The UK Trip - Cambridge

I tried to come up with a proper title for the following posts, but The UK Trip was the easiest. We returned this past Monday and had a spectacular time! English was spoken, food and drink were consumed, we all gained weight, spectacular views were everywhere...it was my favorite vacation of all time. I plan to blog about each city, not each day. Some cities were allocated one day, some two, others were given a hefty three days of discovery! There were places we wish we had more time, some were perfect, others could have been reduced, dramatically. ;)

We flew in to London - Standsted airport on October 14. We were all in high spirits, despite the fact that the immigration officer had a small fit over the fact that I didn't have our Permesso di Soggiorno (permit-of-stay cards...what allows us to stay in Italy for an extended period of time versus getting deported). So yeah, starting the trip off with Mr. HappyPants wasn't the best way to begin, but it definitely got better from there.

Joe drove us to Cambridge, and we got stuck in traffic. It seems to be an issue around Cambridge and London. All other major cities were pretty clear, despite construction. We checked in our hotel, ate at the food court in the "mall" next door, and headed for downtown Cambridge. I fell in love, immediately. I felt like I had just stepped into the world of Harry Potter. We even saw a kid that was dressed exactly like Harry Potter, without the robe. The buildings were similar to what you'd expect in Harry Potter. I loved it! I could have sat on a bench for hours, just watching the people. Alas, I am married to the Energizer Bunny so sitting on a bench for hours was not on the agenda. I must say, seeing all the sights in Cambridge was worth the tired feet and legs! This is a university town, so there are colleges everywhere and young people to fill them. I might have felt a little old at times.

We saw many cool buildings in Cambridge, went to a candy store, visited the Fitzwilliam Museum and saw more churches than you can shake a stick at. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this beautiful city. Enjoy! Note: Most blurry pics were taken by my oldest child. I have included some of them since they have some of my favorite people in them.

 All Saint's Garden

 Inside the candy store

 Outside the candy store

 Joe and Little J by a mummy

 More Egyptian artifacts

Little J with his little knight buddy

 Creepy skeleton in chainmail

 Joe always wanted to see a Guildhall

 The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, lovingly known as The Round Church

 The Bible at the Round Church

 My family outside the Round Church

Joe, KK and Little J at the gate to King's College

 King's College

 

 

 The Cambridge Market - they have the best gluten free brownies I've ever had in my life. Just FYI.

 Heading in for some goodies... 

 Can you go to England without getting your pic by a phonebox? 

 St. Bene't Church

 J Jr. with a tomb on the grounds of St. Bene't Church

 Outside St. Bene't Church 

 St. John's 

 At St. Catharine's College gate

As you can see, the architecture was amazing. It was a feast for the eyes. The Fitzwilliam Museum was great, as were all the national museums we visited. Apparently, all national museums are free in the UK...or at least the ones we visited. ;)

And for my friends that want to hear about the international food...we had Mexican for lunch the first day, breakfast from the American diner the second morning, and lunch was at Pho (Vietnamese food - most of us had noodle soup while others had dry noodles. Bonus - everything was gluten free!!!).

What a great beginning to a great trip...stay tuned for details of our days in York. You won't want to miss it. Two members of our family picked York as their #1 stop. :)