Cambridge Tour and the Courtauld

7/14

Is knowledge such a bad thing?

My first weekend in England! The walking tour was all right; not worth 15 pounds though. We learned more about the city and architecture (how certain buildings are filled with a mixture of rubbish and dung in the centers, because that's how buildings were made through the 16th century, etc.) We saw a lot of the gardens, including a little herb garden where we tasted the different herbs (mmm rosemary). We got to see the black swans along the side of the river, and cows that farmers allow to just hang out in meadows in the town.

We learned a lot about dating buildings based on their architecture (English vs Flemish brick laying...English is earlier and has a row of long bricks, stretchers, and then a row of short bricks, headers. Flemish alternates between stretchers and headers in every row). During the reign of Elizabeth I, buildings were built in the "medieval" style, meaning what they thought medieval style was. I also had the pleasure of seeing the oldest tower in Cambridge, from the 11th century, and going inside the church it's now become. The buildings are a mixture of old and new; plenty of windows have been blocked out and new ones cut through the old blocked out ones. Very compelling, to know that thousands of people have lived, and died, in the same spot where you stand. In some churches, we would stand directly over tombs...the ground would be carved with inscriptions, "So and so died at such and such because of this and they're buried here." Kind of creepy! I was hoping that for 15 pounds we would get a t-shirt or something, but no luck. It was a good walk, though. I had a chealsea (honey & blackcurrant) bun on the walk back to Wolfson court...mmm.

7/15

The Courtauld was a lot of fun. I took a lot of pictures and I was pleased with the collection of art in such a small building (we had a bit more time than we needed to get a tour and explore ourselves as well). The only disappointment was that the Bar at Folies-Bergere,by Manet, wasn't there (on loan in L.A).

The tour guide was mediocre, and very passive. She knew a bit, but not very much that I didn't already know, so I hung in the back and looked at other paintings. If I didn't know much about art (which some of the people in other programs don't), then it would have been a bit more relevant. I had very good conversations with Ina (Sweden), Steven (England), and a Russian girl over lunch and some English breakfast tea about art, and what we liked/didn't like in the museum. Also, we had good talks about God while we were in the Lucas Cranach exhibition on Adam and Eve. If God is all-knowing, then he should have known that the serpent would trick them. Because at this point, they do not know what it means to make a "bad" decision, or even what it means to disobey; they have no knowledge. Then God gets pissed, and throws them out, and denies them paradise, blah blah blah. Is knowledge such a bad thing? Was God afraid that we would then know that he wasn't perfect? Then for years, and even today, women are blamed for the first sin. I think we (women) should be celebrated for bringing intellect among the human race if the story is true, which I don't believe it is. Why would God want to withhold knowledge from his most loved creation anyway? The story just doesn't make sense. But it inspired a lot of nice artwork (in Cranach's case), so that's one good thing it's done.

Uploading all of the pictures I took was a bit difficult, so I'll post a link to another site (facebook), because anyone can view this album, and it was easier to upload. Enjoy! Pictures!!