Cambridge

I arrived in the evening at Cambridge and stayed with some very chill students through Couchsurfing, having a dinner of Pakistani curry and some nice chats with my host and his housemates. In the morning I was passed by a heartening number of bicycles on the way to my host's college of Fitzwilliam to see the Fitzwilliam museum. It was full of ancient relics (especially of of Greece and Egypt, or at least that is where my interest most lay) in addition to art by some master painters. My favorite part was a series of ancient cylindrical Mesopotamian seal stones, which seemed to be kind of like signet rings except that you rolled the seal on instead of pressed it.

From there I wandered about the University gawking at the architecture.

I particularly enjoyed the gargoyles, grotesques, and other mythically inspired ornamentation.

There are some nice old churches as well, including the Round Church, the Church of St. Bene't (the oldest standing structure in the county), and quaint little St. Peter's Church next to Kettle's Yard. Kettle's Yard is a home that was opened to artists, and now houses some interesting art pieces and designs.

Trinity College had statues of their famed alumni, in whose presence I found far more awe than in religious figures.

I saw some decidedly modern art that intrigued me as well, such as a cricket-mounted clock and a mysterious (and rather far-from-conspicuously placed) spike-covered figure.

I ended the walking tour along The Backs, watching people punt along the rivers and admiring the back sides of the campus buildings.

Afterward I went to the Eveningsong choir concert in the King's College chapel. The singing was pleasant, but I admit I mostly went because the admission to the chapel is free for concerts but paid otherwise.