My trip to England ...

Was asked when I was going to blog on my recent (well, not so recent cuz I left in May and got back in June and now it's already August!) trip to UK and Paris. Am doing this slowly in parts so bear with me. I was in UK for a work trip and then extended my stay with some colleagues.

We got to England over the weekend so we had a few days to settle in before we started work on Monday. So we took in the sights and went to the lovely Whipsnape Tree Catheral in Dunstable. It's a functioning catheral but there whole area is just covered with different types of trees that differentiate the sections of the catheral.

Very peaceful when you walk around the area and the flowers are in full bloom as you can see below. With such good weather (which is a rare thing in England), it would have made a lovely day for a picnic on the grass and just relaxing with a good book at hand!

After working up an appetite at the cathedral, we drove to a nearby marina where we had dinner. It was such a pretty area that we couldn't resist another walk after dinner to take in the sights. It was sinking in that we were no longer in Singapore :o)

Part of our trip took us to Cambridge where we spent most of our time and we got to know the city centre really well cuz that was where we had most of our dinners as well as where we spent our weekends.

You cannot be in Cambridge and not go punting. It's a lovely way to see areas not accessible except by River Cam. If you're wondering what is a punt, it's pretty similar to the gondolas that you have in Venice. The picture below shows what you will be sitting in as you travel down River Cam.

And while on the River Cam while punting, we managed to see the infamous Mathematical Bridge (photo below) which was first built in 1749 and again to the same design in 1866 and 1905. This was the first bridge in the World to be designed according to mathematical analysis of the forces in it. Take note that the bridge was built in 1749 by James Essex the Younger (1722-1784) to the design of William Etheridge (1709-1776) and not by Isaac Newton (as we were told). It has subsequently been rebuilt to the same design in 1866 and 1905.

There's also the Bridge of Sigh (photo above) which was appropriately called that because it led to the exam halls and I can just imagine many students sighing as they left the exam hall. And if I am not mistaken, there's a similar looking bridge in Venice no?

While walking around Cambridge, I noticed lots of bicycles lined the roads and was told that as students, that would be the best way to go around Cambridge. Fair enough but I am guessing that it can get rather unpleasant when it rains though ..

And if you manage to get into any of the colleges, STAY OFF the lawn. It's kept neat and trimmed and only these ducks are allowed on the lawn. If you dare step on one of these lawns, watch out for the porters who take their jobs really seriously and they have no problem kicking you out with a stern warning (this based on our personal experience so I know what I am talking about).

One of the lanes in Cambridge that seemed a lil spooky to me. Reminded me of the time when Jack the Ripper used to roam the streets and I expected it to look something like this!

This is the famous icon in Cambridge and everyone who has visited Cambridge would have taken a picture infront of this cathedral.

While waiting to have dinner, my friend and I had some time so we decided to experiment and take shots of whatever was around us. And we found this red mail box just there so yes, we did the touristy thing and posed next to it!

For a good meal, head to Rainbow Cafe. It's a vegetarian place so it's great for everyone. And being a carnivore, I have to say that I had my best vegetarian meal there. So a MUST try place if you're in Cambridge.

When was the last time you had good English tea? Well check out my next post for the best English tea and scones ever.