Cambridge. June 29

Nic and I woke up early (ish) to take another day trip over to Cambridge. Our first day was pretty touristy and we were hoping to go back for another less touristy day with museums and less shops and less money.

The first thing we did right was to go on a Wednesday. The second thing we did right was to go after university ended. It was truly a quiet day in Cambridge. We had a leisurely coffee and pastry at a cafe after we got off the park-and-ride bus. I was a little pissed because I committed to a pastry - FINALLY only to learn to that it had no icing. I was genuinely really sad. Until I actually looking in the pastry bag to find the icing. What the hell!? Out of a sense of honor I ate at least two big bites of icing. It wasn't very good. If you know my relationship with icing you will know that I don't walk away from good icing easily. I have been known to eat an entire bowl in one sitting. It really says a lot about the icing that I only ate two bites. 

My international phone plan ended today which means that I had not google map access. I expect that the next 7 days will see more on this theme. Stay tuned. I am, as I write this, toying with the idea of extending the plan. My relationship is worth $10 a day, right? I snapped a picture of Cambridge to aid us in our travels today. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

 

We had planned on not really having a plan - except our plan was museums, so we headed toward the museum area. Our plan was to go to whatever museum we could find first and go from there. So that is what we did.

The first museum in our path was the Cambridge Museum of Anthropology. This was like the British Museum, but smaller, less fancy, and with really smart people standing around to answer questions. The world of artifacts was crammed into three floors of amazing stuff - some of which they literally labeled as 'storage.' Thankfully Nic and I know our geography and a little anthropology, so we navigated these amazing artifacts pretty well. 

Remember how I taught Humanities a year or two ago? I wish I had been to this museum before I taught this and I wish that I had been able to go to this museum with my students while teaching this. In fact, if my students had access to this museum, they would not have needed me at all. Seriously. 

Why do kids in England even need teachers?! They have museums!

Please see my disclaimer on my post about London and the British Museum. I feel complicated about looking at these beautiful exhibits, but I can't stop myself. It's an unhealthy addiction.

BUT, I learned some thing new today! I learned about the Sami people. I consider myself well-informed, yet here was a group of people I have never heard of one time in my entire life. I took pictures of information I will need to learn more about these people when I have time. I included the information here if you have not heard of these people either and are equally curious.

I had to take a picture of the Samurai Suit. 

I took pictures of the Benin face masks. After the British Museum Rob and I watched a whole documentary about the Benin people and their treasure, which is now in the hands of the English. It was a poignant follow-up on that documentary.

I have taught Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. Seeing artifacts from the people of Nigeria heightens my understanding of that novel and deepens my love for that piece.

We turned around and were in Indonesia. 

Nic was intrigued by these fish hooks, their style and intricacy.

Did I mention a lot was packed in one room? There was A LOT. Turning around took you to a different continent and each case was jammed full with interesting things.

We went upstairs and peeked down. 

We also went to the Mayan section. Again, I really enjoyed this due to my experiences teaching Humanities. I wish I could just take my students here and open the door, telling them, "Go where your heart desires and learn all there is to learn!"

Sadly, I cannot.

The Internet is cool, but there is something so incredible about looking at the handiwork of another human and breathing their amazingness. I can't quite serve that experience through Google.

Just a bunch of Peruvian heads and cups and such.

And some knives.

And then more Benin heads.

And tusks.

We walked out from the Museum of Anthropology and stumbled almost immediately into the Sedgwic Museum of Earth Sciences. Which was filled with a lot of rocks, fossils and bones. 

There was a lot of science in this building, models of atoms and things that get confusing and look like little balls all stuck together like a tangled up magnetic experiment with 4 year olds. Turns out those 'experiments' come together to look rather pretty - See?

I was disturbed by the amount of Science I was experiencing and found an old literary friend in the cabinets, Mr. Tennyson even cared about science! Who knew?!

I took pictures of things that I found interesting, pretty, remarkable, and huge. Also things I thought my dad would like and my kids. Here they are. Ask Nic to explain. I read the little papers next to them. It was lovely. I remember exactly nothing.

This was an important fossil. Nic told me.

So was this.

This is called "Irish Elk," but it's actually a really big deer.

Then there was a nice exhibition on Charles Darwin. Turns out that guy lived in Cambridge and is a big deal there. He also studied there and donated a lot of very interesting things. I looked at a lot of it today. I know more about Mr. Darwin than I ever did before. I took a picture of his bust to remind me of all the things I learned and read and saw regarding Mr. Darwin. I had no idea how much he loved and studied Geology for one thing!

We paused in our Museum experiences to eat and drink and then raced over to the Cambridge Museum of Zoology. Nic was excited for me to see the fossil (one of 11) showing the connection between birds and dinosaurs. It was extremely interesting. We had 15 minutes in this museum and made the most of it, including being kicked out.

We then wandered Cambridge. We watched graduation parties, peered into the window and garages of interesting people, and walked the campuses of fancy colleges and churches.

Catholic Churches are a bit of a rarity here. We saw this one, with its open doors and snuck in for a peek. It was very beautiful and clearly in use by its people.

Not far off in a weird garage lives this weird van claiming to be "Satan's Spawn." It was too good to pass by without a photo.

Just behind the colleges was a small fen we explored.

Then we were back to the center of town, the Punts (An English word for a boat you push around with a big stick), and the tourists. We sat and talked and laid in the grass.

We wandered past the pub Pink Floyd used to hang out in and snapped a few photos. 

And then headed back to the bus stop near the Round Church at the center of town.

I really, really like Cambridge. I appreciate the availability of real, rich academia without a lot of tourism. The museums were quiet, filled with thoughtful and curious people. It did not feel over commercialized, or like a business. Nic and I could spend many more happy days there; reading and thinking, learning from others and wondering. 

It struck me today that we have been here one whole month. This is the most time Nic and I have ever spent together without work, kids, life, and distractions. We have been together without ceasing for an entire month and counting. It has been very good for our relationship.  It is hard to really explain how, but it has deepened our friendship. I tend to hold back. I tend to withdraw into myself and my own world. These weeks have not really allowed that. I have learned that I can trust him to be in my world and not wreck me. 

Some people may wonder how the kids are doing. We have texted and talked. They are adulting very well. Gabe took his first CPA exam today. Bella is plugging along with all of her school and work. Jamie is working two jobs to pay for his first apartment. Things are good. And I miss them.

I am so thankful for this time. I am also looking forward to going home.