Weekend in Waltham

Our good friends, Emily and Andy, recently bought a house in Waltham, MA just outside of Boston. We really wanted to visit and see their new home! Over fall break, we had the perfect opportunity to do just that.

It was a great vacation. We arrived at the hotel late on Friday night so that we could enjoy full days of fun on Saturday and Sunday. We went to Wilson Farms in Lexington to check out their pumpkins, mulled cider, fall mums etc... and to pick up some delicious fresh veggies for dinner. Then, we checked out the town of Lexington- the site of the first military engagements of the Revolutionary War. It is also the site of some gorgeous fall foliage!

The next day, we took the MTA into Boston to see sites along the Freedom Trail. Xavier seemed to enjoy public transportation as much as we do! Andy read us excerpts from a great walking guide as we arrived at each new place. I had been wanting to check out the Freedom Trail for a long time now. It's odd to have a degree with a concentration on Colonial American history and never have been to any of the Revolutionary sites in Massachusetts. Thanks to the Smiths, I've seen a bunch now!

The MA State House was cool. The gold dome is so beautiful ostentatious. It was designed by the same architect that designed the old State House in Hartford. Knowing that, I can see the resemblance. The Granary Burying Ground was a very interesting cemetery. Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Paul Revere, Ben Franklin's parents and several other Bostonians of note are interred here.

We also got to see the Old North Church and Paul Revere's house. It was neat to see the steeple of this church, where lanterns once signaled the approach of the British regulars on the night of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride. "One if by land, and two, if by sea" indeed! Some of the more interesting facts I learned while visiting Paul Revere's house were that he had 16 children (8 with each of his two wives) and that he was tried on charges of cowardice and insubordination in a court martial. (He was eventually cleared.) Wow!

Most importantly, we got to visit with Andy and Emily and see their lovely home firsthand. It's great! And, soon, the impressive bathroom renovations will be complete and their house will be even more wonderful! Yay! I am already looking forward to our next visit.

Weekend Trip Westward

This past weekend we went on a trip - primarily to see the Kobe Biennale 2007 art festival in Meriken Park, Kobe. The theme of this year's Biennale was Art in a Container. Each artist had to fill a 40 foot dry freight shipping container in some way that "condensed their creativity into a limited space." My ikebana sensei had generously given us two free tickets because she thought I would enjoy seeing the few ikebana entries to the Biennale. I did. A handful of non-flower filled containers were also very cool. (see above example) However, most of the other entries were pretty strange.

In addition to the Biennale, we checked out Kobe Port, the 1995 Earthquake Memorial and Chinatown. The next day we went to Himeji Castle and Kokoen Gardens. I don't feel like going into more detail, so I'll let my photos speak for me. :)