England 2019 (London, Bath, Cambridge)

I actually spent about a year or two in London when I was growing up, but I was very young (maybe three or four years old), so I don’t remember it. In the summer before I went to college, we finally went back to London for a week on vacation.

Doric colonnade Museum interior Ivory chess set Marble carvings Museum hall Lead curse tablet
At the British Museum, we saw the Lewis chessmen, the Elgin marbles, some Roman curse tablets, and the Rosetta stone (not pictured). (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

We attended Sunday service (Sung Eucharist) at Westminster Abbey; this was probably the most beautiful church service that I’ve ever been to. No doubt the sacred ambiance contributed to this. On the way out, I saw an inscription reading H.S.E. Isaacus Newton. Inferring that H.S.E. stood for something like hic situs est (“here lies”), I realized that this was Newton’s grave!1

Observatory above trees Ornate bridge across river Stone tower
We also visited other classic London spots such as the Greenwich Royal Observatory, the Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

Unfortunately, the most famous London monument of them all, Big Ben, was under renovation when we visited. I did, however, get a picture in front of the famous statue Boadicea and Her Daughters, which is featured in none other than the highly prestigious Cambridge Latin Course textbook series!

Asian man in front of British Parliament Asian man in front of statue of chariot
Some pictures of yours truly (not famous) in front of various things (famous). (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

There’s quite a lot to see in London; doubtless one could spend a whole week there without seeing it all. I haven’t even included any pictures of Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and some other cool places. But there’s plenty else to see in England. Having been a Latin student for six years, I naturally had to make the holy Latin student pilgrimage to Bath to see, well, the Roman baths.

Large pool with green water, surrounded by colunnade Stone fragments with engravings Stone with Latin inscription Bronze head of woman Lead curse tablet Hardcover book with fantasy cover Empty stone pool Stacks of stone on the floor Large pool with green water, surrounded by colunnade
There were so many Latin student references that I don’t even know where to start. The bronze head of Sulis Minerva, the curse tablets, the stacks of stones for floor heating, the inscription attesting to Lucius Marcus Memor (a character in the Cambridge Latin Course series)… (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

Before you ask, yes, I drank the green water. I’m still alive, so I guess what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? At Bath, we had lunch at a very cute, old-fashioned British tea shop.

I also went on a day trip to Cambridge with my dad. I got to see some artifacts associated with famous people, which was cool.

Asian man sitting under tree Apple tree
Yours truly sitting under a mulberry tree that, according to legend, Milton once sat under! Also, the apple tree is supposedly descended from Newton’s famous apple tree. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

Cambridge has a very beautiful campus in general. Honestly, Henry Hornbostel, the man who designed CMU’s campus, could probably have done with a visit to Cambridge!2

University courtyard Gothic chapel Narrow stone alleyway
Some pictures taken on the Cambridge campus. (Click on any image to view at full resolution.)

  1. Okay, it turns out that that’s his monument. His tomb is actually a few feet away, elsewhere in the abbey.↩︎

  2. Kidding…CMU, while no Princeton, is above average on the campus architecture front as far as I’m concerned.↩︎