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| Andy behind a big lump of snow |
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| Frozen River |
13th Jan
Sadly the last day of our holiday. However, it had stopped snowing and the sun was shining so we took a walk into town for some last minute shopping in the morning before heading to the airport. Isn't it pretty!
12th Jan
Today was a huge blizzard in Boston.
Andy and I braved the weather to return the car keys at 8:30, but it was already knee high and still snowing hard.
We sought refuge in a cafe with the papers in case it eased off but the snow continued to fall in great flurries so we retreated back to Dom and Edith's nice warm flat where we read our books, played lots of hands of Canasta (all bar one won by Andy. Grrr!) and then shared a lovely meal with Dom in the evening.
Andy and I braved the weather to return the car keys at 8:30, but it was already knee high and still snowing hard.
We sought refuge in a cafe with the papers in case it eased off but the snow continued to fall in great flurries so we retreated back to Dom and Edith's nice warm flat where we read our books, played lots of hands of Canasta (all bar one won by Andy. Grrr!) and then shared a lovely meal with Dom in the evening.
10th & 11th Jan
Andy's birthday present to me last year was a skiing trip as part of this holiday so we headed out to Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire (state motto "Live Free or Die": a wee bit scary?) for two days skiing.
Unfortunately there's no photo or video evidence of this so you'll just have to take our word for the fact that we are both incredibly graceful, brave and talented skiers.
(To put that in context we started on the nursery slopes on the first day - only graduating to the dizzy heights of red slopes when we'd re-found our skiing feet. So, in my case, if you count splayed legs and flailing arms as graceful then I was definitely that.)
We had an absolutely amazing time. Nothing beats the feeling of flying downhill shifting your weight to swing through turns (and nothing's worse than the moment you realise that you've just lost control!) Skiing's much more fun to do than to read about though so I'll leave it at that, but thank you Andy for an AMAZING birthday present.
Unfortunately there's no photo or video evidence of this so you'll just have to take our word for the fact that we are both incredibly graceful, brave and talented skiers.
(To put that in context we started on the nursery slopes on the first day - only graduating to the dizzy heights of red slopes when we'd re-found our skiing feet. So, in my case, if you count splayed legs and flailing arms as graceful then I was definitely that.)
We had an absolutely amazing time. Nothing beats the feeling of flying downhill shifting your weight to swing through turns (and nothing's worse than the moment you realise that you've just lost control!) Skiing's much more fun to do than to read about though so I'll leave it at that, but thank you Andy for an AMAZING birthday present.
9th Jan
Today we walked the Boston freedom trail.
It is a 2.5 mile walk that is quite literally drawn on the ground as a red line for tourists to follow (either as red bricks sunk into the pavement or occasionally a stripe of red paint). It takes in 16 historical sites (mostly about beating the dastardly English!) and is a really nice way to get a feel for some of the city.
We stopped along the way to have a look at Paul Revere's house (concluding that he was very good at self promotion rather than particularly important to the revolution) and had a look around the USS Constitution - a frigate warship launched in 1797 which bristled with up to 60 guns and required a crew of around 500 in her heyday.
It was also the day of my introduction to American football. We skipped the very last bit of the freedom trail in order to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Packers won and now I know the rules I can see the potential for getting quite hooked. One complaint though - a 60 minute game takes 3.5 hours to complete! That's quite a commitment if you're a dedicated fan. And I've now seen so many TV adverts that I'm feeling a weird compulsion to eat about 10 kilos of junk food, buy an enormous car and insure myself against pretty much everything (for some reason there are tons of ads for insurance policies on American TV - as well as the perennial ones for food and trucks).
Finally, to mop up nearly 4 hours worth of drinking we headed to the Massachusetts institution that is Legal Seafoods for an enormous but very tasty dinner.
It is a 2.5 mile walk that is quite literally drawn on the ground as a red line for tourists to follow (either as red bricks sunk into the pavement or occasionally a stripe of red paint). It takes in 16 historical sites (mostly about beating the dastardly English!) and is a really nice way to get a feel for some of the city.
We stopped along the way to have a look at Paul Revere's house (concluding that he was very good at self promotion rather than particularly important to the revolution) and had a look around the USS Constitution - a frigate warship launched in 1797 which bristled with up to 60 guns and required a crew of around 500 in her heyday.
