Un Bel Di: Botanic Garden, then Punting, Followed by Dinner at Hall

To celebrate the continued sun spell, we went to the University of Cambridge Botanic Garden. Immediately afterwards we went punting towards Grantchester, but only made it about a quarter of the way due to punting-skills issues. Exhausted from the hard work, we had dinner at Peterhouse. Pleasantly tired from a full day, I fell asleep with a smile on our face, despite the inadvertent foot injury acquired from punting (Who gets foot injuries from punting?! Wait, I do.)

Here are some images of shoots and budding plants at the Botanic Garden. Blessed with yet another sunny day (something's certainly not right...it has not rained for days here!), the offerings of the Garden were vivid and spectacular. Redolent with the green scent of abundant plant life, and the sweetness of flowers, the Garden smelled of summer. Perhaps this may be the spectre of global warming rearing its ugly head in early spring, but it was tremendous nonetheless.

Young, the leaves glow red.

With a shoot, life launches from

the fingers of trees.

~Kelvin, channeling his Sage Aspect

The day also smelled like allergies. It literally brought tears to my eyes.

If only we could look everywhere at the same time -- so much beauty to take in at every living moment. Left to Right: Nicole, Ania, Michelle.

Under the tree, they gathered.

Left to Right: Ania, Dan's kids, Andy, Olivier, Dan.

Ania couldn't stop snapping pictures, too.

Olivier's camera battery died, but he didn't seem too upset.

One of my favorites: dead, shriveled leaves. But if you looked closely...

...it is actually quite alive. This plant likens a phoenix, rising from its ashes.

A study of dead plant debris in the Garden.

Andy and Dan engaged in an interesting conversation.

Positively the hairiest flower I've seen.

Cantabrigians herding through the Garden.

Left: Alex, Dan, Michelle, Erik, Dan's baby.

You say "ladybird", I say "ladybug."

(notice the British placement of the comma and the American placement of the period)

Olivier and Andy hanging out on what we initially though was an island.

It turned out to be merely a visual illusion, and a feat of landscaping: it was a delta.

This little gosling got separated from its parents.

The magnolias blossomed in full glory.

Almost a Georgia O'Keefe.

Pansies reaching for the sun.

Very red...something-flowers.

This succulent afforded an interesting perspective.

In full blossom, this.

Plants, glorification of 

vernal resplendence.

~Kelvin, incidental haiku dabbler.

This plant looks like a pin cushion stuck with flower needles.

A closer look at the "flower needles" of the pin cushion plant.

These almost look like alien-pods.

Apparently, this is a real plant. I did not touch it to verify this fact, 

but will take the word of the Botanic Garden that it is real.

Yet another orange explosion.

This bee's colony did not collapse, phew.

Name the algorithm that maps out the curvature of this tendril.

Tremendous tropical-green-flower-claws.

A lazy cat snoozing in the tropical plants section.

Venus fly traps!

This Sun Dew "ate" really well.

That cactus looks more like snakes or a bunch of tails?

Nicole and Andy beam in the sun.

Erik in his usual torpid state.

From the Botanic Garden, we walked to Scudmore's by Peterhouse, where we hired two punts.

Nicole gives it a go, first.

Left to Right: Michelle, Andy, Olivier, Nicole.

In my punt, plenty of nervous laughter.

Left to Right: Alex, Dan, Matthew.

I think we're about to hit another punt.

Michelle gave it a go. Olivier also thought it a good idea.

Discussing the finer points of punting?

Taking a break at the bank, we had cheese and grapes. 

There was also bread and nutella, and miscellaneous baked sweets.

It's my turn to punt.

Shaky start.

Eventually, we made it back to Scudmore's. While I was navigating, we crashed into no fewer than 4 trees, nearly got knocked off the boat from the stick getting stuck in the mud, and actually fell INTO the boat (phew!) right as I was trying to dock the punt at Scudmore's. This is how I acquired a bruised foot.

This is how the professionals do it -- 4 punts at the same time.

A view from the Granta pub, where we relaxed after the intense workout from punting.

It was dinner time, and we walked back to Peterhouse, 

where we realized that we were in the presence of an incidental Fellow.

(Of course she had no idea that only Fellows get to walk on the grass!)

The remains of the day, captured in Grisborne Court, Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Too tired to bother with cooking, we dined in Hall. I had lamb with cheesey cauliflower and Peterhouse "roasted" potatoes (they are more likely to be fried). Exhausted, I fell right asleep after dinner.

Easter in Cambridge, Thanksgiving in Easter

Easter is a Scarlet Day. On such days, those with doctorates and higher degrees from the University of Cambridge wear their festal gowns. In the case of those with PhD's, the gown is still black, but is highlighted with two bold scarlet panels on the front of the gown, running from the neck to the base of the gown. Those with Higher Doctorate degrees, e.g. Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Science, wear gowns that are completely scarlet, highlighted with a specifically colo(u)red silk lining the inner sleeves and lapel of the gown -- red for Divinity, dove gray for Science, etc. Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera to King's College Chapel, where I lined up for Easter service, and failed to capture the spectacle of Scarlet Day. But, know this: the scarlet of Scarlet Day is very much bright, red, and conspicuous. The Cantabrigian doctors also wear their mortar boards on such days, if they choose. However, academic hoods are not worn on Scarlet Days. Amongst other days designated as Scarlet Days are Christmas, Feast Days, and Degree Ceremony days.

Here's an example of people wearing their festal gowns at Cambridge, taken from the University website (http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/degrees/):

Notice that they are wearing their academic hoods (the pouch-like thing on their back), indicating that these Cantabrigian doctors are entering the Senate House to be admitted to the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Easter does not require the wearing of academic hoods, while General Admission to Degrees, i.e. graduations, days do.

