Tag: England

By bmlee18

This past week has been a whirlwind, but it may have very well been one of the most memorable (and hectic) weeks I've had thus far this semester. It was my last week before the term ended, which meant that I had to finally submit the dissertation that I had been working on since the beginning of my studies here. At the same time, I was blessed with the company of my two friends who flew all the way from DC to visit me during their spring break. I was able to share with them some of my favorite aspects of life at Cambridge, as well as attempt new activities together that I had yet to experience.

Punting was one of these new experiences. Now, normally, when you row a boat down a river or some body of water, you have oars to do the task. Not with punting, however. To make life unnecessary challenging, punting requires you to move your boat with one very long steel pole. Basically, you have to use the steel pole to push off the base of the river to move and turn your pole left or right to steer the boat to your desired direction. Punting is perhaps one of the most quintessential (and not to mention quirky) elements of Cambridge that almost all visitors do before they are able to proudly and rightfully declare that they've been to the city.

Ironically, despite having lived here for the past two months, I had actually never been punting before my GW friends came to visit. I had the acceptable excuse of blaming this on the cold winter weather, but I had no reason not to go out on the river the past week, given the absolutely beautiful weather that finally announced the coming of spring. I thought that I was being smart and thrifty by choosing the self-hire option, rather than the guided tour option, which required the three of us to punt our own way down the college "backs." The folks who punted the guided boats made the task look so painless and easy that I thought to myself, "Well, how difficult can this actually be?"

...continue reading "Punting down the "backs""

By bmlee18

I had the amazing opportunity to take a short trip to Madrid, Spain the past weekend. The voyage to Madrid was rather harrowing - I've never been very good at functioning on minimal sleep, but I had no choice but to stay awake the whole night, as my plane departed at 6am. At 3am, I boarded the bus from Cambridge to the airport, and after checking in and passing through security, I dozed off on the hard, uncomfortable bench by the gate like all of the other travellers around me who were waiting for their flights. Unfortunately, my flight was also delayed, and I remember feeling as if I was moving back and forth from a state of consciousness to a dreamy delusion - too nervous to fall completely asleep for fear of missing my flight, but also simply too tired to actually stay wide awake.

Despite the rather troubling start to my journey, once I landed in Madrid, I absolutely loved the city and knew that the lack of sleep and the restless night/morning at the airport were totally worth being able to bask in the warm Spanish sun and experience a new and exciting culture. As much as I love England, Spain was a really refreshing and exhilarating break. Madrid was such a vibrant and lively city, with people out and about at all hours of the day, and especially at night. This was different from Cambridge, or even London, where shops close much too early (especially on Sundays) and people are back at home by at least 6pm. Even the libraries at Cambridge (and there are many more libraries in this city than I have ever encountered elsewhere) close maybe at midnight latest, with most of them closing around 6 or 7pm, and not even open on the weekends. This certainly came as a shock when I first arrived because the sole library on GW's campus doesn't ever close, and past attempts to retract the 24/7 library hours have met vocal opposition from students. Now, don't get me wrong - I do appreciate the strict separation of work and personal life at Cambridge. But I really appreciated the energy and constant activity of Madrid, and the overall relaxed and laid back attitude people exhibited.

In Madrid, thanks to the afternoon rest culture of siesta, restaurants didn't even start opening for dinner until 8pm - so I was eating my meals at 10pm, which clearly broke from my habituated dinner time of 5pm in England. Perhaps one of my favorite places that I visited after a very satisfying dining experience of delicious tapas was Chocolatería San Ginés, a famous churro and hot chocolate cafe. To my surprise, I discovered that the cafe was open 24/7, and even at late hours of the night, people were standing outside in a long line that curved around the corner of the shop. Thank goodness for this cafe because it served possibly the richest and most delicious cup of hot chocolate I have ever had, which paired extremely well with warm, freshly made, deep fried churros. ...continue reading "Trip to Madrid!"

By bmlee18

Last week, I had a friend take the morning Eurostar train from Paris to visit me for the day at Cambridge. It still baffles me how easy and painless traveling from one country to another can be here. Within 2 to 3 hours, you can find yourself picking up a baguette and a cup of coffee at a Parisian boulangerie to being served a steaming pot of aromatic tea and buttery scones with clotted cream and raspberry jam at a London cafe (add another hour to your journey, and you can find yourself at Cambridge).

Together, my friend and I were able to explore and visit the main attractions of Cambridge, and I thought that I would relay some of what we did that largely exemplifies what one should do when visiting this historic college town.

1. Grab a Chelsea bun and a cup of cappuccino at Fitzbillies. The signature pastry at this famous cafe would certainly be the Chelsea bun, which basically tastes and looks like a fancier version of a cinnamon roll. Who doesn't love a hot cinnamon roll to start off the morning? If you're wanting something less sweet, go for a scone, which couples very nicely with the cafe's excellent and rich cappuccino and/or latte. If you come later in the day, why not think about going through the whole ritual of afternoon tea (tea, scones, cakes, and finger sandwiches galore)?

2. Get lost at the Fitzwilliam Museum. This museum has a fantastic collection of art, ranging anywhere from ancient Egyptian and Roman sculptures to medieval European paintings to contemporary antiquities. In addition, my friend and I visited the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which similarly had a very fascinating and wide array of artefacts from all around the world. What I thought was really unique was how numerous faculties had their own museums to exhibit research conducted and discoveries made thus far.