It was also the day of my introduction to American football. We skipped the very last bit of the freedom trail in order to watch the Green Bay Packers play the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Packers won and now I know the rules I can see the potential for getting quite hooked. One complaint though - a 60 minute game takes 3.5 hours to complete! That's quite a commitment if you're a dedicated fan. And I've now seen so many TV adverts that I'm feeling a weird compulsion to eat about 10 kilos of junk food, buy an enormous car and insure myself against pretty much everything (for some reason there are tons of ads for insurance policies on American TV - as well as the perennial ones for food and trucks).
Finally, to mop up nearly 4 hours worth of drinking we headed to the Massachusetts institution that is Legal Seafoods for an enormous but very tasty dinner.
Jan 8th
Not a huge amount to write about today as it was largely spent on a bus between New York and Boston. I felt a little sad to leave New York but looking forward to the rest of the trip at the same time.
When we eventually arrived we made our way to the flat in Cambridge that Edith shares with Dom. Thanks so much guys for letting us stay there!
It was really lovely to meet Dom and his fiancee Tracy . . . and not just because they'd cooked such a delicious dinner which we all shared that night.
When we eventually arrived we made our way to the flat in Cambridge that Edith shares with Dom. Thanks so much guys for letting us stay there!
It was really lovely to meet Dom and his fiancee Tracy . . . and not just because they'd cooked such a delicious dinner which we all shared that night.
7th Jan
Had an amazing day in NY. Got up early to try and blag some student tickets for the opera. I succeeded which meant that a doctor, a lawyer and one genuine student all got great seats at the Met for just $35.
After that I headed to the MOMA to meet Andy and had a couple of happy hours wandering through Picasso's and Pollock's.
I absolutely love the MOMA. I love the combination of comforting and beautiful works like Degas and Rothko and really challenging "is this really art" stuff. I've always quite wanted to live in a small tent in the museum. Every night I'd pitch it in a different room and then wake up in the morning surrounded by all that art.
Then after dinner it was time to dress up and head to the Opera House to make use of the tickets that I'd blagged earlier. The show was La Traviata. The set design was stunning and the music amazing (not that anyone needs me to tell them that Verdi was pretty good at composing operas!). The libretto was also lovely and,
"Go and get the Doctor!
Tell him Alfredo is back,
Back in my arms,
Tell him I want to live again!"
had me weeping.
Here's a clip of the dress rehearsal that I found online.
After that I headed to the MOMA to meet Andy and had a couple of happy hours wandering through Picasso's and Pollock's.
I absolutely love the MOMA. I love the combination of comforting and beautiful works like Degas and Rothko and really challenging "is this really art" stuff. I've always quite wanted to live in a small tent in the museum. Every night I'd pitch it in a different room and then wake up in the morning surrounded by all that art.
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| View of the MOMA courtyard from inside |
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| Andy & me looking a bit geeky in front of some Warhol wallpaper! |
Then after dinner it was time to dress up and head to the Opera House to make use of the tickets that I'd blagged earlier. The show was La Traviata. The set design was stunning and the music amazing (not that anyone needs me to tell them that Verdi was pretty good at composing operas!). The libretto was also lovely and,
"Go and get the Doctor!
Tell him Alfredo is back,
Back in my arms,
Tell him I want to live again!"
had me weeping.
Here's a clip of the dress rehearsal that I found online.
6th Jan
Today we went to the Frick Collection - the house of a steel magnate with an amazing art collection, which he bequeathed as a public museum on his death.
Both the house and art are amazing (if you've not been before then go next time you're in New York!)
My particular favourites were a Vermeer, a Holbein and a Rembrant.
After the Frick we walked to central park for some ice skating. Here are some rather blurred pics of me showing off my skating skills.
And to round off a lovely day we met up with Jeremy for a seafood dinner at Mary's Fish Camp.
Both the house and art are amazing (if you've not been before then go next time you're in New York!)
My particular favourites were a Vermeer, a Holbein and a Rembrant.
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| Hans Holbein the Younger (c. 1498 — 1543) Portrait of Sir Thomas More, 1527 |
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| Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606 - 1669) Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts, 1636 |
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 Johannes Vermeer (1632 - 1675) Officer and Laughing Girl, c. 1657 |
After the Frick we walked to central park for some ice skating. Here are some rather blurred pics of me showing off my skating skills.
And to round off a lovely day we met up with Jeremy for a seafood dinner at Mary's Fish Camp.
