Here comes the sun..

Back in the early days of summer, dear old Britain managed to get a hint of sunshine (yay), and luckily for me I happened to be in Cambridge to enjoy it. Cambridge is well known for its beautiful, elegant structures - especially with all the old college buildings (though there are obviously modern buildings too). There are also quite a few churches dotted around the sweeping greens, making for a very picturesque day out.

I love looking at the entablature and the majesty of the columns - there's something about them that simply demands respect through the weight that it holds.

Here is the Bridge of Sighs, named apparently because the students would always leave their exams across the bridge, and heave a sigh of relief. Out of all the bridges across the River Cam, I think this is my favourite as when you cross it you feel sheltered, like you are watching the people pass, but you are still part of the atmosphere. Also, there is an exact replica in Venice - which I have seen as well! but more on that another time..

Here are some examples of the detail you find in the archways (there are quite a few). Whilst the detail in some of them is impressive, I prefer the more simple ones (like on the left) as they have a more natural beauty - almost like shells.

It was a lovely day, as we were celebrating my sister's graduation (exciting!). Although I've visited many times before, this time had a brilliant atmosphere and the weather definitely helped.

Jess (:

A Good Book

So here's a book about the history of architecture that I'm gradually reading. It's good in the way that it doesn't read like a stereotypical history of [insert general thing that is made sound much less interesting by this title], and despite the fact it doesn't have a lot of pictures (everyone likes a few photos to look at) it's actually really readable and easy to get into, but not in the way that feels demeaning like you get with some books.

As you can probably tell from the title it basically goes through the 50 main architectural movements, and in chronological order, which is always helpful (:
I would recommend this if you are a beginner like me, and don't necessarily need loads of depth for your level of interest.

Jess (:

Keep your head up

It seems to make sense that I should start my blog with how I first started noticing architecture - this is from looking up. Often in narrow, crowded streets in towns you can only see shop fronts at eye level, which is a bit boring and generic. When you go to larger cities the streets are generally wider and there are more squares and open spaces so you have a better view of the building, so can appreciate it more.
This is why I think it's important to look up because that's where you see the beautiful detail in the architecture.

This is just a photo of a building on the high street, which has some elegant details if you look up, but when you walk along all you would see is the new selection of Christmas cards in Clintons (though I'm not going to pretend I don't love Christmas, even if it's still a bit early).

Jess (: