Cambridge: Field Trips and Excursions

July 18, 2017

As I mentioned in my last post, I took a trip to London. It was organized through the University and they provided us with buses there and back. Once we arrived, we took a boat tour of the Thames and our captain gave us some historical and contemporary information. The parallels to Boston were quite striking. For example, Canary Wharf is an area of London that had been underdeveloped for a while. Recently banks, law firms, and other large corporations began moving there because of the prices and increased public transportation servicing the area. Because of these development, the area has become a sort of yuppie paradise. Pretty similar to Boston’s seaport!

After the boat tour, I spent some time wandering around. I made it to Westminster where I saw Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and the two houses of Parliament. I walked up to Buckingham Palace and made my way to a park nearby to take a rest after walking about 8 miles already. My next move was to figure out the subway system. London has many more lines than Boston does, which can make it pretty confusing if you’re not familiar with it. I managed to figure it out though, and took the Tube to the Tower of London where I was able to walk across the Tower Bridge (probably London’s most famous well-known). By the end of my trip, I had spent about 2 hours of my time walking, and racked up about 12 miles (knowledge gained thanks to a friend’s FitBit). Naturally, I spent the 1.5 hour bus ride back home napping.

Written By

Nicholas Napolio

At Northeastern, I study political science with a particular focus on American public administration, public law, and queer politics. While abroad in Cambridge, I plan to immerse myself in British politics and further my understanding of American politics by comparison. I am taking courses on European legal history, British criminal law, and gender & sexuality informed by British culture. These courses are similar to courses I have taken at Northeastern but will allow me to study the differences between American and British conceptions of each. In addition to coursework, the University of Cambridge offers social and cultural opportunities such as pub tours, trips to London, and weekly banquets.