We slept in the upstairs front bedroom at Phil and Zoe’s. The bedroom has large windows that look out over the street with several large trees most cedars. The house is warm and comfortable with a wonderful garden (big back yard) overlooked from the kitchen. Phil gave G a tour of the garden, plums, blackberries, cooking apples, eating apples, pears, gooseberries a giant weeping willow and all kinds of other greenery. Zoe rode her bike to her lab while the three of us enjoyed breakfast of muesli, yogurt and blueberries. Phil tried to tempt us with sexy bacon, but we have been eating so much on this trip that a heavy breakfast just never seems to sound good.
That morning we drove to Zoe’s college, Downing, and parked using it for a base to tour the Cambridge area. Phil took us on a tour that involved many of the colleges including King’s, Darwin and John’s. As G wanted to do some shopping and Phil and I have limited shopping ability we decided to meet for lunch in a church on the main street of Cambridge.
After lunch we thought a “go” at punting would be a good idea. There is a river/canal that runs through the heart of Cambridge. At a number of places you can “hire” a punt. A punt is a small, flat bottomed boat that is powered and manuvered with a long pole. The, whatever you call the person who is punting’ stands on the back of the boat and sticks the pole in the water and pushes off the bottom to provide power and direction. It is really fun for a number of reasons not the least of which is all of the other beginner punters who have little ability to maneuver their punts. We did have one major collision that was termed by the other punt a “proper collision.” I think punting is a requirement of the tourism board of Cambridge so if you are considering a trip to the area I would recommend sharpening your punting skills before you arrive. Exactly how you would do that is another question. We all took a shot at it and had a wonderful time with much laughter.
That evening once Zoe came home from the lab we went to dinner at the Firehouse in Ely, at village with a monster church to the east of Cambridge. This was billed as a traditional dinner and boy was it. I ordered something called Samphire, which I had never heard of. I really am unclear as to what it is. It came to the table with the roots still on it. I think it may have been some kind of tidal seaweed. At any rate I thought it looked like some type of weed from the garden that Phil had pulled out by the roots that morning. As it turned out it was delightful including the way you eat it. You pick up a stem with the roots on it and rune it through your mouth removing the edible part. I took a picture of it for those of you who have not tried or seen Samphire. Wikepedia might be a good idea. The remainder of the meal was great, but clearly Samphire stold the show for me. G loved the homemade peppermints that came out with the after dinner coffee… just like Grandma Ittner used to make.
We had a nice drive home to find a hedgehog at the front door waiting for us and two more hanging out in the backyard. They are a small little animal that curls up in a ball when frightened. I have considered this strategy over a lifetime, however have not actually employed it. I can’t imagine it is that successful especially with approaching cars. At any rate we found two in Phil’s back yard with a flashlight.
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