A November to Remember (Part 5 of 4)

On the Friday before the term ended we (the American students) decided that we needed to do a true Pub Crawl in a country where bars are actually called pubs. We also had not really gone out together (just the students without the Tutors) since we had gotten there. AND we wanted one last hoorah before we said goodbye to the 2 students from River Forest (Adam and Nathaniel) and the one student from Bronxville (Martin). So we mapped out our plan of attack, attempting to hit all of the major pubs of renown in the Cambridge area. Our starting point was “The Anchor.” This pub is one of the nicer pubs in Cambridge. Guinness is the best pint here (which tastes very smooth in England by the way). This pub also overlooks the Cam, giving it a nice ambiance. Our next stop was “The Eagle.” This pub is famous for being the spot where Watson and Crick announced their discovery of DNA. To celebrate this we sat at the table where they sat. The pub is also very “pub like” in that the seats and floors are all wooden, with low ceilings and dimmer lighting. I asked the bartender for a pint of their cheapest (one of two ways to make it through a British pub crawl without breaking the bank). After this short stay we headed down to “The Miter.” This pub was pretty packed and you could tell they drew a younger crowd. We ended up standing next to a trivia machine where the guys gathered around and cheered for our own right answers to trivia questions, and also our own dumb luck to answering them correctly. I ordered nothing (the other way to make it through a British pub crawl). Then, a short distance down the road led us to “The Pickerel.” C.S. Lewis used to frequent this pub when he was teaching in Cambridge. It is also darker and older (and smaller as you can see) leading to a good pub atmosphere. I split a pint with Adam that Yeager bought him (smooth, I know). After a long (not really that long) trudge up a hill we made it to “The Castle Inn.” This is the same pub that we stopped at after the Guy Fawkes celebration. It was packed inside so we stood outside in a light Cambridge mist. It was fairly warm this evening so we got good weather for walking around, except when it poured between our walk from The Anchor to The Eagle. Never leave the house without an umbrella in England. Our last pub stop was “The County Arms.” A more modern American bar style pub, but it was pretty empty so we all sat together and had a good time. And no good pub-crawl is complete without getting something greasy to eat afterwards. Half of the group went to The Maharajah which is an Indian (not Native American) restaurant specializing in dishes containing curry. I personally think curry is nasty, so Mandy and I opted to go down to The Trailer of Life. This is a trailer that parks in the city market square at night cooking burgers and chips (fries). We ordered a small chips (which is pretty big) with Ketchup, Mayo and vinegar. Europeans apparently eat their fries with Mayo so, when in Rome…The group met back together at Westfield House to sit in the living room and chat before we all went soundly to bed, feeling like we conquered the Cambridge pub system.