The trip part 3

I guess the main reason from the trip was to visit my dear old grandma. When you think of the word 'grandma' my bet is your mind conjurs up some image of a white haired, 4 foot tall woman with glasses and a deep respect for the British Royal family. Well, my grandmother couldn't be far off that description. She really is a remarkable woman, and she is turning 98 this December, and from what I could gather, is well on her way to cracking the ton and then some. She has an amazing memory too. She remembers when she was a child during the FIRST world war, going down to the Brighton Docks with her mother to meet up with the fisherman as they came into shore as there were rations on meat and that was the only real chance they had to get substantial protein. So it was great that Miss R got to meet her that day, a real privilege I must say. And Brighton hadn't really changed since the last time I was there four years ago. I took Miss through my favourite part, the North Laine area, full of students and musty old second hand shops. It's still a great part of the world, and may I add, one of the few places in the UK where we scored a decent cup of coffee...most important. I did notice though a bit of mainstream creeping into the area, which is unfortunate, I think the appeal was the fact that it was so secret, or that the tourists stayed away from there, instead opting for the more exclusive Brighton Lanes with all their jewellery shops (more of which I'll talk about later). So, the next day, Miss M and Lord Bez took us up to Cambridge. I had never been to Cambridge before so I didn't know what to expect. Well, I could quite happily live there that's for sure. Such a lovely town, chock full of history and bikes! Miss R and I availed ourselves onto one of the many open top tourist buses of the trip for a bit of a guided tour. I learned the following facts about Cambridge, but please correct me of you know differently: - There have been 40 Nobel prize winners from Cambridge (and at last count, good old LaTrobe uni had a big fat zero). - THey first split the atom at Cambridge. - They first discovered DNA at Cambridge. - Students can't own cars within 5 miles of the city centre...hence all the bikes. - Schlumberger have a lab there that has a roof that can blow off should an experiment go wrong. Okay then. I guess I should post some photos, so here they are: THis first pic of of some old building. I think it's Kings College. Obviously the significance is a little lost on me. I must say I was quite taken by the green-ness of the grass and its distinct lack of weeds. Obviously no drought going on here then. This next pic is of the River Cam...hence Cambridge. Obviously had their thinking caps on there when they thought of a name for the place. This last pic shows the usual mode of travel on the River Cam, a punt. Kinda like a Gondola except not. There is no shortage of punt rides you can take. One is quite frequently accosted by, my guess is PhD students needing extra project funding, offering punting rides. In the end it kind of felt like guys in big trench coats outside of a strip joint whispering out the corner of their mouths "Hey, looking for a good time??"