Cambridge and the Lake District

Today was the beginning of my NORTH TRIP!!!! We started it off with a bang by visiting Cambridge and then heading out to the Lake District.

When we arrived at Cambridge we visited one of the colleges and had a short lecture from one of the professors that teaches there. Let's just say I don't think I'll be transferring over anytime soon... they have a rigorous schedule! After a short while my brain started to hurt so I thought it would be fun to go Punting down the river.

"What in the world is Punting??"

Well, it's the British version of a Gondola. You know those little boats they ride in Italy, with the guys in the striped shirts singing, there are candles, and it's extremely romantic? Well. It's that, but not romantic, difficult, and British. A group of us decided that it sounded like an extremely promising idea, and loaded in our boats. I can't steer to save my life, it was a challenging experience. We got desperate enough that we headed to the shore and pulled our boat along. Yeah. It was grim. People stopped and watched. And yet, I loved every second of it! My new goal is to become an expert punter! Just give me couple years.

I accidentally steered us into a tree...

They made me sit down because I was a failure at punting. But it's okay! I got to sit by Abbie and Karley :)

We all had a rough time punting so we made Karley get out and pull us down the river...

We finally got back to shore. Tough ride folks!

We loaded back into the dreadful Coach/Bus and headed towards the LAKE DISTRICT! Our hostel was about 30 feet from the water, a spectacular view and we got here just in time for the sunset. Did you know that the Lake District was home to William Wordsworth? The famous poet! He resided there with his sister and family at Dove Cottage. And we were lucky enough to go the the cottage and have one of his favorite meals, in his little dining room, while reading his poetry out loud. It was such a cool experience because we all got to see what life would be like at that time and experience it firsthand!

Just a view on my walk to Dove Cottage. Yeah. That's real life.

We settled into our hostel, (as settled as you'll ever be in a hostel) and fell fast asleep after a good, authentic meal! Cheers!

Look what I found! A boat with Matt's last name on it, I'm a nerd I know.

Sitting outside my hostel. This is my view. Didn't photoshop it or steal it off the internet. It was THAT epic!