On our first full day back in England, we headed over to Cambridge to show Paul's parents the sights. We took the Park & Ride bus and got a bit turned around, as the bus stopped first at a place unfamiliar to us, then started heading away from the area of Cambridge we had visited previously. After consulting with the driver, we ended up riding around for a little while before returning to the unfamiliar stop. It turned out that the old, familiar stop was in an area of town under road construction! Confusing to us, as we aren't in Cambridge enough, apparently!
We walked around town for a bit, and found the tourist information spot. We got tickets for an afternoon "punting" tour on the River Cam. The town is named after a bridge over the river Cam, by the way. The punts are flat bottomed boats rather unique to shallow river travel, and Cambridge is famous for them. You can rent punts by the hour to try to use the pole to push the boat on your own, but we opted to take a tour. I think we made a good choice based on the people we saw struggling to steer the punts without spinning in circles. It was a popular activity on a nice day -- the river was fairly crammed with punts in some spots, and there was even a refreshment punt selling Pimm's drinks!
We reclined on soft blankets and enjoyed the day! Our guide was relaxed and informative. The tour passed under several bridges and gave some fun insight into the various colleges in the Cambridge University system. We got some dirt on Prince Charles' poor grades while in school, as well. Charlotte LOVED sticking her hands in the cool water (as I held on to her tightly!) and didn't get too upset when we had to haul her back at times to make sure her fingers didn't get pinched between boats.
After the ride, we went to a local pub (Fort St. George) on the recommendation of friends, where we enjoyed drinks and a mid-afternoon meal while Charlotte enjoyed a mid-afternoon nap in her stroller! We were amazed to observe the local cows who were out in the town green, chomping grass and generally ignoring all the people out for a walk. Just not something you typically see in a town park back in the States!!
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| Watching the fountain with Dad while waiting for our punting tour time |
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| The way Charlotte spent most of the tour |
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| Lunch outside at the Fort St George |
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| zzzz |
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| Walking between the friendly cows back toward the bus stop |
Must have had quite a few beers before walking sideways between the cows!
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