Craziness in Cambridge

So we took another field trip again today :) First stop: The American Military Cemetery and Memorial. It reminded me of the beaches of Normandy in France when I went with Mom, but there weren't nearly as many graves. It was still really neat, and a cool way to remember and be grateful for America while we are here spending time in the UK.

Next stop: Cambridge! Wow, this was so much fun. It was so great to be back on a college campus around people our own age! First, we stopped at this funny little Turkish cafe for brunch. Of course, our waiter was filthy hot and all of us girls are so man-deprived that it was hard to keep from staring. He taught me the 'proper' way to pronounce tomato haha. I love the way British people speak! Then, we went to visit the King's College, but since the visiting hours were over, we visited the King's College Chapel. It had the neatest vaulted ceilings with loads of elaborate details.

And we had really excellent fudge. Patrick the hairy-chested Fudge Man was really cool and we came back like eight times to watch his progress in making a strawberry fudge shaped like a heart within a white chocolate fudge. It was scrumptious and the samples were great. English food may not be the best, but their treats are top notch!

On our way out, we were bombarded by four different guys trying to get us to go punting. Above my head on my bunk bed, previous London study abroad girls have written notes and lists of their adventures to pass on ideas to future London girls. Punting was listed multiple times. Well, of course it was absolutely freezing today, so punting was probably a bad idea, but that didn't stop us. We went and bought Cambridge hoodies to wear under our coats and set off on our first punt. For those of you who are wondering what punting is...

Punting: riding in a shallow little canoe-like boat where they crowd in twelve passengers, give them little fleece blankets, then give them a little punter named Chris Curtis (you may facebook stalk him if you would like) who drops this 14 foot long pole onto the floor of the river and pushes you along, and who is so exhausted that he slowly zig-zags up and down the current-less river, while letting every other punting boat pass you. Best eight pounds I have ever spent!

We were laughing so hard!! I got BIT by a freaking DUCK. Why does this always happen to me? First a penguin, now a duck. It was only supposed to be a 45 minute ride, but our guide Chris was so slow that it took us an hour and a half. He was probably the worst guide, ever, but it was loads of fun. But the view from the river was gorgeous!

We actually learned some cool facts about Cambridge, Hitler, jumping off bridges naked, and serious facts about Cambridge and the English education system, and then we also learned about his wild escapades backpacking through the United States. But Seriously, we were oscillating that river like some geometric sine-wave. (Yes, the math nerd in me is sometimes revealed.) Best quote of the ride (curtesy of Kaylee) "You are the Best Punter I've ever been Punted by..." SICK. Sick and wrong. Too funny. He was a young guy and pretty cool, but still. Sick.

Today was my last day of my first round of kitchen duty! It was fun working with my girls, but it's over and I couldn't be happier!