Our first full day in Cambridge, and our first field trip away from the college. After eight pretty wonderful days weather-wise, we woke up to weather a bit more like what we'd heard we would encounter: gray skies, off-and-on showers, blustery winds, temps in the 60s. The rain - well, in Tallahassee we know rain, and this was no biggie. The cold and wind, however, was another story. Pretty much think December in Tallytown. Though we had our umbrellas, we shivered all day, but that didn't stop us!
SO - breakfast, load up on the small coach at 8:30, and we were off to Blenheim Palace.
Blenheim Palace is and has been the home of the Dukes of Marlborough since the first Duke led the British to victory at the Battle of Blindheim in Germany. John Churchill became the First Duke of Marlborough and was given the property as a reward from a grateful nation in the early 18th century. Today the 12th Duke and his family occupy the private portion of the Palace. A World Heritage site, it is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. (That last bit from Wikipedia.) This whole subject is fascinating and well worth an extensive Google search.
Blenheim Palace is the birthplace of Winston Churchill, son of Lord Randolph Churchill, third son of the 7th Duke (so Winston was never in line for the position). Blenheim was his childhood home and he loved it all his life. He and his wife Clementine are buried on the grounds.
Our OLLI group was treated to a private guided tour of some of the state rooms of the palace, which, incidentally, is termed a "country home." An American parallel to this bit of understatement can be found in Newport, RI, where the homes of the very wealthy are called "cottages." Soaring ceilings, beautiful works of art, tapestries, fine furniture, many sets of priceless china - all are treasures here.
For all its glory, the actual palace is almost outshown by the gardens. They extend for acres and contain two lakes and a beautiful maze. After a look at the Churchill exhibit (fascinating), we lunched in the cafe beneath the ground floor of the residence where we were able to see the gardens and, in the distance, the Churchill burial site.
At 2:00 p.m., we boarded our coach again and headed to Oxford. A short drive from Blenheim, it provided a pretty interesting contrast to the country estate. We were a little surprised - Oxford is quite a large town, filled with wonderful shops and pubs and lots of visitors. And of course it is home to Oxford University.
Our first stop was the Ashmolean Museum, the world's first and oldest university museum. Elias Ashmole gave a cabinet of curiosities to the University of Oxford in 1677, and today it contains five or six floors of fine antiquities, artworks, and, yes, curiosities. The Ashmolean was at the top of my list for Things to Do Outside of London, and here we were!
After the museum, our wonderful guide, Paul, led us on a walking tour of the town, pointing out the various colleges of Oxford. As avid fans of "Inspector Morse," "Inspector Lewis," and "Endeavor" on PBS, we became just a bunch of groupies, walking around the settings for those fine TV productions. (We've always wondered why it is that such a small town could have so many murders; now we know it's actually a bustling city, with plenty of opportunities for mayhem.)
We entered the grounds of Magdalen College (pronounced "maudlin," of course), explored its chapel, and then went into the grounds, which include a river and two deer parks, one for summer and one for winter. Paul explained to us that Oxford colleges have been blessed with grants of large tracts of land over the centuries and consequently have much room for this sort of thing.
Incidentally, don't forget that we are wet and cold this whole time. There's a solution for that - we headed for the pub. Never has a glass of red wine tasted so good! And chili, interestingly enough. As lovers of bar food, we have felt quite at home in England.
Oxford is, of course, Cambridge's major rival. They jockey back and forth for academic honors and reputation. They face each other in any number of collegiate level sports activities. But I will say that Oxford seemed bigger, bolder, older. No disrespect to Cambridge intended, of course. Who knows what the future may hold?
Now home to Cambridge! A two-hour drive and we are back in our room, aching feet up, tired legs resting. Our Fitbits have had a field day on this trip. Any day that doesn't exceed our recommended 10,000 steps is deemed a complete failure, and usually means we have either sat in class or sat on a bus. Tomorrow we visit Sandringham, home of Prince William and Princess Kate and the kids, then on to the Norfolk coast for some even wilder weather and some legendary fish and chips. And at least one more glass of wine.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Friday, August 19, 2016
From London to Cambridge - August 19, 2016
First, a note from me to you: Mike and I have been in London since Thursday, August 11, yet there have been no blogs. I'm pretty sad about this, as we have had a most wonderful time, and I hope to be able to go back and talk about some of our experiences. We'll see.
