The Games of the XXX Olympiad

Hello all, 

I can hardly believe that I have only two more days left in the lab. Tomorrow, our lab will be going out to lunch to celebrate my time here. It's been a great 10 weeks and I've had so many really memorable experiences. One of those will definitely be our punting trip last Thursday. We took the entire day off to punt along the River Cam. I made my first attempt at punting and after some initial struggle, I successfully maneuvered my way through the river. We stopped at Granchester, a nearby town, and had lunch at a local pub. Then we headed back home and reached the dock around 6. After a long, hot day in the sun, I enjoyed a swim in Clare Hall. 

River Cam to Granchester

Punting is hard!

On Friday night, I went back to Clare Hall with my roommates to watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony. They were showing it on a big screen and a lot of people showed up to watch. I really enjoyed the ceremony and thought that it captured Britain well (including the people's wonderful sense of humor). 

On Saturday, I decided to go to London to take in the atmosphere of the olympics. Although I did not have a ticket for any event, I went to one of the live sites in Hyde Park to watch the events on big screens. Not only did they have big screen TVs to watch the events, but also games, giveaways, live music, and food. It was a nice day out and I also had a chance to go see Tower Bridge with the iconic five rings. 

Tower Bridge with olympic rings

BT London Live @ Hyde Park 

"The Mall" to Buckingham Palace lined with olympic flags

Wenlock olympic mascot 

On Sunday, I began to get things in order for my last week in the lab and the trip I will be making with my parents. They are coming on Friday and we are planning to visit London, Windsor (England), Stonehenge (England), Bath (England), Paris, Versailles, and of course I will be showing them around Cambridge. I can't wait to see all of these places and in preparation for our stay in France, I bought a cute French phrasebook. I am failing for the most part in my initial tries at French, but hopefully I may get a bit better by the time we leave. It is comforting to know, however, that most people in Paris speak English because of the large number of tourists. 

I will try to post next week about the beginning of my travels, but if I am not able to, I will post as soon as I return to the States on August 15th. 

Au Revoir,

Nisha