The service was lovely; there was a chamber orchestra accompanying the choir of King's College. In short, the music was divine, bright, and cheerful. I was able to catch the last seat open to University members. The funny thing about this was that, unlike the usual, I did not have a program on my pew. I did not know what was going on for a large part of the service. However, as I sat down half way through the service, I noticed that the person in the seat in front of me was sitting on a program. Unsure whether it was the program that would have been on my pew, I snatched it from under him right as he was standing up for the choir. As luck would have it, it was the Easter Service program. Yet, the morning remained gray and cold, failing to harken the coming of Spring.

Right after service, it was time to set up for the Easter Egg hunt at Peterhouse, where I met up with my fellow committee members Mark and Nicole to hide the eggs in Peterhouse's Scholar's Garden, Deer Park, and Grisborne Court.  However, it should be noted that we got permission from the Graduate Tutor, to only hide them in the Scholar's Garden, away from the daffodils. This same permit also does not allow for alcohol...our solution was to put the Pimm's and Lemonade into a thermos, and proceeded to have "Iced Tea" along with our luxurious Belgian White Chocolate Cake, which is chocolate sponge filled with a layer of whipped cream, a layer of chocolate cream, wrapped in a belgian white chocolate fondant. The day took a quick turn and became fantastically sunny when the Egg Hunt began. Though tourists visiting Peterhouse stole most of our eggs, our spirits were not dampened.
The following pictures will seem familiar, since I had posted them in the MCR gallery earlier (https://www.srcf.ucam.org/peterhousemcr/?page_id=21):

The storm clouds gathered around Peterhouse, threatening our Egg Hunt. 

However, soon as we walked into the Deer Park, the clouds began to dissipate. 

The special egg in its hiding place

Jenny found an egg. She was so surprised.

Erik was frighteningly excited to find an egg. 

Diana was delighted to find the special egg.

Vivian, our Prez, was practically beside himself when he found an egg. 

Jenny, running towards the prize. Watch out for the wall!!!

I'm sure that no bird laid that one. (Picture taken by Natalia)

Cheesey cheese egg in Mark's hands (he's the social secretary). (picture taken by Jenny)

Erik noticed something different about the gate into the Scholar's Garden. Nicole, our Welfare Officer, did too.

Mmmmm, beautiful cake.

The cake is practically a piece of art.

Studying cake....so beautiful and sweet

Group photo. Left to Right: Kelvin, Nicole, Vivian, Jenny, Mark, Cake, Erik, Diana, Natalia

Sugar rush, hitting hard. (Picture taken by Jenny)

Wait a second, that's not tea...it's 'iced tea'.

Deer Park in all its glory.

They ran into the field, in search of Easter Eggs. 

Um, did those daffodils just happen to 'snap off' on their own? Of course they did.

Deer Park in the evening sun.

The Fitz gilded with sunlight.

Sunset in Deer Park marks dinner time!

For dinner, Nicole, Andy, Olivier, Erik, Mark and Natalia came over for Thanksgiving-in-Easter. Sergei, my flatmate, also joined us. Lamb was not cheap at the supermarket, but the turkey was. So, it was quickly decided that a Thanksgiving dinner was in order. This also enabled me to satisfy my craving for a turkey dinner.

A most serious eating affair. Left to Right: Mark, Sergei (in bunny form?), Kelvin, Nicole, Erik, Natalia, Olivier. 

The turkey was first brined in a sagey-clovey brine with vodka in it, then coated with a lemon-herb rub (containing fresh rosemary straight from the garden) right before roasting. The bird was almost perfect: had I taken the bird out 10 minutes earlier the meat would have been perfect, though the meat was still juicy and tender. A wild mushroom gravy and cranberry sauce accompanied the bird.

Before: Awaiting to be roasted. 

After: to almost-perfection.

Only the "crown" of the turkey...the entire bird would have been too much both financially and in terms of amount of food. 

I also baked a loaf of no-knead super multigrain bread, which had a density that even the Germans approved.

Contains rye, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, yeast, salt, millet, rolled oats, rolled wheat, flax (linseed), pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, and 18 hours to rise. 

There was also freshly made apricot and pecan stuffing,

Ready for the oven, to form a beautiful brown crust. 

scalloped potatoes with cauliflower,

Cheese and cauliflower are so smelly...but this dish was so good!! The cheese sauce is made of locally made cheddar, infused with thyme and rosemary. 

and sauteed kale (sorry, I regret having not taken a picture), and butternut squash pie (couldn't find pumpkin anywhere, so had to find an alternative).

Lusciously spiced and balanced with a touch of whiskey. 

We concluded the evening with scary Japanese "gummy" candy, that started off as powder, in which you drop heavily pigmented liquid into it to form the "candy".

This doesn't look safe. In fact, the packaging, which was all in Japanese, made no mention of it being non-toxic. There were only warnings mentioned, as they pertain to choking on the small plastic bits...not the candy.

Natalia working hard on her gummy. Left to Right: Mark, Nicole, Natalia, Olivier. 

In goes the pigment into the powder. Note that each color has its own flavo(u)r...I forget what they were supposed to taste like, except that the blue was the stereotypical Japanese "soda" flavo(u)r.

 

Olivier is reluctant to taste his airplane. Erik is not confident about it tasting any good. (Picture taken by Natalia)

 

Erik is convinced that the gummy is narsty. (Picture taken by Natalia)

I made this thing, and it tasted terrible. Disturbingly, it was somewhat chewy.

Easter in Cambridge, not bad at all. I look forward to the next one.