Meanwhile, I write this sitting in our room in a student residence hall just across a narrow street from the gates for which we now have a key and through which we access this very beautiful institution - Corpus Christi College of Cambridge University.
Upon arrival (in the sprinkling rain, the first of our trip), we stowed our bags and headed out for an orientation and lunch. We were met at our bus by Paul, the charming graduate student from Australia who will be one of our companions on this visit. Paul gave us the quick tour. All the colleges of Cambridge are organized around "courts," which are simply squarish green spaces surrounding by buildings. We walked through Old Court, through an arch into New Court. We went through an arch marked Q and one marked D. We are assured that we will soon be running around this college like old hands - and we surely hope so!
Soon after that we were joined by Nick, who is head of summer programs here at Corpus Christi and who is the mastermind of our experience. Paul and Nick led us to the very cozy room that will be our classroom, where Nick handed out welcome packets and explained a bit about what is to come. We then enjoyed a wonderful luncheon buffet, then headed back out into the chilly rain for our library orientation. We are allowed to use the college library while we are here. Our library guide showed us how the cataloging system works, where the study desks are located, and where we might find books on 20th century English history (for those of us who are taking the Churchill class next week) and the architecture section (for those who are taking the architecture class.) I was transported to my college days in the '60s, when I spent many a day (and night) in the stacks of the university library. Yes, there are still actual books on actual shelves, and students have free rein pretty much any time of the day or night. One big difference: there's free WiFi.
Then back to claim our luggage and into our room. An OLLI favorite, this residence hall is accessed through an alleyway which runs right next to The Eagle, Corpus Christi's college-owned pub. I suspect we'll spend some time there.,
As soon as we settled in a bit, back out into the chilly air (rain temporarily stopped) to meet the Dean of the Chapel of Corpus Christi, an Anglican priest, for a bit of history. What a treat! We learned about the two really important periods in the history of Corpus Christi - the late 14th century, when it was established, and the early 19th century, when a great deal of the present construction was added. We visited the chapel, which is one of the 19th century additions. Not surprisingly, the college itself had been unable to provide much in the way of a chapel for financial reasons, and finally a pretty impressive structure was built.
Across the Old Court and into the main hall - we visited our classroom again, peeked into a room that was once the set (apartment) of a college master (teacher), then proceeded into a beautiful room which is used for a variety of activities, one of which will be our gathering for drinks shortly. Then through into the actual hall, which is truly a Harry Potter experience. There we will dine tonight, the ladies in dresses and the gentlemen in coats and ties. More about that later!
***
And it's now later - back to our room after an absolutely lovely evening.
Here at Corpus Christi, there is tradition, actually tradition around every corner. This evening, the OLLI group was graced with the opportunity to attend a Formal Hall, which takes place in the, well, formal hall. We were invited for drinks in the Outer Room (champagne, of course) and then invited into the Hall for dinner. We entered and stood behind our seats at a lovely long refectory table, laid formally, with a printed menu card placed at regular intervals. Just a peek at the menu: grilled sardines, pork loin, grilled cabbage, glazed carrot, desserts to die for, coffee and port. Plus our choice of red or white wine.
Then a gong sounded and the Fellows entered, stood at the head table for the saying of grace (in Latin) and all were seated. Yes, grilled sardines are delicious. (I know, I had my doubts, too.) And seated to my left was Paul, across the table was Nick, and on my right was Mike. What wonderful dinner companions - and great conversation.
After the dessert, a gong sounded, we all rose from our seats, the benediction was offered from the head table (Latin again), the Fellows departed, and the rest of us had coffee and port and more good conversation. This was truly an occasion that was tough to bring to an end. Then again, we must meet our tour guide (Paul) tomorrow at 8:30 for a trip to Blenheim Castle and Oxford. (Don't forget, FSU folks - Cambridge people regard Oxford pretty much in the same light as we regard UF. But we don't care. All of us are really looking forward to this. After all, we love "Inspector Morse," "Inspector Lewis," and "Endeavor"!)
