Cambridge as a university was never a prospective choice for me, this historic city of knowledge wasn't on my wave length for many reasons. Arriving brighter than early I was ready to hit the cobbles of Cambridge to be schooled by another class of university colleges! Leaving my Megabus alongside Parkside I followed a direction I wasn't familiar with, finding myself at a Dunkin' Donuts I was tripping back to a Newark state of mind! Refueled after I enjoyed my breakfast bagel and iced coffee I was hungry for Downing College, I just didn't know that yet! Entering the grounds of Downing College felt strange because it was a working place of study, something told me that I should tread with respect. Mixed with a Roman flare I admired the grounds of the college with a level of appreciation with it being part of one of the worlds most famous universities! I can't stand people who have selfie-sticks! Are you dumb?!Founded in 1800, Downing College has been schooling students for over 215 years in a wide range of arts and disciplines. After doing some research I found that these university students have the opportunity to study Anglo-Saxon studies, Medicine and even Philosophy, something that I didn't miss from my Hospitality and Tourism Management degree that was awarded to me from the University of Birmingham. In the sun the regal student accommodation looked practically palatial from the outside, the tuition fees and rent must be murderously expensive?! Difference is amazing, it separates but the contrast of backgrounds brings us together for we all have a story to tell. Cambridge was lifting me up, getting away from the usual was giving me life for certain! Cambridge's Parkside stood a few paces away from where I was standing, I knew that I would revisit that part of town. I'm not the museum type so I carried on to see more historical sights! Cambridge, we ready!
Cambridge presented itself without a single flaw, I was served something truly lovely! With each trip I take in England I see that I'm from a beautiful country with oodles of history and charm! The Historic Centre of Cambridge was filled with a crazy torrent of tourists from an international background, not to brag but we've got a major country to represent to the world! Choosing Scudamore's I relaxed on a shared punting tour along the River Cam, I was ready for some truth to be spilled about Cambridge! Our gorgeous host guided the punt through the winding waters of Cambridge, but something told me Oxford was going to get a verbal warning! If you've got kids, leave them at the punting station for it could turn out be a tiresome forty-five minutes if you don't! King's College served Educational Overness with its presence along the River Cam, I was royally impressed! Yes, CB1 let the River flow! Go B!The punting game looked like a popular way to spend some of that Cambridge day but for some it was a Hen Don't! I was schooled about the ways of governments past when the residents of Cambridge would board up their windows to escape an un-welcomed tax. That sounds like daylight robbery?! The flow of our punt along the River Cam was a relaxing affair, passing by numerous regal halls of residences that looked as palatial as Downing's! Gaining its name from the River Cam and the many bridges that connect the two sides of the city it doesn't take a fool to realize that resulted in the name, Cambridge. I also learnt that the status of the grass was higher than anything else, making that reference I've not seen such a well kept lawns since my Disney days! Costing only £18 as part of a shared punting boat tour I really didn't see anything wrong with that price, I noticed the talk spoken by Scudamore's was comical and enthusiastic compared to their half-rate competitors. OK?!
Embracing dry land I was intrigued by King's College as I had only seen it from a lower platform as my punt flowed through the River Cam. Cambridge's winding city center was heaving with tourists so I ditched that hype to take sanctuary in the chapel at King's College, dodging the passing bicycles I embraced the quiet of that place of worship, still awash with tourists I blocked them out of my mind for I saw a dazzling portrait of the Madonna with child, she was serving post-pregnancy Realness with a baby Jesus in her arms! As a previous university student I don't know if I would have coped with a constant flow of tourists trying to muscle in on my student quarters? I don't think that would of been for me! Birmingham showed me greatness! From what I had seen so far in Cambridge had been more than I had previously imagined, with the picture postcard views I couldn't get enough! Oh Oxford, I told you OK?!I captured an image of a normal Cambridge student street, fashioned in the stonework of yesterday these seemingly looking Victorian terrace houses called right at me! Tucked away from the vibrancy of Quayside I got a real cool vibe from this regal student city, I was under some kind of spell for certain! I didn't see many Midsummer Murders committed but the city of Cambridge has loaned its backdrop for many a successful television drama. I contemplated walking along the River Cam to the village of Grantchester but when I remembered that drama I recognised some of the sights from my Cambridgeshire day. As the day drew to a close I found the Clarendon Arms pub to sink a few pints of Cider, I appreciated the 18th century energy of that Cambridge public house. Let's just say some that pub golf lot were part of a certain Middle Class background! Go sit down! My day in Cambridge may have been very long but I made the most of its charms, loving a new city! That's it I'm done!
Thank You Cambridge!
Joseph Harrison
