Christmas Trees in Botanic Gardens

 All the main paths in the Botanic Gardens have been flanked by Christmas trees decorated by local businesses, schools, organisations, and embassies. The display is called 'Trees of the World'.

 I liked this one from a local nursery, which used live orchids as the main decoration.

 This is the one from the Australian Embassy. Definitely green and gold but pretty ordinary really.

A close up of some of the signs. Must admit though it may not have been the best, but it certainly wasn't the worst. In my humble opinion anyway.

Christmas on Orchard Road.

 Some of the stunning decorations along Orchard Road. This is the main theme and at night is lit up blue and white.

 Christmas Tree outside Ion building. At night the windows in the background make a large TV screen with Santa and his sleigh souring over the tree tops.

Outside Paragon Shopping Centre. The horses at the bottom of the tree go around like a merry go round.

Eephants on Parade

 Currently there is an Elephant Parade happening in Singapore. Elephants in many disguises have appeared  along Orchard Road and the Botanic Gardens.

 It is similar to the 'Cow Parades' which have been held in various places.

 The elephants have been decorated by different artists and replicas are for sale.

The idea is to raise money to support the Asian Elephant which is now an endangered species.

Church

 In the square opposite the hotel (Copley Square) was one of the oldest churches in Boston. Very ornate is contrasted well with the office block over the road, the John Hancock building.

 Inside was the usual, cathedral space with lots of  stained glass windows. I must admit the windows didn't look as spectacular from the inside as I thought they might.

Reflections in the John Hancock building make for an interesting photo.

Catie Copley

 Catie Copley, is a black labrador who was trained as a guide dog. She failed the final test because her own eyesight was not good enough. So she got a job at the Fairmont.

She works in customer relations. She greets guests and loves talking to children. Guests can "book" for the privilege of taking Catie for a walk or run. She is very friendly and I gave her a nice pat and scratch behind the ears. She is looking for her carer, the concierge who went through the doorway. Check out her comfy bed and her crystal water bowl.

Fairmont Hotel

 In Boston we stayed at  The Fairmont Hotel, on Copley Square, in the Back Bay area of Boston. It was a beautiful old building, which  was opened in 1912 by Joseph Kennedy, was was the Mayor of Boston. (and President Kennedy's grandfather)

 This is what greeted us inside the front door. The service desk is at the end of the corridor.

Our room was on the third floor. The corridors here were a bit more basic but still rather nice. It was a very posh hotel, but we actually got  a good deal by booking on the internet.

Tell it like it is!!

 Plenty of imagination was used when naming the 424+ Public Allies in Boston!!

The same person probably named the drains!!!

The Charles River

 We walked along the river back to our hotel from the Science Museum. The path had been landscaped and well used as a jogging track. This is the Longfellow Bridge which crosses from Boston to Cambridge. The bridge when it was built was nicknamed 'the salt and pepper bridge' because of the towers.

 Rowers and yachts on the river.

 Part of the landscaping, had pretty little creeks and water ways.

 More autumn foliage

Large walkovers crossed the busy freeway to get back to the built up area. This was the main Boston - New York Road.

Trumpeter Swans

 On the lake in Boston Botanic Gardens live a pair of trumpeter swans. Trumpeter swans are the largest swan and are native to North America. They are an endangered species. The Boston swans are removed from the lake each autumn and kept in the zoo over winter.

We were walking by the lake on the day they decided to catch them. It was all pretty methodical. They lured the swans down one end of the lake and then, the men with the big nets caught them! The funniest thing was the guy walking along thigh deep when he stepped into a hole! Whoops!!!! He got wet!.

USS Constitution

 The oldest commissioned warship in the world, put to sea, in 1797 two years after construction began.

 She was nicknamed "Old Ironsides"after cannonballs fired at her, in the war of 1812, merely bounced off as if she was made of iron.

 Rated at 44 guns she typically carried between 50 and 60 guns. She had a top speed of 13 knots. There is 8 miles of rope used in her rigging.

The Constitution was considered a super frigate in that she could out gun or out run anything she encountered.

The ship is permanently berthed in the Charlestown Naval Yard and ventures out 6 to 8 times a year into Boston Harbour.