Boston & Cambridge

I heard beautiful things about Boston and Cambridge from Kris Aquino in her early-day interviews, and since then, Boston has been a must-see place. Luck was surprising because I’ve seen Boston not once, but twice.

The first encounter was memorable; our car was dancing like a star on the highway due to strong wind and freezing weather. It was almost winter and semi-chilling outside, but the beauty of Boston & Cambridge wrapped our bodies like warm blankets. Our first stop was Harvard. The campus was a city by itself, filled with students, locals, tourists, and Koreans. Funny that I was not aware Harvard was the surname of an English clergyman, John Harvard, until I saw his statue in Harvard Yard, where people make their wishes by touching the tip of his shoe. Tourists, mostly Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, were queuing to have a solo photo with the statue of him. I queued, had my photo taken, and had my wish. It shouldn’t be a secret that my wish was to study at Harvard. Probably it was a mistake; I should have touched his brain instead.

Our next stop was MIT, another spectacular campus in Cambridge, beside the River Charles. It was, by that time, a frozen river. If only I had the chance to cross the river from Cambridge to Boston, doing a happy-feet dance. After spending time walking around Cambridge, we proceeded back to the Prudential Tower in Boston, where we had an overlooking view of the beautiful city.

I toured the whole of Boston during my second visit on a duck tour. I was even more impressed when we walked around, daydreaming living in one of the fancy apartments on Beacon Hill. But the highlight, was the party! While our friends were having their beauty rest, a friend and I went from one drinking bar to another. Before leaving the YMCA hostel, we were already wasted. We partied in 5 different bars that night, and we had hard drinks, not beer, and spent about $100+ (4,000+ pesos) each. On our way back to the YMCA, we were yelling, singing, and dancing on the street, but it was safe; no one was out early in the morning and in that freezing weather. Both of us can’t remember how we managed to walk back to our room. The next morning, in time for breakfast, we saw vomit in every corner of the toilet. #

The famous and luxurious Omni Parker House, where Charles Dickens resided for 2 years. It was also the “tambayan” of the Saturday Club, which included Dickens, philosophers, novelists and poets in the 1850s. Famous people of today who have worked here are Malcolm X and Ho Chi Minh (thank you, Google).

The John Harvard statue

Friends at the famous pantheon-like dome of MIT

Traffic Lights in Harvard

Harvard Book Store

Quincy Market

Boston Long Wharf

Copley Square

George Washington statue

Just one of the less known statues around Boston

The frozen Charles River

The Christian Science Church

View of Boston from Prudential Tower

Spectacular view of the city from Prudential

My friends enjoying the sea-breeze at the Long Wharf

My friend in front of the famous Faneuil Hall

An Ivy building in Harvard, of course

A cute building in Harvard

The original duck tour mobile/boat

The Long Wharf

Quincy Market

A closer overlooking view of Boston from Prudential Tower