flower boxes and copper bay windows

I spent a long weekend in New England - Boston and Cambridge to be more specific. It was beautiful. Amazing weather, beautiful buildings, cheerful flower boxes, and crumbling tombstones. I really really like Boston. So much so that I had a small twang of fear that perhaps having not considered BU was a mistake. I had to console myself with the constant reminder that the winter is long and cold ... longer and colder there than it is in DC.

Random Thoughts and Stories About Boston:

I have never seen so many flower boxes as I did on Beacon Hill. It seemed that many of the houses where these window boxes were found had the same designer, which comes as no surprise since it is the upscale neighborhood of Boston.



While stopping in at one of Boston's fine Dunkin Donut establishments on our way to Harvard Square a nice middle-aged gentleman caught a glimpse of my California drivers license and said, "California, huh?! Harvard or MIT?" I paused and then realized what he meant. I believe I fumbled through my response of "oh, no I am just in town for the day". I was flattered and felt really smart for a moment.

We stayed at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel for a few nights before the wedding, which is located very close to the Boston Public Garden and the Boston Commons. The Public Garden has wonderful weeping willows - I love weeping willows ... they tend to be very big, old, billowy, and grow on the banks of ponds or rivers with their weepy branches lightly kissing the water.


The architecture of Boston was great! The copper bay windows throughout the city are so dramatic. The patina of age against the brick buildings - that's my favorite.


The shot above I just thought was cool. It was taken on Beacon Hill I think.

There are several very very old cemeteries in the middle of Boston. Most date back to the 1600's and thus the headstones are not very ornate (I like all the crazy details) but were still beautiful. Common themes include an angel's head with wings, a skull with wings, devils and angels dancing and skulls and cross-bones. The picture below is documentation that those early Bostonians are trend setters ... skull and cross-bones are sooo in right now and apparently they were also hot in Boston circa 1660.



And I can't talk about Boston with out mentioning the accent. Here is a list of my favorite words (as well as the fact that the bride's accent came out toward the end of her saying her vows ... I loved it):

wicked hahd cohr (wicked hard core)
pahk (park)
Hahvahd (Harvard)
Mahky Mahk (Marky Mark - you know ... and the funky bunch! Totally from Boston)