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An Early December Week in Cambridge

·Cambridge, England, United Kingdom·#winter#travel#christmas#architecture#england#cambridge
A river with several moored boats and a row of houses and trees on the opposite bank under a blue sky.

A week in Cambridge in early December, which is about as far from Truckee as a place can feel while still being cold. One walk went along the Cam past a line of moored narrowboats, willows hanging over the bank and terrace houses facing the water across a strip of green.

One evening got taken over by a party — balloon columns stuffed with smaller balloons, a projector screen at the far end, most of the room standing rather than dancing. The walk back afterward passed the Arundel House Hotel with its whole front hedge strung in lights, rain still sitting on the pavement.

The Fitzwilliam Museum was the fixed point of the week. It has been on Trumpington Street since 1816, built out of Richard Fitzwilliam's bequest to the university, and George Basevi's portico takes up half the block — Corinthian columns you have to crane at from the bottom of the steps. Inside, the entrance hall runs straight up to a dome, gilded ceiling the entire way, with a Christmas tree parked on the staircase landing between two marble figures.

Many people mingle in a dimly lit room with party balloons, a bar, and blue ambient lighting.A row of brick buildings at night with an "Arundel House Hotel" sign, illuminated by string lights on trees.A grand white building with many tall columns, a sculpted triangular pediment, and a decorative ceiling under a grey sky.Grand, ornate hall with a high domed ceiling, columns, a staircase, and a Christmas tree on a balcony.

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