Pretty things at Cambridge

We all took an hour train to Cambridge University today and spent the day there. Fabulous? Yes, why yes it was. Did I feel smarter and more sophisticated while on its campus? Uh-huh.

A few photos for you... The first of the Bridge of Sighs in St. John's College. Cambridge is kinda funky as the University is separated into 31 colleges that each have their own little community with a chapel, hall, and dormitories. Though, the colleges didn't have like similar majors or anything... it just seemed they were there to form lil communities... kinda like in Harry Potter how they have houses like Gryffindor and Slythern (don't laugh at my juvenile comparison). Anyway, the bridge below is in St. Johns College and normally they are closed to the public but we had a student take us in with her little badge, which was just fabulous.

We were told it was called the Bridge of Sighs because people on death
row were lead over it back in the day to die on the other side, and based on the
view from the bridge, they would breath their last sigh. Sad, eh? Photo via Flikr.

The view inside the bridge. Breathtaking? yep.
Photo via here

Kings College had Evensong at their chapel that we were able to attend. Just so fabulous. Here's the inside of the chapel...

We sat just on the right side there behind the roped off section. Inside of
King's College Chapel, photo via here

The choir was the King's College Choir and they sang the whole time A Capella. So deep and rich, the tones were all multi layered and echoed so beautifully.

You know, I don't get why the choir doesn't face the audience. In this chapel as in all the others I have seen so far, the choir benches are on two sides and face each other and sometimes are a bit of a distance from the congregation seats. Curious. The choir had such great tones and echoed so nicely it wasn't a huge deal, though. Just loved reading the service words in the program that was handed out while the choir's voices wafted around. The verse below was repeated several times and gives ya a little shiver of awesome, and the quote after that was in the beginning of the printed program:

                       Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and
                      to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning,
                  is now, and ever shall be, world with out end. Amen.

                 "In the tradition, there are, along with what is strange,
                 strong expressions of our basic feelings about ourselves
                  and God. And it is precisely the cool and ancient order
                 of the services which gives us a space and a frame, as
                  well as cues, for reflections on our regrets and hopes
                                            and gratitudes."