Julie Bull's Blog

Christmas Trees in Botanic Gardens

2011-12-15T18:55:00.000+08:00

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.

2011-12-15T18:44:00.000+08:00

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

2011-12-15T18:37:00.000+08:00

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

2011-12-09T13:48:00.000+08:00

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

2011-12-09T13:38:00.000+08:00

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

2011-12-09T13:27:00.000+08:00

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!!

2011-12-04T17:23:00.000+08:00

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

The same person probably named the drains!!!

The Charles River

2011-12-04T17:20:00.000+08:00

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

2011-12-04T17:10:00.000+08:00

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

2011-12-02T15:14:00.000+08:00

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.

The Battleof Bunker Hill

2011-12-02T14:58:00.000+08:00

The first major battle of the Revolutionary War. on June 17, 1775 it took a force of 3000 redcoats to dislodge the Colonial Militia for hastily constructed fortifications on Breed's Hill in Charlestown. (Over the river from Boston)

The orders were issued for Bunker Hill but they fortified Breeds Hill instead. The Battle, however is still known as The Battle of Bunker Hill.

It was largely due to lack of ammunition that the Militia was forced to give up defense of the hill. The shortage of ammunition led to the famous order "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes" Attributed to different commanders involved in the battle it was another way of saying "Make every shot count"

Technically a British Victory, Bunker Hill proved that the Colonials could fight effectively against the British.

Burial Grounds

2011-12-01T16:13:00.000+08:00

Boston has three very old cemeteries dating back to when the city was first settled. It was interesting to see how the style of tombstone has changed with many of the older ones featuring death's heads and skeletons.

The signs were a little different to the normal "Keep off the grass"

Autumn leaves add colour to a graveyard scene.

John Hancock's memorial, signatory to the Declaration of Independence. Other people of note buried in the cemeteries were, Samuel Adams, also a signatory, and Mary Chilton, the first woman to step of the Mayflower.

This is a bit hard to see bur it is a really interesting tombstone with the death's head at the top and the skelton and Father time battling over death.

William Dawes Jnr was one of the other riders with Paul Revere. He took a different route to Lexington where he met up with Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott. They were captured by British Troops for breaking curfew, Prescott escaped and he was the one who actually delivered the message to Concord.

Paul Revere

2011-12-01T15:34:00.000+08:00

One if by land two if by sea. This is the tower of the North Church where two lanterns were hung to alert Paul Revere that the army was taking the route across the Charles River,


"Listen my children and you will hear, Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere"

On the 18th April 1775 Paul Revere made his famous ride from Boston to Lexington to warn the colonists that the troops were coming to arrest John Hancock and Samuel Adams, two of the leaders of The Sons of Liberty and later signatories of The Declaration of Independence. It is interesting what a little bit of publicity will do, the poem was written in 1860, well after the event and neglects to tell us that Paul Revere wasn't the only rider, and that he was captured by British soldiers before he reached Concord.

Paul Reveres house. He ws a silversmith and lived here with his family. His first wife Sarah, bore 8 children, when she died he married again and his second wife Rebecca, also had 8 children.

Paul Revere's tombstone

The Freedom Trail

2011-11-30T16:21:00.000+08:00

The Freedom Trail is walking trail through the streets of Boston, covering many places of interest in Boston's role in the American Revolution. We walked the trail over the few days we were there. These signs and a red brick line made it easy to follow.

The Old Constitution House. It was outside here, that the incident which became know as The Boston Massacre took place. The 'massacre', was a relatively minor skirmish between British soldiers and local agitators, in1770. 5 people were killed. Propaganda put out by Paul Revere and others, upgraded it to Massacre status.

One of the local guides. We met up with this guy several times on our travels and he was always full of interesting comments.

Fenuille Hall was a place were people could go to discuss and debate current affairs. It is now a local market with lots of small craft shops and food stalls.

We jump to another war. This monument commemorates the all black regiment who fought for the North in the War between the States (Civil War) There was a film starring Matthew Broderick a few years ago called "Glory"

The old South Meeting Hall, was also a Church. It was here the Sons of Liberty planned the Boston Tea Party.

Boston Common 1634

2011-11-30T15:52:00.001+08:00

Boston Common is the oldest public space in the US. It was founded in 1634 and was used for grazing cattle and livestock. When the British Army came to Boston in the lead up to the Revolution, the army camped on the common.

This tree fascinated me. It had obviously been lopped of at some time but continued to grow into this interesting shape.

A mounted policeman on duty in the common.

Statue of George Washington.

Some of the beautiful autumn foliage.

One of the resident squirrels. These squirrels were the fattest squirrels I have seen. They were quite tame and would actually take food from a person's hand. We saw several people feeding them.

This is the Massachusetts State Capital building, as seen from the Common, the Dome is covered with 22 carat gold and looks spectacular in the sunshine.

