Act IV- A little local tourism

England understands my children

So far, I cannot lie, life in Cambridge has been an absolutely lovely dream! But, coming from our fabulous and busy social life in G-burg, there is a nagging hole in our daily lives without our friends to share everything with. Since it is sadly impossible to bring all the people we love over here with us we are trying to scope out some similarly social families here. Happily another Gettysburg professor (Thanks Rachel!)put us in touch with a friend of hers from graduate school who grew up here and is also here on a sabbatical from Harvard. Naomi and her husband Sam were kind enough to give us some renting advice before we arrived and this last week we were finally able to meet up with them for a picnic on the Jesus Green (one of the larger green spaces in town not to be confused with Christ's Pieces). Their kids are a little younger than ours so it probably wasn't the social score that the boys were hoping for but it was really nice for Kurt and I and we hope to get to know them better. As an added bonus Naomi studies Ancient Greek Theatre!
  In our first week here Kurt happened upon a "Summer at the Museums" guide that listed a healthy number the kid-related activities happening at the various museums in and around Cambridge. This has become a crutch for me in my attempts to keep Leif and Klaus occupied in the absence of their friends and the majority of their toys. Last week we went to a paper weaving event at the previously mentioned Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology and a silhouette craft hour at the Fitzwilliam Museum. The Fitzwilliam is another free admission Cambridge institution that houses a decent collection of art and antiquities. Arriving somewhat early we took a few minutes to peruse the Dutch Art room and plan to roam the rest of the place at a later date. In the courtyard, the boys made dragon silhouette puppets and were then able to make their own show behind an set of screens. Check out the video for a taste of the final product. There was also an official puppet show set up in one of the galleries. It was a really clever presentation of a Chinese folktale that involved the use of two overhead projectors and some creative staging (Leslie, I think Puppet Cinema would have loved it!)
 

Earlier this week we went to another craft event at the Museum of Classical Archaeology where the Cambridge Classics Department displays its large plaster cast collection. The Museum was great aside from the natural lighting which I am sure is cozy in the winter but on the day we went just turned the place into an oven (I encouraged the kids to think of it as actually experiencing the climate of ancient Greece). The theme of the craft was classical science so we learned about various Greek/Roman medicines, building innovations, and inventions. We made paper astrolabes which look cool but were not meant to be anywhere near functional (nor could the guide even really tell us what the what the function was). There was a really cool Roman arch building block set that the kids and I enjoyed playing with as well as a marble run meant to illustrate the workings of the aqueducts. Posters on the wall indicate that the museum often hosts drawing nights. I can't make it to the next one but plan to keep it on my radar for the future.

  Today we went to a paper stained glass event at All Saint's Church, a 19th century church decorated in the Arts and Crafts style, my favorite era of design. While I enjoyed the beautiful stenciling and tile that covers every inch of the entire interior, the boys wrestled with some glue and tissue paper, emerging victorious with some lovely paper windows. The docent was super sweet and took a few pictures of the boys that might be used in later promotional materials. Next week- windsocks!
 

Over the weekend we got to do a few more touristy things with Kurt. Having seen the crowds on previous adventures, we arrived a the punt rental place as it opened on Saturday morning. Thanks to Kurt's muscle and stellar balance, the boys and I enjoyed a smooth punt down the Cam, passing under its string of famous bridges and encountering very little river traffic. We marveled at a blue crane on the shore and laughed at a fellow tourist who had given up on the correct punting method, deciding instead to use the pole as a sort of ineffective kayak paddle.The only problem with our early excursion is that we missed out on the traditional punting cocktail, the Pims cup.  Not to worry though as I am assuming that most of our guests will want to punt on their visit and that at least one set of them will opt for a post-noon time-frame.

  After we left the Cam we took a quick gander at Trinity College's beautiful courtyard (its chapel was closed for renovations) where tradition has seen many a contender try to run its perimeter in the 43 seconds of the noon bells' toll. Only one person, a Mr. Sam Dobins, has to date accomplished this feat.
  By this time our stomachs were grumbling and so we had lunch at the famed Eagle Pub where Watson and Crick of DNA-discovery and, dissapointingly, racist-comment-fame, spent many an hour. the food was great, the beer even better, and the atmosphere dreamy.

 On Sunday we checked out one of the theater mega-plexs in town, The Light Cinema, having promised to take the kids to the Teen Titans Movie. The theater complex was awesome with many a comfy-seated theatre (you actually specify the row you want when buying tickets!), an IMAX, a handful of restaurants and a ten-pin bowling alley and arcade. Many rainy weekends await us there.

 After our cinematic experience we went to another park in the vicinity, this one sporting a free splash pad in addition to its awesome playground equipment.

  Tomorrow we leave for a 6-day trip to Scotland where we will meet up with some good friends from Colgate University. Knowing these friends it will be a Scotch and laughs filled weekend so check back next week to see what wee sort of trouble we get into.