Roaming around Stanford University campus

 Stanford University has a pretty campus with interesting art pieces, gardens and historic places to explore.  We started at the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden (Santa Theresa Street at Lomita).  This grove of wooden sculptures were created by artists from Papua New Guinea and inspired by traditional stories from their culture.  Each piece has a gentle curve that gives the tree-like form a sense of movement.  There were painted pieces that reminded me of the style of traditional artisans in Australia.  There were a few stone pieces, as well.  It was impressive and fit beautifully with the grove of trees.

The quad has a beautiful chapel with a stunning mosaic.  The interior was closed during our visit.

The highlight of our visit was "The Burghers of Calais" by Rodin.  This famous work depicts the sacrifice of the town elders of Calais who left the city of Calais to save it from destruction by the English during the Hundred Years' War.  This is one of the most extraordinary works in the history of art.  Each burgher is larger than life and the emotions of anguish, fear, stoicism and quiet resignation are masterfully portrayed.

 We wandered through the eucalyptus grove, cactus garden and arboretum.  We stopped at the impressive mausoleum of Stanford family.

Our last stop of the Cantor Art Museum, which I will write about separately.  We spent about two hours wandering around and walked about four miles.  It was a cool, but beautiful day and it was a nice morning.  There is a visitor parking lot, other parking is by permit only.