So to bed, my dears. There will be more tomorrow - and I'm still dying to tell you all about London ...
Meanwhile, I write this sitting in our room in a student residence hall just across a narrow street from the gates for which we now have a key and through which we access this very beautiful institution - Corpus Christi College of Cambridge University.
Upon arrival (in the sprinkling rain, the first of our trip), we stowed our bags and headed out for an orientation and lunch. We were met at our bus by Paul, the charming graduate student from Australia who will be one of our companions on this visit. Paul gave us the quick tour. All the colleges of Cambridge are organized around "courts," which are simply squarish green spaces surrounding by buildings. We walked through Old Court, through an arch into New Court. We went through an arch marked Q and one marked D. We are assured that we will soon be running around this college like old hands - and we surely hope so!
Soon after that we were joined by Nick, who is head of summer programs here at Corpus Christi and who is the mastermind of our experience. Paul and Nick led us to the very cozy room that will be our classroom, where Nick handed out welcome packets and explained a bit about what is to come. We then enjoyed a wonderful luncheon buffet, then headed back out into the chilly rain for our library orientation. We are allowed to use the college library while we are here. Our library guide showed us how the cataloging system works, where the study desks are located, and where we might find books on 20th century English history (for those of us who are taking the Churchill class next week) and the architecture section (for those who are taking the architecture class.) I was transported to my college days in the '60s, when I spent many a day (and night) in the stacks of the university library. Yes, there are still actual books on actual shelves, and students have free rein pretty much any time of the day or night. One big difference: there's free WiFi.
Then back to claim our luggage and into our room. An OLLI favorite, this residence hall is accessed through an alleyway which runs right next to The Eagle, Corpus Christi's college-owned pub. I suspect we'll spend some time there.,
As soon as we settled in a bit, back out into the chilly air (rain temporarily stopped) to meet the Dean of the Chapel of Corpus Christi, an Anglican priest, for a bit of history. What a treat! We learned about the two really important periods in the history of Corpus Christi - the late 14th century, when it was established, and the early 19th century, when a great deal of the present construction was added. We visited the chapel, which is one of the 19th century additions. Not surprisingly, the college itself had been unable to provide much in the way of a chapel for financial reasons, and finally a pretty impressive structure was built.
Across the Old Court and into the main hall - we visited our classroom again, peeked into a room that was once the set (apartment) of a college master (teacher), then proceeded into a beautiful room which is used for a variety of activities, one of which will be our gathering for drinks shortly. Then through into the actual hall, which is truly a Harry Potter experience. There we will dine tonight, the ladies in dresses and the gentlemen in coats and ties. More about that later!
***
And it's now later - back to our room after an absolutely lovely evening.
Here at Corpus Christi, there is tradition, actually tradition around every corner. This evening, the OLLI group was graced with the opportunity to attend a Formal Hall, which takes place in the, well, formal hall. We were invited for drinks in the Outer Room (champagne, of course) and then invited into the Hall for dinner. We entered and stood behind our seats at a lovely long refectory table, laid formally, with a printed menu card placed at regular intervals. Just a peek at the menu: grilled sardines, pork loin, grilled cabbage, glazed carrot, desserts to die for, coffee and port. Plus our choice of red or white wine.
Then a gong sounded and the Fellows entered, stood at the head table for the saying of grace (in Latin) and all were seated. Yes, grilled sardines are delicious. (I know, I had my doubts, too.) And seated to my left was Paul, across the table was Nick, and on my right was Mike. What wonderful dinner companions - and great conversation.
After the dessert, a gong sounded, we all rose from our seats, the benediction was offered from the head table (Latin again), the Fellows departed, and the rest of us had coffee and port and more good conversation. This was truly an occasion that was tough to bring to an end. Then again, we must meet our tour guide (Paul) tomorrow at 8:30 for a trip to Blenheim Castle and Oxford. (Don't forget, FSU folks - Cambridge people regard Oxford pretty much in the same light as we regard UF. But we don't care. All of us are really looking forward to this. After all, we love "Inspector Morse," "Inspector Lewis," and "Endeavor"!)
So to bed, my dears. There will be more tomorrow - and I'm still dying to tell you all about London ...
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