windows ... in time

Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, an expensive affair .. went there with idea of looking around and in particular to check out the Black and white photography by Ansel Adams ..
first thing .. was too expensive and secondly it was sold out !
The Sun was going down and I was on my way back and passed the Windows .. looked like molten glass reflecting the heat from the Sun of a time gone by and yet was gentle .. what was striking was the absence of any other reflecting surface around ..
almost like an alien entity transported across time ..



The same evening on my way home got into one of the omnipresent Starbucks to escape the biting chill of an early winter evening, ensconsed in the warmth watching the world pass me by.
Love the texture of the pic, captures the stillness and warmth of the inside while the world rushed on outside .. me in an oasis of time ..

One Year - down the memory lane

Been One year here in Boston.. not yet .. at this time .. I was probably on my flight from Montreal to Boston .. but did Land here on 24th Jan 2005.
I was supposed to land early noon on 23rd, but because of the big blizzard that weekend, I got a chance to See Montreal and enjoy the Luxury of Hilton :-)
Time does fly .. just feels like yesterday that I parted with near and dear ones back home .. and then the excitement of a new place and for someone who loves to travel and see places, this was a great chance.
Soo much to do and soo little time was how I felt .. the plan was for me to be here for a year .. so I wanted to cover as much and see as many places as possible in the time I had.
The harsh Boston winter was invigorating to say the least ... :-D that turned to Spring and I saw colours springin up overnight. It was also the time my missus came to US ... she was in Minneapolis and we had a great 3 months, travelling almost each weekend to be with each other and also seeing a lot of places in the process.
Was a lovely time we had ..
and then she had to go back to India :-(
Was a sudden change in tempo .. catching flights every friday and returning back late Sunday nights or even early monday mornings .. and suddenly there was a void ..
took some time .. but had to get used to it and get on ..
Fall was something else .. anticipating seein the famed colours realised that it gets cold here in Fall .. and tho spells of wet weather put a lil bit of dampner on the fall plans did see the picteresque NH and Vermont countryside in addition to the Local Boston sights...
In between went and visited friends in Boulder and had a great time there .. driving and camping and meeting old friends.
The other highlights were the New Hampshire trip and the impromptu Maine trip where only my friend and myself made up our minds for the thanksgiving wknd and went trekking and hiking and discovering Maine .. was awesome !! The Acdia National park .. maybe one of the smallest National Parks .. but certainly one of the most beautiful !
and its a year since I arrived .. and its been a good one .. and I await at the crossroads of time .. not knowing where I would be in a months time ..
has been a great ride so far .. no regrets .. except that I would have wished Pri to have been here and spent the same time with me ...
well .. you never know !!

and yeah .. the fact tht I could not make my trip to Peru .. and wont b able to till I get a new visa :-((
well .. u never know about that either ? ;-)

The Italian connection

There was one part of Boston that I had somehow missed, had read and heard about the North End part of the City ut never was able to go there.
I finally googled a bit more and with a printout of the walking tour map of North End or "Little Italy" set out to surprise myself.
The Italian version of the China Town, its the Italian and European influence on the Boston map and its full of Ristorante's, Bakeries and still more places serving authentic Italian dishes; Pata, Penne, Parmesean's, Pizza's, succelent pastries et al
As soon as you enter the Hanover street and the Salem street, your eyes are greeted with beautiful european architechture and your senses are made curious by the wafting smell of fresh bread. Cafe's and restuarants are lined with wooden and wrought iron benches on the sidewalk and in one particular case, a bench of white marble too. I just wish I had been there much earlier in summer which would have doubled the experience am sure.

So much history in and around North End. Try this; The oldest Tavern in the whole of United States, the Oldest House in Boston still preserved as a museum (the Paul Revere house from 1670 the last remaining structure in Boston from the 17th century), the House of Rose F Kennedy mother of John F Kennedy all within minutes of each other, in the quaint little neighborhood with cobbled walkways and in parts colourful and in parts brick work architecture that takes you back in time.
Its an instant favourite and anyone will fall in love with the place and as one of the guys pointed out the Paul Rever house and said "Boston is the Best !!!!! ". I could only answer in affirmation.

A Ball drops ... and a Pilgrimage of sorts

Times Square during New Years celebration .. I didnt want to do it, in fact I particularly didnt want to, but for lack of options tagged along with my friends and ened up standing for six and a half hours in Freezing cold to see a Ball drop and some feeble attempt at Fireworks light up the city at 12 mid night to usher in the new year.
Local bands and musicians played on and "New York New York" was rendered a dozen times and requests to "sing along" became really irritating after the gazzilionth time.
Cold, Lack of Food, Sleep Deprivation and standing in one place for soo long does little to cheer you up, atleast cheer me up. Guess with such a big turnout (estimated forecast of more than a million people at Times Square before the event), this event is important for some people.
I was left gnashing my teeth at the lost oppurtunity for visiting other places of interest in NY.
It did have one fleeting moment for me, when just before the Midnight countdown, they played Imagine by John Lennon. It felt good that in between all the glitz and marketing and made forTV celebrations, where even the New Year countdown screen had a big Budweiser ad, the organisers thought it right to play that particular song.
But the high point of my trip to NY was the plan to Visit the House where Einstein stayed in Princeton after he moved to US.
I was looking forward to it, and it almost did not happen as we were too tired and slept till late
but we finally decided to just go there. It took us almost two and a half hours to drive from Stony Brook, NY to Princeton. I knew that the house was a private property now and someone actually lived there and that its not permissible to visit the house as such. But still I was curious and it was almost like a pilgrimage that I wanted to do.
By the time we reached the Princeton, it was dark and chilly and we reached 112, Mercer Street in the quaint little university town of Princeton. We could just take some pics from outside and had tp be content with that. Later on we walked around a bit and came across a Bust of Einstein made of Bronze. Another Photo Session :-)
Felt good to have done it .. got a feel that the entire weekend was not wasted :-)
Anyways, its a new year now, a new beginning, and as I write this, I realised that I have made no resolutions this year !!
Happy New Year !