Cambridge

May 20, 2010

No class today! Only because we had a day trip to Cambridge! We had to be to the bus by 10:00 a.m. Normally that would be no problem at all, but I had a particularly late night last night so I really had to rush to be there on time after sleeping in too long. Cambridge is about the same distance from London as Oxford but in the opposite direction. On the way we stopped at an American memorial dedicated to the soldiers who gave their lives during World War II. Although I’ve seen similar memorials (I’ve even been to Arlington a few times), it never fails to impress me when I look over a memorial that reverences the sacrifices of men who fought to preserve our freedom and that of others. There were about 4000 buried there along with a wall with 8,000 names inscribed, honoring those soldiers whose remains were never found. There was also a beautiful chapel dedicated to their memory. The experience started an interesting conversation between Michelle and I about how people deal with grief and death. For me, it was a really neat experience. When we arrived at Cambridge, Michelle and I found ourselves in a group with Nick Herrick, Jessica Jardine, Logan Bradford and Robert McClellen. We really wanted to go punting in the river that runs through the river. Punting is a sport I was previously unaware of. A punt is essentially a gondola without wood sticking up on both ends of the boat. We rented a punt, climbed in and began figuring out just how to make the darn thing steer straight. It was certainly more difficult than anyone would have guessed. Despite the difficulty, I’m going to take a moment to brag about my unique adeptness in learning how to push us down the river with that long stick. Michelle also bragged to the rest of the group how her boyfriend really got the hang of it. Do I suffer from the vice of pride? Probably. Confession is the first step of repentance. But, the only thing I feel like confessing is that punting is certainly the best way to see Cambridge. It’s the most incredible campus I’ve ever seen; the flowers that grow everywhere, the beautifully trimmed grass, and of course the amazing architecture. We spent about an hour on the river laughing at our inability with the punt because we kept getting in the way of other boats that were going up and down the river. We became convinced that lying out on the grassy banks of the river to laugh at the tourists who try to punt is a favorite pass time at Cambridge. After punting, we spent the next several hours exploring Cambridge via the streets and lanes that cut every which way through the city. We stopped by the market to buy some produce and enjoyed the lunches we’d packed for the day (see, we’re already making our goal of eating out less a reality). After a nice day of exploring the city, we went to Trinity College to observe a rehearsal and Evensong service. We were surprised to see Stephen Layton there as the conductor as he was surprised to see us. We’d only seen each other the night before. The Trinity College Chapel Choir was a 30-something voice mixed choir. Despite the presence of women, there were still a few men singing alto as countertenors. The most exciting thing for me watching the rehearsal and the service was the selection of music. It seems that most of the services we’ve attended have had very similar selections of music. The music this evening was much more contemporary and, for lack of a better description, a bit more Eric Whitacre-esque. Though not for that reason, I felt as though the sound of the Trinity College Chapel Choir most closely resembled the BYU Singers sound. We seem to share similar musical weaknesses and shortcomings. I really enjoyed the service and was astounded by the chapel. I loved visiting Oxford, but I found Cambridge to be even more beautiful. On the coach ride home, I spent some time writing about these adventures on my ipod. It’s been so handy having that thing around. It’s the only reason I’ve been able to keep up on my blogging. I just whip it out and write a little here and there. When we got back, Michelle and I finally got things figured out and planned out trip to VENICE where we’ll be visiting some of Michelle’s family friends in the final days before coming home.