Cambridge, England - Historic City of Science and Religion

For our final day on our tour of London, we took a day trip with our friends Thomas, Alexis and Pete to Cambridge, the famous university town. It's a little over an hour's drive north of London. Because it was a sunny Saturday, everybody else in London seemed to have the same idea, and the city was packed. Still, that provided a very lively atmosphere, and the weather was fantastic (even a bit hot).

Cambridge has a lot of history. The area was populated as far back as the bronze age, and was ruled by both the Romans and the Vikings at different points in history. The city really began to develop around the year 1000, with the oldest existing building (St Benets church) completed by 1050. Cambridge University was founded in 1209, and the city continued to develop over the next few hundred years.

We were hungry when we arrived, so we started with lunch and drinks at Pint Shop. The food was good and the selection of local and regional beers was excellent. Next we toured the main attraction in town - the King's College Chapel. It was built in the 1400s, and features dramatic huge stained glass windows. The architecture is quite impressive for the time, and reminded us of a slightly less refined version of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Unfortunately the interior view was blocked a bit by renovations, but it was still impressive. After the chapel, we wandered around the core of the city, taking in the manicured scenery of the University and watching the crowds take boat rides on the river and canals. It's called "punting," and it was hard to hold in our laughter when a middle-aged man on his cell phone was walking past us on a bridge, glanced over and caught sight of the throngs of boats, and stopped mid-sentence to exclaim "I've never seen so many punts!"

The center of Cambridge, with the Saturday market.

Great beer list at the Pint Shop.

King's College Chapel.

The soaring stained glass windows in the King's College Chapel.

The University grounds. It was during exam period, so we weren't allowed to go much further than this.

The River Cam winds through town. Look at the punters!

Lounging on a lazy Saturday.

Punting on the canals.

Drinking tea the proper way! 

The full British Tea experience! It was complete with cucumber sandwiches, scones with clotted cream, and chelsea buns.

Another view of the well kempt University grounds.

The Eagle, a very popular pub where Watson and Crick announced they'd discovered the double helix structure of DNA.

The shopping streets of Cambridge.

Spring was in full bloom in Cambridge!

Beautiful brick University buildings.

A view over the Gothic and renaissance spires and towers of Cambridge.

We had a great day in Cambridge. It's a beautiful tourist-friendly town, and worth day trip from London. There are plenty of churches and university buildings to explore, but also plenty to eat and a lot of tourist-friendly shopping.

London Part 2 - Classic City and Modern Flair

For the second half of our London tour, we delved into some of the unique neighborhoods of the city, hit up some of the big tourist sites and museums, and of course had a lot more food.

Our fourth day started with a river boat ride from Peter and Janice's apartment to Blackfriars Pier and a short walk to St. Paul's cathedral. The building is over 300 years old, and survived the bombings and fires of both world wars. It was an impressive church, especially the climb up to the dome and the views from the top. Unfortunately you can't take pictures on the inside.

St. Paul's

View from the outside of the dome.

Standing over 300ft above the floor of the cathedral, looking down through tiny glass window.

The view of London from the top.

The 365ft tall dome.

After leaving the cathedral, we went on a *very* long walk past a number of London's tourist sites. London is a very walkable, scenic city. We strolled along the Thames, pressed through the crowds next to the London Eye, and crossed over towards Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster. From there we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. Finally, we continued west and caught a bus to the far side of Hyde Park.

Millennium Bridge across the Thames.

Parliament and Big Ben.

Westminster Abbey.

Buckingham Palace. We didn't see the queen.

At this point we were starving, so we had lunch at a nearby Lebanese restaurant, Randa. Paul went here last year and loved it, so we returned. It's still fantastic - one of our favorite Lebanese restaurants anywhere (and yes, that includes Lebanon!). Our next stop was the science museum. There was a large interactive exhibit on climate change that we really enjoyed. Next door is the natural history museum. The building was magnificent and reminded us of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. We liked both museums, but if you're short on time, stick to the impressive natural history museum.

Hummus and fattoush. Delicious!

The neighborhoods to the south of Hyde Park have huge mansions, some of which have been converted into embassies.

