Oops! I know I said my next post would come from New York, but I had a free morning before heading into the big apple so I thought I would take you on a little tour of Princeton University. Not only is the University one of the best in the world, it is beautiful too.

But first a quick look at downtown Princeton which is pretty cool on its own.

Downtown Princeton is charming. There is a law against signs that jut out from buildings so everything looks – and is – quite historic. There is a wide variety of stores – bakeries, clothing, art, restaurants, even the U Store chock full of Princeton swag – with a good smattering of high end stores. It’s fun to walk along and window shop.

I have a particular affinity for Princeton as my sister Shirley has been faculty since 1986, and was President of the institution from 2001 to 2013. I have wandered the campus before, though always on a sister-led tour, so this time was different – all on my own with my camera, a delight for any photographer.

Princeton students are required to live on campus, so there are many dorms. Unlike any Canadian university that I know of, dorms are referred to as Colleges and there may be more than one building in a College. All very confusing for me, a former College instructor who thinks the word college refers to an entire insitution. Here are a few Princeton Colleges.

Here are some other fabulous old buildings that have stood the test of time.

There are also modern buildings with fabulous architecture like the Icahn Lab for the study of genomics where my sister has her office.

I was happy to see a few students learning and relaxing at the same time.

Here’s an example of the different impacts the president of a univeristy can have. Meg Whitman of eBay fame donated money for new dorms called Whitman College. She and my sister worked with an architect to ensure that the dorms had all the mod cons, but also that the new buildings complemented the old.

The current President of the University has commissioned more dorms. He apparently was more concerned about budget than style. See what you think.

I hadn’t had a campus tour since my sister stood down, so I was happy to see that she has been honoured with her own “walk”, appropriately carved into the concrete in front of the Icahn Lab for the study of genomics.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little tour of Princeton. Next time, I promise – New York City! See you then.