Cambridge

Cambridge, as everyone knows, is one of two of England's great university towns, Oxford being the other. John and I have visited Cambridge a few times over the years (alone and together), but this trip in the summer of 2002 was Kassie's first. We drove down for a day and a night to meet an old friend who'd obtained his doctorate from Cambridge University and was visiting from South Africa.

We had little on our agenda apart from a revisit to King's College Chapel and an attempt to glimpse the William Morris stained glass windows at Peterhouse (I didn't realize until later that the Fitzwilliam possesses a wealth of Pre-Raphaelite art). An uncluttered schedule gave us ample time to wander about and chat while watching experts and novices alike have a go at punting on the River Cam. It was a warm summer's day and the university was bustling with people, some sprawled along the banks of the Cam egging punters on, others resting under the shade of drooping willows, while still others hurried along on their frenzied tour of the 31 colleges.

The only difficulty we encountered was finding a pub hospitable to children. I'm sure they exist but we had no luck finding one. In the end we spent an enjoyable evening eating and chatting over retsina at a good (but expensive) Greek restaurant. We spent the night in separate student quarters in one of the colleges, John on one side of the courtyard, Kassie and I on another.

Date of Our Last Visit: July 2002