Jan 5th
Here's a random photo of a yellow cab to start off another New York day:
In the morning I went down to the financial district at the tip of Manhatten prior to meeting Jeremy for lunch. Last year I read Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail - an enthralling account of the banking crisis - and I enjoyed wandering beneath the towering corporate headquaters, built as hymns to enormous wealth and equally towering egos.
I met Jeremy at 200 West Street, the 43-story Goldman Sachs building. As we had a brief tour I realised that whilst the people I saw in front of their trading screens probably earned ten times that of the average American in this world they were the small fry, with embarrassingly meagre pay packets.
I also passed ground zero that morning. Thinking about the 9/11 attacks invariably makes me sad. I can't help reliving the awful footage of people falling like flakes of soot from the sky having chosen to jump. How unbearable to know as a certainty that you were about to die. How could you speak to someone you loved knowing that? What words could you possibly find? How could you ever choose who to contact out of all the people you were leaving behind?
Lunch with Jeremy was great though and who better to shake you out of a melancholy state of mind? But by the time we'd finished I was very late for Andy so I hurried to the Metropolitan Museum hoping that he'd got my texts with a new meeting time. After an anxious 15 minutes in the lobby I heard my name and was relieved to see a familiar smile twinkling at me from the balcony.
The Met's not a bad place to leave someone waiting: he'd already had time to see the photography from the 1910s exhibition and then together we checked out the Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern collections. I wish we could have seen more, but the museum was closing and we were herded with the other visitors like reluctant sheep towards the exits.
Home for some tea and to be beaten at cards by Andy.
In the morning I went down to the financial district at the tip of Manhatten prior to meeting Jeremy for lunch. Last year I read Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail - an enthralling account of the banking crisis - and I enjoyed wandering beneath the towering corporate headquaters, built as hymns to enormous wealth and equally towering egos.
I met Jeremy at 200 West Street, the 43-story Goldman Sachs building. As we had a brief tour I realised that whilst the people I saw in front of their trading screens probably earned ten times that of the average American in this world they were the small fry, with embarrassingly meagre pay packets.
I also passed ground zero that morning. Thinking about the 9/11 attacks invariably makes me sad. I can't help reliving the awful footage of people falling like flakes of soot from the sky having chosen to jump. How unbearable to know as a certainty that you were about to die. How could you speak to someone you loved knowing that? What words could you possibly find? How could you ever choose who to contact out of all the people you were leaving behind?
Lunch with Jeremy was great though and who better to shake you out of a melancholy state of mind? But by the time we'd finished I was very late for Andy so I hurried to the Metropolitan Museum hoping that he'd got my texts with a new meeting time. After an anxious 15 minutes in the lobby I heard my name and was relieved to see a familiar smile twinkling at me from the balcony.
The Met's not a bad place to leave someone waiting: he'd already had time to see the photography from the 1910s exhibition and then together we checked out the Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern collections. I wish we could have seen more, but the museum was closing and we were herded with the other visitors like reluctant sheep towards the exits.
Home for some tea and to be beaten at cards by Andy.
4th Jan
Traveled to New York today.
I love New York. It's such a cool mix. Hip kids in hi-tops heading out to a bar sit next to opera-bound dames on the subway . . . and sometimes strike up a conversation. Snatches of many different languages catch your ear as you walk down the street. People are purposeful, always on their way somewhere, but also open, forthright and ever-ready to talk. It's not a town just for the young, or the old; just for the white or the black. It's genuinely a place that you can make your own whatever your background or interests.
We stayed a Ed's apartment by Columbia University whist he was back in the UK for Christmas. (Thanks Ed for letting us stay.)
Once we'd picked up the keys and deposited our bags we set out on foot and walked south the full length of central park as the sun went down.
Over a coffee to warm up I looked for a bar that might be showing the cricket. We found Eight Mile Creek and headed there to drink a few pints and watch England en route to a brilliant ashes victory. We left them to it though in order to meet up with the lovely Jeremy at the Spotted Pig.
I love New York. It's such a cool mix. Hip kids in hi-tops heading out to a bar sit next to opera-bound dames on the subway . . . and sometimes strike up a conversation. Snatches of many different languages catch your ear as you walk down the street. People are purposeful, always on their way somewhere, but also open, forthright and ever-ready to talk. It's not a town just for the young, or the old; just for the white or the black. It's genuinely a place that you can make your own whatever your background or interests.
