24 Hours in Beantown

I went up to Boston in June for a very spur of the moment visit - to see my brother briefly and to attend my friend Stephen's photography exhibit. It was a whirlwind trip for sure. Alison and I drove up late Friday night - got in after midnight and crashed. Saturday morning was coffee with my brother on his front stoop while we watched all the Bruins fan pass by on their way to the Stanley Cup Parade. Oh, didn't I mention that I happened to be in Boston on that particular day? The Bruin fans were out in FULL force and it made for some great photography and people watching. We walked down to see the parade too.

It.Was.Awesome.











After the parade and a much needed lunch, Clay and I walked through Charlestown for a mini-photo shoot. I wont confess to you how long ago I gave Clay the "present" of some of my photography to frame and hang in his apartment. He requested shots of Boston and I finally made it up here to take some shots.








Bunker Hill



An old bootscraper on someone's front step. Pretty cool.


One of the most historic bars in the country. It's been around since 1780 and George Washington and Paul Revere have had beers here. I dig it.


Part of the Freedom Trail runs through Charlestown




Then it was off to the South End for Stephen's photography and art exhibit. Stephen started a non-profit for medical relief to the Congo and this was a fundraiser, selling photographs he took while he was over there and paintings that were donated by local artists.

Alison put together quite the spread.





Artisinal beer was donated - super fun!


Clay got very into the art discussion.


Alison's Gingerbread Mustache Cookies were the hit of the party




'Twas quite the well-attended event...




The artist himself...


With his handmade pocket square, naturally


My brother and I


All in all, I had a wonderful (if whirlwind) trip to Boston. I was on an 8am bus back to NYC the next morning to teach a class, but I was SO glad I went. Hopefully my new life will allow for many more fun trips like this....

Paris - Part 2

DAY 2: Monmarte & Sacre Cur, the Moulin Rouge, the Lapin Agile, several cafes, more wandering, a parfumerie, the Louvre just as it was closing and a wonderful dinner at a little pizza place just a few doors down from our hotel. Truth be told, we have come to call Monmarte our Waterloo. We may or may not have gotten into a wee bit of a disagreement and I may or may not have cried on the streets of Paris. Everyone should do it once, right? But it led to some really good conversations, so all was not lost.






I've decided Hal Holbrook would play this guy in the movie about his life. Either that or it actually IS Hal Holbrook.


Actual Moulin Rouge

The Louvre


DAY 3: Freeeeeeeeeeezing. Notre Dame, a stop for a warming cup of cafe in a cafe, wandering over near the Latin Quarter, an attempt to buy Geoff some gloves, but they broke after about 15 minutes, more photography, AMAZING french onion soup to warm me for lunch, a brief stroll through Luxembourg Gardens, a brief tour through The Musee d'Orsay (where we both fell for the same Degas painting), a frigid wait in the cold for a taxi, a nap at the hotel, a dinner at the corner bistro after being turned away from a reccommended restaurant, a late night crepe and a walk down the rue de Clare.



I was really taken with the statue of Jesus at the altar inside Notre Dame. I took about 47 pictures of him. You couldn't really see him directly from the front but I thought it was beautiful and there was something about it that really spoke to me. I know it's weird to talk him up and then show you a shot from behind the altar, but, again, angles of him were limited.


Reeeeaaallly ready for my soup now, please.


Luxembourg Garden




Latin Quarter - or thereabouts.


How amazingly Parisien is she?



Musee d'Orsay



All in all, Paris was pretty gorgeous. Even with the cold and the grey. We would love to go back.