New Year’s, Norwich, and a New Term
NEW YEAR’S EVE
Scotland is supposed to throw a pretty good party for New Year’s Eve and everyone who’s been has said it’s a tremendously beautiful place. I thought it would be a nice chance to see some of the UK during my break but, in the end, I knew I had to make sure I got a lot of work done over the holidays so that I could enjoy this coming term as much as I did the last term. My back-up plan was to go to London for New Year’s. Ultimately, I decided it’d be just as good to watch the fireworks with friends from a pub here in Cambridge. When we saw the London fireworks on TV, I knew I made a mistake. They were really the most amazing display I’d ever seen!* It’s interesting to compare different city’s fireworks to see how they try and outdo each other. This year, I think London outdid all of the rest when they ended their grand finale with what looked like a mini nuclear weapon – check it out for yourself below:
The first picture shows the impressive fireworks, the next shows a mini sun-like explosion on the Thames!
*To see the whole display, click on this link:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1150217790642063936
NORWICH
Aside from working and relaxing here in Cambridge, the only traveling I did was to visit an English buddy, Ark, in his hometown of Norwich. According to Ark, at one time it used to be the largest manufacturing city in England.
It’s a nice walking city and is home to the second tallest cathedral in England, a noteworthy castle, and a damn good Waffle House.
After visiting the cathedral, pictured above, I realized that every time I visit one in Europe, it’s more impressive than the last. I suppose this streak will probably end sometime soon, or since they’re all impressive in their own way, perhaps it will not.
Norwich Castle was a little 'boxier' than I would have expected an English castle to be (you'll see what I mean in the picture below) but, on the inside, it was pretty cool. We came at just the right time to get a free tour. Our tour guide spoke to us (among other things) about the garderobes – medieval toilets, often found in large buildings and castles, where people would sit across from each other doing their business, which then dropped down into a cess pit or moat around the castle. We also learned that people used to store their clothes ("robes") in the garderobes because the stench from the rooms would keep moths from eating through people’s clothing. Sounded like a tough call – walking around smelling like shit all of the time, or walking around with holes in your clothes…
THE WAFFLE HOUSE IN ENGLAND?
For lunch, we ate at the Waffle House. Have no fear; there was no big yellow 300-foot tall sign outside. Nope, this baby was started by a South African family who now own just three Waffle Houses worldwide (two in England and one in South Africa). Unlike the Waffle Houses back home where everything you order is full of grease, at this waffle house everything you order just comes on a waffle. All the sandwiches -- from the ham and cheese, to the tuna salad, to the hummus and avocado -- come on big ol' waffles. Because this Waffle House prided itself in using local ingredients (and whole meal waffles), including locally reared pigs, I decided to eat two meals so I could support the locally raised pigs (by eating one of course). If I die before I eat there again, you should all feel sad.
FAT CAT HONEY CAT
Before we concluded our day in Norwich, we headed to the Fat Cat Free House (pictures below) – the only pub in England to have been voted Pub of the Year, twice! Sadly, I had an exam on Monday so I only tried two of their beers including the Fat Cat Honey Cat. As one would expect, the beers were fantastic! Additionally, they sell beer in a reusable jug that comes with a one pound deposit so people can get beer to go and can keep reusing the same jug – a pretty sweet system, I’ll tellya hwat.
After having their sign knocked down numerous times by careless drivers, the Fat Cat upgraded to a cast iron sign -- that'll show em!
Given the Fat Cat's selection of top-notch locally made beers, their close proximity to the Waffle House, and the one pound deposit for which I’ll have to keep returning, I’m definitely planning a trip back to Norwich soon!
PROFESSOR HAWKING
The Gates Council is trying to keep it on the down-low, but Professor Hawking is kicking off the Gates Lecture Series this term. He’ll be speaking to us next week, but we’re afraid if there’s too much publicity, it might turn into a circus, so please don’t alert the media.
Scotland is supposed to throw a pretty good party for New Year’s Eve and everyone who’s been has said it’s a tremendously beautiful place. I thought it would be a nice chance to see some of the UK during my break but, in the end, I knew I had to make sure I got a lot of work done over the holidays so that I could enjoy this coming term as much as I did the last term. My back-up plan was to go to London for New Year’s. Ultimately, I decided it’d be just as good to watch the fireworks with friends from a pub here in Cambridge. When we saw the London fireworks on TV, I knew I made a mistake. They were really the most amazing display I’d ever seen!* It’s interesting to compare different city’s fireworks to see how they try and outdo each other. This year, I think London outdid all of the rest when they ended their grand finale with what looked like a mini nuclear weapon – check it out for yourself below:
The first picture shows the impressive fireworks, the next shows a mini sun-like explosion on the Thames!
*To see the whole display, click on this link:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-1150217790642063936
NORWICHAside from working and relaxing here in Cambridge, the only traveling I did was to visit an English buddy, Ark, in his hometown of Norwich. According to Ark, at one time it used to be the largest manufacturing city in England.
It’s a nice walking city and is home to the second tallest cathedral in England, a noteworthy castle, and a damn good Waffle House.
After visiting the cathedral, pictured above, I realized that every time I visit one in Europe, it’s more impressive than the last. I suppose this streak will probably end sometime soon, or since they’re all impressive in their own way, perhaps it will not.
Norwich Castle was a little 'boxier' than I would have expected an English castle to be (you'll see what I mean in the picture below) but, on the inside, it was pretty cool. We came at just the right time to get a free tour. Our tour guide spoke to us (among other things) about the garderobes – medieval toilets, often found in large buildings and castles, where people would sit across from each other doing their business, which then dropped down into a cess pit or moat around the castle. We also learned that people used to store their clothes ("robes") in the garderobes because the stench from the rooms would keep moths from eating through people’s clothing. Sounded like a tough call – walking around smelling like shit all of the time, or walking around with holes in your clothes…
THE WAFFLE HOUSE IN ENGLAND?
For lunch, we ate at the Waffle House. Have no fear; there was no big yellow 300-foot tall sign outside. Nope, this baby was started by a South African family who now own just three Waffle Houses worldwide (two in England and one in South Africa). Unlike the Waffle Houses back home where everything you order is full of grease, at this waffle house everything you order just comes on a waffle. All the sandwiches -- from the ham and cheese, to the tuna salad, to the hummus and avocado -- come on big ol' waffles. Because this Waffle House prided itself in using local ingredients (and whole meal waffles), including locally reared pigs, I decided to eat two meals so I could support the locally raised pigs (by eating one of course). If I die before I eat there again, you should all feel sad.
FAT CAT HONEY CAT
Before we concluded our day in Norwich, we headed to the Fat Cat Free House (pictures below) – the only pub in England to have been voted Pub of the Year, twice! Sadly, I had an exam on Monday so I only tried two of their beers including the Fat Cat Honey Cat. As one would expect, the beers were fantastic! Additionally, they sell beer in a reusable jug that comes with a one pound deposit so people can get beer to go and can keep reusing the same jug – a pretty sweet system, I’ll tellya hwat.
After having their sign knocked down numerous times by careless drivers, the Fat Cat upgraded to a cast iron sign -- that'll show em!
Given the Fat Cat's selection of top-notch locally made beers, their close proximity to the Waffle House, and the one pound deposit for which I’ll have to keep returning, I’m definitely planning a trip back to Norwich soon!PROFESSOR HAWKING
The Gates Council is trying to keep it on the down-low, but Professor Hawking is kicking off the Gates Lecture Series this term. He’ll be speaking to us next week, but we’re afraid if there’s too much publicity, it might turn into a circus, so please don’t alert the media.
posted by Tristan Brown | 3:33 PM
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