Pomp and Circumstance in Cambridge

A Big, Fat Congratulations is in order for Rob graduating with top marks from the University of Cambridge with an LL.M., or Masters of Law.

Graduation morning started with pictures at Queens' College in their full get-ups.  (Again, I felt like I had stepped into Hogwarts!) 

Then, Rob and the rest of the graduates processed through Cambridge (with the college porters, dressed to the nines, stopping traffic) on their way to the Senate House where the ceremony took place. 

 I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but the ceremony involved Rob and 3 classmates holding on to the fingers of the praelector who presents them to the Vice-Chancellor in Latin, saying "Most worthy Vice-Chancellor and the whole University, I present to you this man whom I know to be suitable as much by character as by learning to proceed to the degree of Master of Law; for which I pledge my faith to you and to the whole University.”

Then Rob had to kneel before the Vice-Chancellor, put his hands between the Vice-Chancellor's, who then says (in Latin), "by the authority committed to me I admit you to the degree of Master of Law in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."  

Tom, Steve, Rob, Prof. Fentiman, Jane, Yueying, Barbara, Sarah, Konni, Jeff

Just one more graduation to go....Way to go Rob!

Windsor Castle

As we're rushing to cram in as much fun as we can before we leave, we had to make time to see Windsor Castle: the oldest, largest continually inhabited castle in the world.
Luckily, our friends Steve and Lisa hadn't seen the Castle either, so we got to tag along with them for the day.
Windsor dates back to the time of William the Conqueror (around 1070) and is currently the favorite residence of Queen Elizabeth II and her family. Apparently, if we had been there about 1 hour earlier we would have seen the Queen walking down her driveway, on her way out for the afternoon. Bad luck!
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but the castle was full of beautiful furniture and tapestries, valuable artwork, impressive weaponry, and lots and lots of history. In the chapel a friendly warden gave us an up-close view of the plaques and personal choir seats of members of the Order of the Garter, the British Sovereign's personal order of chivalry. We saw Henry VIII's seat and I had a hard time imagining him squeezing his big body into that narrow choir seat! He must have encouraged very short meetings.
At the end of our beautiful afternoon at the palace we noticed some people playing the quintessential British lawn game: Bowls. As far as I can tell, it's a mixture of shuffleboard, bocce, curling, and maybe some croquet. But the important thing is that it's a game you can play while dressed all in white, drinking tea, and saying things like "Smashing play, old chap."
I've also noticed that there seems to be a minimum age of about 65 at most matches, so one day when Rob and I retire to England we'll work on our posh accents and join in the fun!

Mr. GQ meets Harry Potter

As graduation approaches, Rob's social calendar is getting pretttty booked. On the agenda tonight: a formal, graduate dinner.

Formal dinners at the University of Cambridge have a pretty unique dress code: Black tie (i.e. tuxedo), and gown (i.e. I'm a wizard).

Luckily we have a friend who lent Rob the entire get-up. And after a few minutes frantically watching YouTube, Rob pulled the whole thing together pretty well!

No more cheater bow-ties for this GQ man!

Hogwarts, watch out!

Pampering at the Farris Bad

After lunch at the Farris Bad Hotel, Kari wanted us to take a tour of the hotel's brand-new spa. (We weren't allowed to bring in our camera, so these pictures came from the website.)
We obediently walked around with a spa employee, Oooh-ing and Aahhh-ing over all of the jacuzzis, the saunas (each with a different 'theme' and temperature), the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out on the fjord, and the refreshment bars.
Then, as we completed the tour, the spa lady handed us a gift-certificate from Kari to Rob and me and Guro and Magnus, giving all of us a 3-hour spa session that evening!!!!
It was rough, but after 3 hours of mineral pools, herbal saunas, dips in the ocean, and snow-scrubs we were feeling pretty pampered. I could just see all of Rob's residual exam stress melting away...and it was WONDERFUL! We walked out of the Farris Bad with soft skin, clean pores, basically exuding relaxation.

What a wonderful, wonderful gift.

Norway: Vi Elsker Dette Landet (We love this country!)

After 6 weeks of studying, this guy finished his exams and escaped to...
...NORWAY! We came to visit Rob's exchange-family in beautiful Stavern (between Oslo and Kristiansand).
We had 5 days in Norway and got to spend lots of time with all of the wonderful Klyve family. Rob spent his junior year of high school in Norway with the Klyves as an exchange student, and he really loves his Norwegian family.

Guro, Rob, Mamma (Kari), Magnus, Hedvig, Isak

We were fed VERY well with lots of good brød (bread), brunost (brown cheese), kjøttkake (meatballs), delicious fruit, and soooo many other great foods. The Klyves (after seeing how much I like to eat) surprised us with a Norwegian recipe book so I'll be able to recreate at least part of our Norwegian experience at home. :)

Here you can see Pappa (Helge) in the middle

We went on some nice walks in the evening after dinner (and in the summer months, "evening" stretches on until after 11 pm!).
I couldn't believe how beautiful Norway is.

And syrin (lilac) smells just as good there as it does all over the world!

There are lush forests, huge rock formations, clear cold lakes, all making a beautiful background for the painted wooden houses and boats in every town.

This is an old, old lighthouse at Verdens Ende (World's End) where we were treated to some delicious epletkake (apple cake) by pappa

At the end of our week, mamma and pappa took us up to their hytte (summer cabin) on a fjord outside of Kragerø. The little summer town was really quiet, and we were told that most people don't come until the 'summer' (which doesn't begin until July). So, I guess Norway is pretty much almost the opposite of Texas!
We really enjoyed the beautiful and peaceful retreat. On our early morning boat ride, we had the fjord to ourselves and got to see a herd of about 20 seals basking on some rocks! As soon as we got near they started scooting/flopping away, and mamma said she had never seen so many seals there before.
Saying goodbye at the airport was pretty tough. The Klyves are such a great family and they treated us with so much love. We can't wait to see them again!

Ode to Maid Marion

Maid Marion, Maid Marion wasn't it just yesterday we met?
And you were the prettiest bike I'd seen in Cambridge yet.

We went looking for you because our feet were so tired
And after one short test-ride you were hired!

You came home with me and were given your title
But I didn't know just how your friendship would be vital.

When I needed to get groceries you were the BEST
Because your basket gave my poor arms a much needed rest.

And when I needed to get home late, late at night
I could ride you so fast I never felt fright.

Every morning I was so thankful you were around
Especially when we knew so many bike thieves abound.

You were loyal, and you were true
And remembering all we've been through
Gets me feeling quite blue
Because today I had to say, "Maid Marion, Adieu!"

sigh....