Cambridge England Highlights

Welcome to my vacation pictures, part 2 (of 3). You can see my London highlights in this post. We spent three days in Cambridge, and most of the time I was busy attending a conference. So, I didn't get to do that much sightseeing.  I did see some of the major sites, though:

We saw lots of people punting on the river, of course. And we visited a few of the colleges, including St. John's, which has a beautiful chapel and their own version of the Bridge of Sighs:

Cambridge is a University town, with a couple of nice shopping/eating streets surrounded by various "colleges." Access to the colleges is somewhat restricted, so you need to figure out what you want to see and when the college will be open. I missed getting into Kings College on my first try, but eventually got in to see the Christopher Wren Chapel and the grounds:

Paul and I stayed at Fitzwilliam College where my conference was being held. We went to a lovely "drinks reception" in the college garden and drank Pimm's and felt very British. We ate tapas at La Tasca and pasta at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant.  I went for a nice three mile run around town to help keep my commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

We braved the stormy skies and ubiquitous "stay off the grass" warning signs to attend a lovely rendition of Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale in the Downing College Garden.  It sprinkled on us a bit, but we didn't get too wet as our chairs and the "stage" were mostly covered by the boughs of a very large tree. I missed seeing the library at Trinity College and the treasures of the Fitzwilliam Museum, but we did get to experience the excitement of graduation ceremonies (see some pictures in my post here). Didn't capture any scavenger hunt photos in Cambridge, but I thought I'd close with this self-portrait (check it off the list) taken in my new "Cambridge University" sweatshirt. I couldn't possible leave that lovely town without one. 

Got any favorites from today's vacation post?