Cambridge

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Woke up around 2 AM and, after tossing and turning for half an hour, decided that getting back to sleep was probably too much to ask. So I grabbed my Spanish Grammar book and studied out in the hotel lobby for three hours while Sky News cycled through its early morning programming; most of it was related to speculation on when Saddam would be executed.

After breakfast we continued our adventure as we set out from London (Buckhurst Hill) to Cambridge. The drive went relatively well, but it was a cold and drizzly day as many are during this time of the year in England.

After a little bit of searching through Cambridge, we found the Crowne Plaza and checked-in. We decided mainly to walk around the University of Cambridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge) campus before visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum.

Still drizzling, we walked past a large outdoor/indoor shopping area but were soon in the mix of the large campus with its many colleges. The University of Cambridge is the second oldest university in the English speaking world and was formed around 1209 by scholars escaping from Oxford after a fight with the townspeople (the next day while visiting Oxford, we heard reference to this fight... kind of funny and slightly resembles the tension between the regular residents and the university students in college towns in the U.S.).

The colleges and churches around the campus are amazing. With large greens, a little river winding through it, lots of pedestrian walkways, the beautiful architecture spanning centuries, and the town itself, it was quite a sight even on a dreary day. It seems like it would be a wonderful place for student life.

Well, after walking around many of the colleges, crossing the Bridge of Sighs, and touring Great St. Mary's (http://www.gsm.cam.ac.uk/), we walked south to The Fitzwilliam Museum. About this time my calf started hurting quite a bit, so I was limping around the rest of the day; the calf pain was probably a derivative of the 400+ stairs climbed the day before at St. Paul's in London.

The Fitzwilliam Museum (http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/), like many European museums, had beautiful architecture (this is often one of the things I enjoy most about the museums). We started out in the Egyptian exhibit were we saw, among other things, a mummified kitten and bird... correspondingly we learned that Egyptians apparently enjoyed mummifying more than people.

We went from there to the ceramics/pottery collection. Not much of interest there... for us anyway. After wondering various other collections, including Japanese and Korean, we sat down for a break in the cafe. And there we saw at a distance the entrance to the armory 😊. Ah, yes, one of the most reliable stories transcending all history man and his weapons. We saw swords, maces, knifes, intricately designed and decorated guns, plate armor, and axes. We also saw a sword used for executions.

Next to the room was a collection of bibles or books of parts of the Bibles (such as Psalms). Some were illuminated.

This leads into an interesting experience as these people of old the two above collections went hand in hand. Christianity and warfare (for Providence, of course) somehow became intertwined... probably a lot due to the Popes of old being so involved in politics and their thirst for power. Indeed, Bible quotes are often inscribed on these weapons (even the execution sword).

Later on we made our way up to all of paintings... modern, French, Italian, etc. There were also sculptures mixed in, including a few by Rodin. Sculptures, of course, are my favorite artwork at the museums. And, as usual lots of nudity. Another matter that transcends about all artwork in all time is nudity, particularly nude women. Nudity, warfare, religion... but artwork (I'm by no means an expert) is supposed to touch on our experiences here on earth and the spiritual, as well.

After that we wondering around the mall for awhile before having dinner at brb@the cow -- which is a cool bar that serves excellent pizza (http://cow.barroombar.com/).

From there we went back to the hotel. I planned to read a little bit but soon drifted off to sleep around 8 PM.

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Photos

Duckie, Paddington, and Avis
Enjoying the air of academia.

Lion Yard
Indoor/Outdoor mall in the center of Cambridge

Bicycles in Front of Great St. Mary's
Ubiquitous around universities.

Around Cambridge - 1
Walking through one of the alleys/streets.

Comments

[Rebecca]

ah-ha! we finally see how the plastic yellow fowl make their way into your photographs....

[Celeste J]

Neat!
Wow, that looks amazing, as usual you have taken wonderful pictures. It's fun to see the behind the scenes of Duckie and Paddington's pictures. I just logged onto the homepage and was looking at some of the featured blogs, and I saw a picture of mom, and I realized it was your blog! It was really weird!