Make Way For Ducklings

2011-11-27T15:03:00.000+08:00

"Make Way for Ducklings" is an award winning Children's Book written in the 1930's by Robert McCloskey.

The book tells the story of Mrs Mallard and her ducklings Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack, navigated the streets of Boston to the pond in the Park.

Each duckling has its own individual character

They are a popular attraction for both adults and children.

And are just the right size for nearly two year olds.

The Hare and the Tortoise

2011-11-27T14:48:00.001+08:00

Boston has a lot of street sculptures, from modern ones such as these two the Hare and the Tortoise, to the more traditional famous person.

The Hare is being slowed down by Barry scratching his ears!!

Halloween

2011-11-23T12:42:00.000+08:00

October 31st is halloween so we arrived in Boston in time for the festivities. These two "spirits?"floated down the street in front of us.

We met these witches in Boston Common on the way to a party.

Many houses were decorated for Halloween. Spiders crawling up the wall give me the shivers.

The 'body' is hanging from the tree, lots of spider webs. Many houses were more subtle with just the hollowed out pumpkins on the step.

Train from New York to Boston

2011-11-23T12:30:00.000+08:00

We traveled to Boston on Monday 31st October. there was still a lot of snow in evidence from the freak snow storm on Sat 29th.

We passed lakes...

streams.....

villages.....

more snow....

the seaside....

and pretty countryside. It was a great trip. We left New York at 10.00am and arrived in Boston about 1.30pm It was a great trip.

Snow in Central Park

2011-11-21T17:23:00.000+08:00

The morning after the snow storm we decided to walk through Central Park to the Natural History Museum. It was a beautiful morning, cold and crisp with clear blue skies.

A lot of damage had been done, due to the fact there were still lots of leaves on the trees and the snow settled on them then broke the branches. Many areas were fenced off for safety reasons.

Just to prove it. Here I am in the snow, almost felt like being back in Norway.

A covered arbor and broken branches.

Across the lake.

Natural History Museum

2011-11-21T17:14:00.000+08:00

Teddy Roosevelt the 26th President of the United States established the Natural History Museum. He was played by Robin Williams in 'A Night in the Museum' Here he and his trusty Indian companion have hats of snow as this was taken the day after a freak early snowstorm hit New York and the East Coast.

The museum is rather old fashioned in places as it features stuffed animals in glass cages. I would rather see living animals than displays of this is what they looked like in the wild. They did however have an excellent planetarium, and the displays of the people of Central and South America were very good.

This one is for Tim. When we were in the US in 1984, Tim bought himself some fossils (which he still has) similar ones were on display here.

Couldn't leave the museum without at least one shot of the dinosaur bones.

Vincent and Claude

2011-11-20T14:54:00.000+08:00

We spent several hours visiting the museums in New York. MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here we caught up with some old friends and favorites or ours, Vincent (Van Gogh) and Claude (Monet) The top picture is Vincent's Wheat Fields.

Vincent again, Irises.

My favorite 'Starry, starry night' again by Van Gogh. It is amazing the amount of masterpieces that were on display in just these two museums. The Metropolitan is vast, you would need several full days to attempt to see everything.

On to Claude Monet and his waterlilies, two huge paintings dominated the room. Took me back to France a few years ago when we visited Monet's Garden.

A close up of some water lilies.

Monet again this one is Ágapanthus'

Finally Barry studying the technique used. Well at least hving a close look, the paint was applied very thickly in most places.

A Walk in the Park

2011-11-20T13:41:00.000+08:00

Our hotel was just a couple of blocks from Central Park so we were able to have some nice walks there. The squirrels were always good value. This one was stocking up on nuts for the winter.

Barry as usual enjoyed getting 'back to nature'.

Autumn Berries made a colourful display.

There were still plenty of leaves on the trees, very autumnal.

Contrast an old street lamp with an even older Egyptian Obelix (Didn't see Asterix!)

These trees were really pretty. The park is a great place to visit. It is wonderful that the 'founding fathers'(now that's an American expression) had the smarts to preserve such a large area for recreational use.

Imagine

2011-11-17T10:22:00.000+08:00

This is the Imagine Mosaic, part of the "Strawberry Fields"section of Central Park, built as a memorial to John Lennon. It is an area for quiet reflection but both times we were there it was full of people. The first time a group of High School kids were singing Beatle songs (badly) and I didn't have my camera.

The second time someone had decorated the mosaic as a tribute to John. He is well remembered.

Battery Point

2011-11-17T10:07:00.000+08:00

Battery Park is at the bottom tip of Manhatten Island. We came here to catch the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately the queues were so long it didn't seem worth it, so this was the closest we got. We found out later that the day we were there was the 125th anniversary of the statue and that she was then closed for refurbishment until June 2012.

Battery Point is close to WTC site. A pleasant spot for reflection.

No idea what this building is, just an attractive building on a beautiful autumn day, with clear blue skies. The next day it snowed!