossible heights on the buildings and leave things like Santa hats on spires, or hoisting a van to the top of a building. Ian was super helpful with getting Mom in and out of the punt. It was a very low seat!
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| Braddock & Mom |
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| Mom & Carma |
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| King's College Chapel |
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| St. John's College |
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| Ian, Braddock, Teresa (and our punter, Christian) |
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| King's College Chapel |
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| Mathematical Bridge |
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| There are cows wandering around campus. Ok! |
Mom and Carma and I strolled around the town while Carma pointed out different buildings and told us some history. I can tell she has spent a LOT of time in Cambridge. She knew everything!
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| Gelato! |
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| The table where the discovery of DNA was announced at The Eagle pub |
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| The Eagle |
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| Newton's apple tree |
We drove to Sheehan's house in Bury St. Edmunds and had a tour of their awesome home and church, and finally saw Jak (17). Then all 6 of us went to a pub for dinner and had amazing seafood and steak.
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| Backyard |
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| Grape vine growing in their mud room |
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| Nice kitchen! |
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| Their Anglican Church around the corner |
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They all humored me and put
their reunion shirts on for a photo :) |
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| Delicious pub dinner |
We drove one hour and stayed overnight at Delta Hotels by Marriott Peterborough. Our parking spot was close to the door. Good job bringing your Handicap placard, Mom :)