In the science museum, you enter past a Stegosaurus through a giant molten sphincter!

The natural history museum entrance is a bit more traditional, and the building is very grand!

Behold!

Janice works at London Imperial College, right next to the museums, so when she finished we met up with her, toured her lab, and then had a happy hour drink. We sought out the best ramen in London for dinner. The internet led us to "Kanada-Ya" ramen shop. It was very good, but not quite up to par with some of our favorite places in the States. We took a post dinner walk to burn off some calories, passing through Trafalgar Square.

Happy Hour!

Kanada-Ya Ramen! Very delicious.

It's not a David & Paul trip without some jumping photos! This time at Trafalgar Square.

Janice feels left out if she doesn't get a turn!

After dinner we took another long stroll, this time down Regent Street.

The following day we were going to switch "hotels" from Janice and Peter's to Thomas and Pete's. Thomas and Pete live in Maida Vale, a cute and still *somewhat* affordable neighborhood. Our friend Alexis from New York joined us. We stayed at Thomas's place for another 4 nights to wrap up our week in London. It was great reconnecting with friends and finally getting a chance to meet Pete!

Before heading over to Thomas's we got another full English breakfast. Can't complain!

Peter was snapchatting his food. OK, so was Paul.

Later that afternoon, we went to a neat bar called the Prince Alfred. Thomas had planned lots of visits to super British pubs and restaurants. The Prince Alfred was unique with short little doors that cordoned off sections into little cubbies. Later that evening we strolled along the canals "Little Venice."

The bar at the Prince Alfred.

One of the tiny doors!

Drinking some local beer.

Little Venice in London. Not totally unlike the Camden Locks, just a bit classier.

The next day we took a walking tour (we're sensing a theme here...) around a few neighborhoods, including a stroll through Hampstead Heath and some good food. London is a great place to just wander around, with lots of parks, interesting shopping streets, and delicious food. It helped that the weather was lovely - sunny and warm.

Springtime in London!

Some very expensive houses in these neighborhoods...

Lunch at the Holly Bush, an adorable pub in Hampstead. Thomas reserved us the window table!

Scotch egg. Classic. So fried.

Another cute pub in a cute neighborhood.

Thomas, Alexis, and David in Hampstead Heath.

Dinner that night was quite an experience. Thomas made reservations at Brasserie Zedel, a throw-back French restaurant in the basement of a 1930s building. We started with drinks at Bar Americain, an opulent french/american bar with an international aviation twist. Sound confusing? Think about going to an ex-pat bar in Paris in 1940s, and you get the idea. Sazeracs, marble, art deco, and international flair. Dinner next door in the Brasserie was accompanied by live music and classic French dishes. The whole experience felt like we were transported 75 years into the past.

Sticking with the time-travel theme, we went for a couple of drinks at Cahoots, a hidden underground bar modeled after a London tube in war time, complete with subway tiles, a train, and a DJ who might have busted into swing dancing at any moment.

The art deco interior of Zedel.

The neat atmosphere of Cahoots.

Passing by some dramatically lit buildings on the way home.

For our last full day in London, we explored yet more neighborhoods (this city has a lot of them!). We walked through London Fields Park, did some shopping on Columbia road, explored Shoreditch, met up with Alexis's Italian cousin for some drinks, ate some food, checked out the heart of the city, bought some souvenirs at Harrod's, and met up with Janice and Peter again for some ice cream. We really covered a lot of ground!

I don't think that means the same thing in American English....

A delicious breakfast at a cute little bakery.

Mural, bikes, hipster. Check, check, check.

Another interesting mural, this one at the Shoreditch Boxpark.

David and Alexis enjoy the warm late-spring weather.

Harrod's at night.

Saying bye to Peter and Janice.

We highly recommend you set aside multiple days if you're visiting London. Each neighborhood holds exciting surprises, the food is varied and great, and the attractions and museums are top notch. Our time in London came to a close, but our journey isn't over yet! Stay tuned for our last UK post - a day trip to lovely Cambridge with Alexis, Thomas and Pete.