Harvard Yard

The last of Boston, at last. Greg and I had a stroll around the grounds of this university you may have heard of to take in the hallowedness the dreary morning of our last day in town.

Much red brick and much large trees, not much different than so many other campuses really. 

But nice enough none the less, and I suppose it does have 375 years to its name, a rare credential on this side of the Atlantic. 

 Liked this juxtaposition of old and new.

We slipped in and out of here. Great smaller museum. Some really interesting exhibits including one on archaeology that's been done recently right in the old Yard with the great name of Digging Veritas.


So that's all of Boston. (The rest is here (Fenway), here (Garden and Common), and here (Freedom Trail). We stayed at The Lenox, grandeur of old, a little bit of modern (restaurants/bars), amazing service. Last night in town we had dinner at Al Dente in the North End, the interior wasn't special, but was cozy, the food, wine, and service were fantastic. The bolognese, oh the bolognese. A meal I won't forget any time soon.


♡,


Erin

German Village Haus and Garten Tour

Greg and I spent Sunday afternoon strolling around German Village on the occasion of the neighborhood's 52nd Annual Haus and Garten Tour. 

German Village, located just south of downtown Columbus was home to (as the name implies) the city's large population of German immigrants beginning in the early 19th century through the start of the 20th. The neighborhood declined due to anti-German sentiment over the course of the World Wars, and by the 1950s a good chunk had been demolished and the remainder was considered a slum. But a massive preservation effort was undertaken beginning in the 1960s as a result of the efforts of a few far-sighted individuals who were able to convince friends and friends-of-friends to buy in. The entire neighborhood is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It's a fantastically frozen-in-time collection of brick (including sidewalks and streets) and clapboard, residential and commercial, with plenty of postage-stamp gardens and window boxes thrown in for good measure.

I spy a Sputnik. So very in love with these light fixtures. But that's a story for a different day.

Even the weedies are all charming and variegated.

I ♥ white hydrangeas. Much more appealing than those blues and pinks that just look like they're trying too hard and aren't hardy at all to boot. I miss you Annabelle (the variety on the right of which I had one at each front corner of our house in Kalamazoo).

To be quite honest, we didn't actually make it to too many of the stops on the tour. The lines to get through the houses and gardens were fairly long and eventually our tummies got the better of us. Schmidt's Restaurant and Sausage Haus is a Columbus must-do that we hadn't done yet. So the time was then. The family's been making sausages since 1886 and doing the restaurant thing since 1967. It lived up to its history. After a large portion of German fare and a large beer (though not the largest they offer), we did a bit more wandering.

If you're ever in Columbus, do check out German Village. It's lovely to stroll around every season of the year. And there are some lovely shops and fantastic restaurants.

♡,

Erin

Boston - Freedom Trail

Greg's travels this week took him back to Boston, which reminded me I wanted to share more from our trip there last month. 

While Greg was attending his conference. I set out to follow the Freedom Trail, a two and a half mile long trek which takes you by no less than 15 historically significant places, many having to do with the Revolution. As I like to read every last bit of interpretation and snap pics like it's going out of style, it took me two days to walk it and I didn't even make it to the last leg on the other side of the Charles River. But ah well. I don't know if my brain could have soaked up anymore Independence factoids anywho.

The trail starts off in Boston Common, overlooked by the Capitol Building.

Down the way a bit, next to the Park Street Church, is the first of three cemeteries on the trail. The Granary Burial Ground is the newest of the three and it holds a bunch of the important revolutionaries.

Old cemeteries. ♥ (Remember, I am an archaeologist. Not just a morbid weirdo, though perhaps a bit of that too.)

There's actually been quite a lot of effort put into the study of early American gravestones by historical archaeologists. You can learn a lot about a person from their tombstone, you know (besides what's written in the epitaph).

On to the King's Chapel, home of the Church of England in Boston to this day.

King's Chapel was actually built on top of half an already existing Puritan burying ground, the oldest one in the city. The Crown seized the land when no one would sell them a bit to put their own church on. (Well we know where all that bullying got them.) So though it's called King's Chapel Burying Ground now, it isn't really associated with the church at all, despite the fact it's right next door to it (and underneath it).  

Some later crypts are located underneath the street. Can't be very peaceful, I wouldn't think.

Next stop, marked by this great mosaic.

The Old South Meeting House. Sight of plotting and planning having to do with some old lot of tea.

Old State House. The Declaration of Independence was read to the people of Boston from this balcony a little after it was written in 1776.

This is what marks the Freedom Trail throughout the city (or a painted red stripe) so you can't get too lost wandering about. (Saves time squinting at maps and looking like a complete tourist too.)

Faneuil Hall, another meeting house with a market on the first floor that is closed for renovations presently. They've been doing a bit of digging in conjunction actually.

My kind of trash.

I had lunch here the second day of my trek. Vendor after vendor of any kind of food you could think of. Had to have a lobster roll.

On to the North End, Boston's Little Italy.

You can smell the garlic in the air, truly wonderful.

I thought this place looked so inviting. Our last night in town we came back to the North End for dinner, and stopped in here for a drink beforehand. We had to just wander around and refind it because of course I couldn't remember the name or the street, and I can't now either to tell you, but just look for gorgeous window boxes.

First stop along the trail in the North End, Paul Revere's humble abode.

No shortage of tulips in this neck of the wood either. (See here for more Boston tulips.)

And here's the man himself

beckoning one on to the Old North Church, forever linked to his patriotic deeds.

The last stop on the Freedom Trail for me was Copp's Hill Burying Ground, second oldest (to King's Chapel) cemetery in the city.

A virtuous Puritan name if ever there was one.

One of the interpretive plaques stated that when the British occupied this part of Boston, they used this fellow's stone for target practice in retaliation for his loyalties (or lack thereof) in life, thus the extra-hollow eye socket on the skull.

So, whew! There it is. If you're ever in Boston, take the hike. Even if you don't stop off at every site to read through every exhibit, it's really a great way to explore the city and get some exercise to boot.

♡,

Erin