I should have posted a lot sooner, because we've seen so much in the last week. Last I left it we had just left Niagara Falls, and from there we visited Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and are currently in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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| Goofing off in the Boston Commons |
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| Washington, in the Public Gardens |
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In Boston we were lucky enough to have a friend host us for the 3 days that we spent there. Being a Harvard med student, our friend gave us a guided tour of both the main campus as well as the medical school campus. To be honest we were expecting a little more than what we got from Harvard, but that could have been due to the weather - the grounds were kind of barren and beat up, but it is coming on winter so I suppose that's to be expected. The medical school architecture was impressive though, with it's stark white marble buildings and gigantic roman columns. The rest of our time in Boston was spent wandering around the Boston Commons and the adjacent public gardens. We spent some time trying to find a guided walking tour of the historic landmarks, but once we actually found it we had been walking for about 2 hours, so an additional 90 minute tour wasn't too appealing. All in all we saw a lot of Boston, not many of the famous sights, but we had a good time exploring other things - not to mention eating some really delicious food!
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| City Hall, Philadelphia |
We decided to skip New York because the 2 days we had planned just wasn't enough to really get a New York experience, so we opted out. Instead we went straight to Philadelphia. We met up with some friends whom we met in Korea, and they were wonderful hosts. They lived a bit outside the city in a town called Manyunk in a gorgeous old home; I am so jealous of the architecture on the East Coast! After a few 20 minute bus rides into the city, John and I were able to see the sights, including Reading Market, Penn's Landing, Rittenhouse Square, The Philadelphia Art Museum (including the "Rocky" steps right out front) and then some as we just meandered the streets. This was probably the 5th time that I have been to Philly, and I have yet to be disappointed. I absolutely love this city! If there were one place on the East Coast that I would live, it'd definitely be Philly. There is just so much to do, so much history, and such great places to eat that you're never bored! We had a total of 3 Philly cheese steaks in about 13 hours while we were here, from both Pat's and Geno's - the rivaling stores across the street from each other - and decided that Pat's is better hands down. We also went to my favorite place on South Street, called Jim's, which is also very good. We then had some ice cream at an old-timey soda fountain, The Franklin Fountain, where John had a root-beer float, with homemade root-beer, and I had a vanilla malt. They were sooooo good, if you're ever in the area, I highly recommend trying it out! I was sad to say good-bye, but it was time to leave the city of brotherly love and head to our next destination: Washington D.C.
One of the main reasons for coming to D.C. was to visit one of John's old friends, Adam de Boer, who had an art gallery opening on the 15th. We got there on the 13th so we could do some sightseeing the day prior to the show. We took a subway down to the Mall and walked down to the Washington Monument. We also spent a lot of time wandering the halls of the Natural History Museum. I could have spent a lot more time there, but once we got to the "Gems and Minerals" section, John's patience just about ran out... So we left the museum and moseyed on over to the Lincoln Memorial. The next day we got to spend some time at Adam's art gallery, and then his after party where we schmoozed the night away. We hit up the Mall once again, where this time we walked in the opposite direction toward the Capitol Building and the Air and Space museum. There was a Muslim prayer service/rally being held on the Capitol lawn when we first got there, which was interesting to see. D.C. is a really great place, and the Mall is very impressive both in the architecture and amount of information contained in just a few city blocks; we had a lot of fun soaking it all in.
And then there was Charlotte. We came here to visit John's grandparents, who graciously let us stay with them in their retirement community. Today we went on a driving tour of the city, where I was pretty shocked to see skyscrapers. I don't know what I was expecting, but Charlotte is a much bigger, and much more metropolitan city than I had imagined. The whole city is jam packed with huge trees and gorgeous houses, which were fun to view as we drove through the city. We had a wonderful time just relaxing and catching up with John's grandparents, who are just the sweetest and most generous people I've ever met. Definitely one of the more relaxing and meaningful stops on our trip.
And that's that so far! I'll add some more as soon as I can, but as for now off to Georgia!!
And of course, some more pictures:
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| Fenway park, right down the street from where we were staying. |
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| Boston Commons |
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| Some people playing what looked to be Quidditch (notice the broom sticks on the floor...) |
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| A Degas at the Philly Museum of Art |
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| The Philly Museum of Art (and the Rocky steps!) |
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| Logan Square, downtown Philly |
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| Pat's Steakhouse, across the street from: |
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| Geno's! |
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| John enjoying his rootbeer float at the Franklin Fountain |
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| RAWR!! A cool T-Rex at the Natural History Museum in D.C. |
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| The Capitol building is behind us, which you can't see - but it's a cute shot anyway ^_^ |
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| Us with John's Grandparents, Pa-John and Memaw |
One of the main reasons for coming to D.C. was to visit one of John's old friends, Adam de Boer, who had an art gallery opening on the 15th. We got there on the 13th so we could do some sightseeing the day prior to the show. We took a subway down to the Mall and walked down to the Washington Monument. We also spent a lot of time wandering the halls of the Natural History Museum. I could have spent a lot more time there, but once we got to the "Gems and Minerals" section, John's patience just about ran out... So we left the museum and moseyed on over to the Lincoln Memorial. The next day we got to spend some time at Adam's art gallery, and then his after party where we schmoozed the night away. We hit up the Mall once again, where this time we walked in the opposite direction toward the Capitol Building and the Air and Space museum. There was a Muslim prayer service/rally being held on the Capitol lawn when we first got there, which was interesting to see. D.C. is a really great place, and the Mall is very impressive both in the architecture and amount of information contained in just a few city blocks; we had a lot of fun soaking it all in.
