If you stroll along the river Cam towards the south for about two miles or so, you run into the lovely village of Grantchester. It is beautiful to walk along the fields and see the country side. We even had to make our way through several cows as they grazed along the path. It was lovely to see a village that is less commercial and truly more British.
On the way to Grantchester
Tea Garden in Grantchester
Grantchester, England
During the second part of second break, my mom flew overseas to stay with me for a week. I have currently been abroad for eight months, and have not seen any member of my family until she came, so it was nice to see someone after only using FaceTime for eight months. I got the chance to show her where I live and the things that I do for fun, which was really exciting.
St. Paul’s Cathedral over Millennium Bridge
On one day she was here, we travelled to London for the day. We lucked out and had absolutely beautiful weather when we were there. It was sunny, with just a few clouds in the sky, albeit a little windy. Our first stop of the day was to take the Tube to Black Friars, and walk over Millennium Bridge. The last time my mother was in London, Millennium Bridge didn’t even exist, so this was a first for her. I love it when you cross the bridge to the other side and see St. Paul’s Cathedral on the other side.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
We called it our day of theatre, because everything we did related to theatre in some way or another. We went and visited Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. I have never been there, and, again, the last time my mother was in London, the reconstruction of the Globe did not exist either, so this was a first for both of us. It was a lot smaller on the inside than I had expected, but I really liked how it looked very much like it belonged during the Tudor period, and how exact they were with those details. If I had more time (and money), I would love to go see a play performed there.
Our other theatre-related event of the day was to see Wicked. I have already seen it once, but I loved it so much that I knew that I had to take my mom to see it. She had wanted to see it a long time ago, and never got the chance, so this was the perfect opportunity. We enjoyed an afternoon matinee of witches and munchkins and the Land of Oz, which was even better than the first time that I saw it.
Burghley House
On the last full day of my mother’s time in England, we travelled up to Stamford and visited Burghley House. It is one of the largest Elizabethan houses in England, and it was used as the setting for Rosings Park in the 2005 version of “Pride and Prejudice.” It was a two mile walk from the train station, which, after not being used to walking everywhere, made my mother very tired, but it was totally worth it. The outside of the house is beautiful, and the inside holds a lot of really interesting art, and a room dedicated to Queen Elizabeth I.
I had a good time with my mom, but her visiting me reminded me that I’m going to be going home soon, which I am not quite ready for. I’ve been here a long time, so long that it’s my home now, and so going back to the US is going to be very strange. But before then, I’m going to make the most of my days here!
I felt like a mariner on the second have of my Swedish adventure. I spent a couple days out sailing in the Stockholm Archipelago, visiting beautiful islands. This is a top vacation destination in the summertime. Stockholm is also lovely while covered in fresh snow!
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm Harbor – Royal Palace
Stockholm Archipelago
Vaxholm Fortress
Finnhamn Island
Finnhamn Island
Stockholm Archipelago
I loved Scandinavia so much that I had to return! Over our two week break, I explored Stockholm and its archipelago. I spent my first few days just in the city. The harbor is gorgeous. I saw the famous (or infamous) Vasa warship from the 1600s and the largest IKEA store in the world (IKEA is a Swedish company).
Stockholm Harbor
Stockholm Harbor
Stockholm Harbor
Vasa warship – Stockholm
Vasa warship – Stockholm
Stockholm
IKEA – Stockholm
After World War II, a great cemetery was constructed in honor of the American men and women who fought to help protect their English allies. Technically the ground is American soil and we saw our first real American flag in a long time. It was a proud and patriotic moment for all of us.
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
American Cemetery – Cambridge, England
Hello again! For the past almost two weeks, everyone at the Center has been on Spring Break! We’ve all been very excited for this break, and we’ve all been traveling to so many different places. For me, the place that I have always wanted to visit is Ireland. I am part Irish, and I wanted to spend a good amount of time there, more than just a weekend.
Dublin Castle
To start the break, four of us travelled to Dublin. We visited Dublin Castle, Dublin Gardens, Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, and the Guinness Storehouse, just to name a few things. None of us really knew much about Irish history, so having a tour of Dublin Castle was very educational, because we got to learn a lot about Irish history. The most interesting things had to do with the 1916 Easter uprisings, which led to the eventual independence of Ireland a few years later.
Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland
The next day, the other three went on a Cliffs of Moher bus tour, but I went on a bus tour to Belfast and Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Giant’s Causeway was definitely my favorite part of the entire trip. The causeway is made of up hexagon-shaped volcanic rocks coming up out of the ocean. Some are a few inches big, while others are several feet tall. It was so much fun to climb over all of them and look out over the view of the sea and the rocks. I could even see the coast of Scotland from the causeway.
Galway Bay
After another night in Dublin, I split off from the group and travelled to Galway on the western coast of Ireland. Galway is a very small town, and is most famous for the Claddagh friendship ring and the “Galway Girl” Irish folk song. I enjoyed walking around the small town and popping into pubs to hear the live Irish music. My hostel was right in the center of the city, so I was within walking distance of everything.
Dunguaire Castle
I travelled on two bus tours while I was in Galway. The first was a Cliffs of Moher and the Burren tour. Unfortunately, the rain and fog were so thick, and the wind was so strong, that I could barely see ten feet in front of me, and the Cliffs were not visible. However, I did enjoy seeing the Burren, which is the rocky landscape that covers the area. Our tour guide told us that the Burren has the same landscape as that of the moon, so that was interesting to see. I also got to get out and see Dunguaire Castle, which is iconic in that region of Ireland.
Kylemore Abbey
The second tour I took was of a northwest part of Ireland called Connemara. We stopped at Kylemore Abbey, which is a castle right on the edge of a lake in the mountains of Ireland. It was a gorgeous day (besides being cold and windy) and I got to walk around the grounds and explore the gardens. We also stopped and saw the Killary Fjord, which is 16 miles long, Loughs Mask and Nafooey, and the town of Cong, where they filmed the movie “The Quiet Man” starring John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara. I got to see the mountainous parts of Ireland on this tour, and it was absolutely gorgeous.
I had a fantastic time in Ireland, and have had a great time staying at home in Cambridge for the rest of break and hanging out with people here. Up next is my week with my mom, who is visiting from the US!
On the last leg of our journey, C-95 journeyed to Stonehenge, one of the most famous prehistoric landmarks in the world. One of the interesting things about site is that the stones frame the sunset on the Equinoxes and we were there the day after the equinox so the sun would have been framed fairly well at sunset. However we were there in the middle of the afternoon. After Stonehenge, we visited Hampton Court Palace on the southwest side of London. This was the palace of King Henry VIII, and the monarchs William and Mary. It was a beautiful estate, both inside and out.
Stonehenge – (left to right) Emily P., Jessica, Sarah
Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Hampton Court Palace
Main Dining Room – Hampton Court Palace
a courtyard – Hampton Court Palace
For the next part of our journey, we traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon (the birthplace of William Shakespeare) and saw the play “The Jew of Malta.” The next day we traveled to Bath and saw the ancient baths that the Romans built on top of the natural springs in the southwestern part of England.
Live performances outside Shakespeare’s childhood home
Stratford-Upon-Avon downtown
Cathedral in Bath
The Roman Baths
The Roman Baths (statues of emperors around the top viewing gallery)
Roman Baths
The Royal Crescent
The Royal Cresent w/ Emily P.
The Royal Crescent w/ Emily P.
The Royal Crescent
On March 20th, all of us at the Cambridge program set off on our Castles Trip. Our first stop was to see Coventry Cathedral, which is actually three cathedrals… The newest one is actually still under construction and looks vaguely familiar… *cough cough* Chapel of the Resurrection… There are a lot of connections between Coventry and Valparaiso University. We even have our own designated bench!
Partial Solar Eclipse in England!
Second Cathedral which was bombed by the Nazis
New Coventry Cathedral! Look Familiar?
Old cross left after the Nazi bombing
Valparaiso University bench
“Father Forgive” – Forgive the Nazis of what they have done (first reaction from the people of Coventry)
From March 12-15th, six of us Valpo adventurers flew northeast to Norway! We landed in Oslo late at night and trained west to Bergen the next day. It was an amazing trip and the scenery was breathtaking.
Training through the mountains
Training through the fjords
Bergen, Norway
Up to the top of the Fjord at Bergen
Bergen from above
Bergen and her harbor
Wandering through the Norwegian forest
The Valpo Crew
Stephanie takes a picture of the not taking picture sign
Bergen at Sunset
Bergen, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Training through Norway
Training through Norway
On top of the arctic world
Oslo Harbor
Oslo Castle
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