We stayed a Ed's apartment by Columbia University whist he was back in the UK for Christmas. (Thanks Ed for letting us stay.)
Once we'd picked up the keys and deposited our bags we set out on foot and walked south the full length of central park as the sun went down.
Over a coffee to warm up I looked for a bar that might be showing the cricket. We found Eight Mile Creek and headed there to drink a few pints and watch England en route to a brilliant ashes victory. We left them to it though in order to meet up with the lovely Jeremy at the Spotted Pig.
3rd Jan
Today dawned beautifully sunny and bitterly cold.
We had pre-booked tickets for a tour of the US Capitol. It was only en-route that we read the small print advising us to allow 45 minutes beforehand to get through security. Fortunately it was a quiet day on Congress hill and arriving breathless five minutes before the start of the tour proved OK.
Things didn't get off to a very promising start when a the introductory film had a technical fault and we were left with subtitles, some very stirring music, and a completely blank screen. It was quite reassuring that in the legislative heart of an economic and military superpower stuff like that still happens!
Then off we went: looking around the stunning domed hall, visiting the old Supreme Court Chamber and admiring the statuary (two statues from each State). It was interesting that the people portrayed were often military generals or politicians - there were very few great scientists or artists commemorated - and to a piece the sculptures were lifelike rather than experimental.
The tour was great though and definitely to be recommended; and at the end we went off to sit in the gallery of the empty house of representatives and tried to picture the politicians in action there wrangling about some landmark piece of legislation.
Next was the Library of Congress. It's brilliant, if you're in DC with time on your hands definitely go! We saw the Guntenberg Bible and maps from the 15th Century, which are amazingly accurate if you overlook the complete omission of the pacific ocean.
The rest of the day was spent walking through DC trying to recover from some truly American portion sizes at lunch. We popped into the holocaust museum to see an exhibition on Nazi propaganda - something that the national socialists were chillingly adept at. We continued on, reaching the Jefferson Memorial just as the sun was going down, and followed that with a floodlit walk through the FDR memorial.
In the evening we joined Sam and Nina for some exotic Mexican food at Oyamel. My advice if you ever find yourself eating there? Don’t order the grasshoppers.
We had pre-booked tickets for a tour of the US Capitol. It was only en-route that we read the small print advising us to allow 45 minutes beforehand to get through security. Fortunately it was a quiet day on Congress hill and arriving breathless five minutes before the start of the tour proved OK.
Things didn't get off to a very promising start when a the introductory film had a technical fault and we were left with subtitles, some very stirring music, and a completely blank screen. It was quite reassuring that in the legislative heart of an economic and military superpower stuff like that still happens!
Then off we went: looking around the stunning domed hall, visiting the old Supreme Court Chamber and admiring the statuary (two statues from each State). It was interesting that the people portrayed were often military generals or politicians - there were very few great scientists or artists commemorated - and to a piece the sculptures were lifelike rather than experimental.
The tour was great though and definitely to be recommended; and at the end we went off to sit in the gallery of the empty house of representatives and tried to picture the politicians in action there wrangling about some landmark piece of legislation.
Next was the Library of Congress. It's brilliant, if you're in DC with time on your hands definitely go! We saw the Guntenberg Bible and maps from the 15th Century, which are amazingly accurate if you overlook the complete omission of the pacific ocean.
The rest of the day was spent walking through DC trying to recover from some truly American portion sizes at lunch. We popped into the holocaust museum to see an exhibition on Nazi propaganda - something that the national socialists were chillingly adept at. We continued on, reaching the Jefferson Memorial just as the sun was going down, and followed that with a floodlit walk through the FDR memorial.
In the evening we joined Sam and Nina for some exotic Mexican food at Oyamel. My advice if you ever find yourself eating there? Don’t order the grasshoppers.
2nd Jan
We went to the zoo this morning. I love zoos! As long as the animals seem contented I get a pure childish pleasure from coming face to face with them.
Was saw an enormous tiger (paws the size of your head) basking in the sun; a family of elephants mooching around together; a couple of pandas doing not much at all; and some rather underwhelming horses (they are were a very rare breed apparently, but did just look like ordinary ponies and seemed a bit incongruous sandwiched between tigers and elephants).
Even better than a normal zoo the Washington zoo is a free zoo. If I lived in DC I’d go jogging there every day and would wave to the gorillas as I ran past!
