Rhode Island - day three of the trip

We went to Rhode Island today. Rhode Island is about two hours drive away from Boston. When driving on the bridge connecting the continent and the Island, the view ahead of us is so beautiful. You can see large Island with some small Islands around it. Gorgeous mansions are sparsely built, with size and fashion, along the coast. There is even a house built above the island whose area size is exact the same of the house. No bridge connected, the only way to enter and exit the house is by boat.

The most popular place to go is Newport, town dedicated for tourism and a relaxation of life. We ate Dunkkin Donuts, again, for lunch and then went to a fort that has never been used. Unfortunately, the fort is closed for maintenance. After this, we drove along the coast to Berkeley Mansion. It's so Luxurious. I became wanting to own a mansion like this so much. However, it's said that when the old owner lived there, the family need seventy servants to maintain this mansion, which is unlikely possible nowadays.

Freedom trail-Boston Day 4

Freedom trail is undoubtedly the most attractive place to me, so historical and educational. Walking site by site is like reading a vivid history book. One by one, most important events leading to the funding of USA evolve in front of my own eye. In old south church, I can imagine how the crowd gathering angrily and listening the inspiring speech by Samuel Adams. Five bloody dead bodies were in King street where tea were dumping into sea several blocks away. It is Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party.

It took me a long time to visit each exhibition inside, so I can't complete the whole trail. I visited State house, old south church and old state house. State house has a magnificent outlook and a glamorous ornament as well. The state house is built after funding of USA. There is a wooden cod fish hanging in the house of representative. They said that it is a good luck charm for Boston.

Old south church is a puritan church. Compared to several churches we visited days before, it's stunningly simple. It's almost not ornamented at all, both inside and outside. However it played a crucial role in American Revolution.

Old state house is the political center of Boston in the colony period. Both the governor and representative would use this building. To my surprise, though the independence of American eventually resulting in the eruption of revolution, some democracy system heritage from England were already practiced in colony world.

At last, this trip also answered me a question. Ever wondering why there is so many John Hancock Buildings in cities of USA? Who is this guy John Hancock? The answer is, John Hancock is really something. He is the fist man signing in the declaration of Independence. Besides, he is a Bostonian.

There is presense......even in absence. It must be love

The second day in Boston is a day of Churches.

It happened to be mass on Sunday, so many churches opened to public. There are churches all over the city. Most of them are worth taking pictures, both outside and inside. Yet, some churches look nothing. Puritans' church, for example. But they could be important in aspect of historic meaning.

On the other hand, Boston is also a city of colleges. Harvard and MIT are the most renowned. Boston University is also very famous. Besides them, I saw many other universities and colleges reside in the city.

Perhaps it's because of this large amount of churches and colleges, I felt people on street elegant, pretty and thoughtful. However it's completely opposite situation when we drove. The traffics in Boston is bad, but the drivers are even worse. Rushed and rude, they horned all the time even to cars hesitating for only one second after the light turned green. We had been horned for more than one hundred times.

Boston Day one

This is the most exhausted trip of mine ever......

Leaving Champaign 10 p.m. and being transported all along until 10 a.m. next day. It reminds me what we often say " work smart and play hard". This time, I played extremely hard.

Right after taking off the airplane, we were immediately lost in the awful traffics of Boston. Thank god Boston is such a small city, I met my friend in the restaurant on time even though we wasted so much time finding our way.

With two cups of coffee, I was sustained to stand through all destinations today which are Trinity Church, Public Library of Boston, Harvard University and MIT.

Subway at 2 AM. So empty.

Trinity Church in front

Interesting Stair-like wall of Trinity Church

Another view of Trinity Church

Public Library of Boston

funny panda

Pretty old video.

Yet, it's the funniest one I've seen these days.

People say pandas don't know how to raise baby pandas well.

I guess it's more or less true.

The baby panda there is kind of like a thing put on the ground.

Angela Hewitt

Tonight, I went to enjoy Angela Hewitt playing Bach's Goldberg.

It's fantastic. In the beginning, I was kind of not used to the way she performed because I am too used to the Glenn Gould's play.

But after a while, I started to appreciate her sense of touching.

Thanks that I checked the mail at 5 pm today. It's like a gift to me.

The following is the introduction of Angela Hewitt,

Gramophone Artist of the Year Angela Hewitt (2006) occupies the position in Bach keyboard playing today that Glenn Gould enjoyed a generation ago. Completed in 2005, her 11-year project to record all of Bach’s major keyboard works has been described as “one of the record glories of our age” and has earned her a huge following. Hewitt has been extolled as “the Bach pianist par excellence of her generation” and “nothing less than the pianist who will define Bach performance on the piano for years to come” (Stereophile). Over the past decade, fortunate Krannert Center audiences have been immersed in Bach’s Goldberg Variations through the incomparable Murray Perahia and Christopher Taylor. Now they can witness still more facets of the work as Hewitt—perhaps the most elegant interpreter of this literature—reveals them.