Back Online!

Well, we're /finally back online. It's been a week since we arrived in Cambridge, and we're only now ready to post our first journal entry. Boy, do we have a lot to report...

The flights were mercifully uneventful, but neither of us was able to sleep on the plane over the Atlantic, so we really did lose a night's rest. Still, we made it through Heathrow airport to customs; I'm glad I kept with me my invitation letter from the Head of Wolfson since the officer asked for it.

We took a taxi from Heathrow across London to King's Cross Station to take the train to Cambridge. While we were waiting, we found Platform 9 3/4, and like all good tourists, took the obligatory photo. Muggles, for sure.

From the Cambridge Station, we had a nice short ride to Ruth Lambert's B&B in Newnham with our four huge bags. We arrived about two hours earlier than we had advertised and our room was not ready, so we took our first walk around Cambridge, first stopping at Wolfson to check in, where I picked up my first mail at the College, all the necessary introductory information. We then headed into town to the Accommodations Office where we got an updated list of available properties. The woman there was very helpful; she gave us a University Centre pass card that allowed us to eat our first meal in town. Our next item of business was to buy a pair of cellphones (or 'mobiles,' as they're called here). They turned out to be invaluable for our search for permanent accommodations. By the time we returned to Ruth's, our room (on the third floor, with a comfortable bed and a lovely warm duvet) was ready.

We spent all day Friday walking around Cambridge, investigating various prospects. It added up to about 10 hours on our feet, an exhausting day. We stopped at the Granta Pub for our first beer (Deb had wine), then had a nice Italian meal at Bella Italia. Saturday was another day of searching, including an extremely small two bedroom apartment (no more than 500 sq. ft.) that was going for 800 pounds/mo. After all the looking, we settled on a modest townhouse with 1 1/2 bedrooms just north of the city centre. (Those of you who wish to send us mail, just drop a quick email and we'll be happy to give you our new address.)

We'll write more tomorrow to catch you up on news in Cambridge. Cheers!