The rest of the day was spent meeting up with Edith to collect keys for her Boston apartment and doing some shopping before joining Sam and Nina for some lovely homemade minestrone back at the apartment.
During our time in DC Sam and Nina were charming and incredibly welcoming hosts. If they minded us sleeping in their living room for nearly a week they did a very good job of disguising that - and instead plied us with food, advice on what to see and do, and great conversation throughout. Thanks Sam & Nina, and if you ever want somewhere to stay in Edinburgh we'd love to return the favour.
During our time in DC Sam and Nina were charming and incredibly welcoming hosts. If they minded us sleeping in their living room for nearly a week they did a very good job of disguising that - and instead plied us with food, advice on what to see and do, and great conversation throughout. Thanks Sam & Nina, and if you ever want somewhere to stay in Edinburgh we'd love to return the favour.
1st Jan
2011 dawned bright and sunny: perfect for Edith’s wedding.
Out of respect for the day’s big event none of us had got too drunk the night before, so we headed out for brunch bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and hangover-free.
When sufficiently full on bagels and granola we went back to the apartment to put on wedding frocks/suit/kilt and then jumped in a cab to St Paul's for the Coakley/Stowe nuptials.
John and Edith met whilst singing in the choir and it was very evident that the church was full of close friends. The sermon was filled with warmth and the priest showed obvious affection for them both: and the choir, despite being without the happy couple, sang fantastically!
It was a very traditional Anglican service, which meant that if I didn’t follow the order of service carefully I got somewhat confused about when I should sit/stand/kneel etc, but there was a real beauty inherent in the ritual itself.
After the ceremony was complete, and a beaming Edith & John had walked back up the aisle hand in hand, we all went upstairs for wine, canapés, & speeches followed by some renaissance dancing. Andy and I made a brave attempt at the dances though I’m not sure we acquitted ourselves too well. I think we’re better with a sweaty D&B dance floor or a boisterous cèilidh than the stately refinement of the renaissance.
The celebrations finished at a very civilized 6pm (not like the disheveled 1am wedding parties that I’m used to) so we headed back to Sam and Nina’s for delicious home-cooked lasagne and to watch Shutter Island. The film, in all it’s B-movie-tastic brilliance, was great but too long! It’s a rare film that can justify a running time of more than 90 minutes, and this wasn't one of them.
p.s. I know this is a wedding cliché, but the bride today looked breathtakingly beautiful. And all the very best to Edith and John in their married life together!
31st December
Sam didn't have to work today so the three of us hit the DC tourist trail.
As well as visiting monuments we swung by the Air & Space Museum to touch a piece of the moon and marvel at how tiny and home made the apollo space craft were. The really do look like oversized cone-shaped tin cans with barely enough room to fit the astronauts inside. You can clearly see the welding marks on the outside: I'm not sure I would have wanted to be flung up into space in something that looked like it had been cobbled together by a chap with some scrap metal and a blowtorch!
We finished the day at the American Art Muesum which was great. The portraits of the presidents were particularly good - showcasing the presidents' different personalities and the varying talents of the artists chosen to paint them. Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway was also memorable and Alexis Rockman's dystopian images were repulsive at first but the more I looked at them the more they appealed.
That evening we celebrated the New Year with an Ethiopian meal, some drinks with friends of Sam's at the Wonderland Ballroom and finally a glass of champagne back at the apartment to round off the night.
As well as visiting monuments we swung by the Air & Space Museum to touch a piece of the moon and marvel at how tiny and home made the apollo space craft were. The really do look like oversized cone-shaped tin cans with barely enough room to fit the astronauts inside. You can clearly see the welding marks on the outside: I'm not sure I would have wanted to be flung up into space in something that looked like it had been cobbled together by a chap with some scrap metal and a blowtorch!
We finished the day at the American Art Muesum which was great. The portraits of the presidents were particularly good - showcasing the presidents' different personalities and the varying talents of the artists chosen to paint them. Nam June Paik's Electronic Superhighway was also memorable and Alexis Rockman's dystopian images were repulsive at first but the more I looked at them the more they appealed.
That evening we celebrated the New Year with an Ethiopian meal, some drinks with friends of Sam's at the Wonderland Ballroom and finally a glass of champagne back at the apartment to round off the night.
30th December
Arrived in Washington DC a bit late and made it to Sam and Nina's apartment. Got pizza & a couple of beers in Adams Morgan before jet lag drove us to bed.
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