3. Marvel at the King's College Chapel. The chapel can easily be called one of the finest examples of Gothic English architecture and a symbol of the city of Cambridge. It's truly amazing to think of how the chapel continues to be a place of worship to this day, having been constructed approximately 500 years ago. While we were unable to attend King's Evensong, a sung chapel service particularly famous for its renowned choir, we were nevertheless lost for words as we walked around and marvelled at the beautiful architecture.

...continue reading "Visiting Cambridge? Try these things."

By bmlee18

Ely. This small English city not too far from Cambridge probably doesn't strike you as familiar. I know that for me, I was so unfamiliar with Ely that I (and some of the other visiting students whom I went on the trip with) had trouble deciding how to even pronounce its name, only being sure of myself when I finally found myself within the city grounds. I wasn't really sure of what to expect from this city that I had never heard of before, but perhaps this lack of expectations and knowledge was precisely what allowed me to be so astounded by the beauty of the place.

Now, I know that there are some unbelievably amazing architecture throughout the UK. Cambridge, my host city, alone features some of the most remarkable structures dating back to hundreds of years before America's founding. King's College Chapel, built in the 1400s, stands as one of the finest examples of Gothic English architecture, and I have the great privilege of walking past (and gaping at) the beautiful church everyday. As much as I was fascinated by King's College Chapel and other buildings throughout England, my visit to Ely Cathedral left me utterly speechless - especially after a tour of the Cathedral's Octagon Tower.

I am by no means an expert on architecture, although I did have a brief phase as a fourth grader when I was an avid viewer of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and wanted to be a cool carpenter building homes for others like the show's personalities. However, I know when to be marvelled at a great feat of architectural design and engineering - and Ely Cathedral was precisely this.

First of all, to see such a massive cathedral at the centre of a small town astounded me. The Cathedral was really the beating heart of Ely, and it was clear that around this place of worship, shops began to open and homes were constructed. Once I walked past the heavy wooden doors of the church, I was dazzled by the beautiful design of the walls and the stained glasses. But the true highlight of my visit was the tour of the Octagon Tower. To reach the tower, we took a set of spiral staircases - quite steep and dizzying - to reach the roof of the transept. From here, we had the most remarkable view of the city and the river, and despite the cold wind striking our faces, we could only stand gawking as we stood between the cathedral chancel and the Lady Chapel.

...continue reading "A City of Surprises"

By bmlee18

This past weekend, I took a short day trip to the city of Salisbury, and from there, visited the world famous prehistoric monument we all know as Stonehenge.

Prior to embarking on this little adventure, many past visitors whom I'd spoken to had expressed mixed feelings about Stonehenge - that their actual visit fell short of their high expectations. Despite these reservations, I have to say that my trip to Salisbury and Stonehenge was very gratifying and would recommend to all as definitely worth taking. Stonehenge has been regarded as an amazing feat for our Neolithic ancestors, and I was undoubtedly fascinated by how they were able to so masterfully transport enormous stones and erect such site of worship and burial.

Aside from Stonehenge, the city of Salisbury has much to offer, from Old Sarum (the earliest settlement of Salisbury) to Salisbury Cathedral (which houses one of four original copies of the Magna Carta and features England's tallest spire). If Stonehenge alone does not excite you, then Old Sarum and Salisbury Cathedral should be convincing enough for you to plan your next trip there!

To guide your next outing away from the hustle and bustle of London, or wherever you call home, I'll be providing a few tips on how to get there and what to do, all within a modest budget (at least according to UK standards). As I did not get to visit places other than Stonehenge due to time constraints, I will be focusing on how to get to Stonehenge and what you should do at this iconic landmark.

...continue reading "Visiting Stonehenge"

By bmlee18

Waking up at 6 o'clock in the morning... you could definitely call that a challenge. After futilely trying to dismiss the notion that my clock actually displayed "6:00," I pulled myself out of bed to get ready for the day. I hurriedly put on my long-sleeved training clothes, slipped on my green sneakers, and grabbed a banana to munch on for breakfast on my way to the boathouse.

This was my first day of rowing (crew) - a sport that seems to be a quintessential part of Cambridge. I had never done anything remotely close to rowing, never used an ergometer (rowing machine), and never personally witnessed a rowing race. But given the overwhelming popularity of the sport here (rowing seemed to be the focus of perhaps half of the conversations British students had), as well as my desire to experience something new and understand Cambridge's culture better, I signed myself up and somehow found myself walking through eerie alleys and splashing through muddy puddles at an ungodly hour of the morning.

The town was still deep asleep, shrouded by a pitch black veil. I trekked to the boathouse for a good 30 minutes, accompanied by my friend (another GW student), who was an experienced rower and thankfully gifted with an excellent sense of direction that guided us to the boathouse.

Soon after our arrival, we spent the next half an hour or so trying the ergs (short for ergometers), which was possibly the most confusing thing. You apparently needed to separate the movement of your arms, back, and legs to properly row, and consciously thinking about how my body should move only made me look all the more clumsy and awkward. "Legs, back, arms. Arms, back, legs. Now repeat. Ok... Why is my brain thinking one thing and my body doing another?"

...continue reading ""Row, row, row your boat, gently down the Cam…""