A walk in the city...

Last week I was in Boston. While my son and his family did some family business (visiting a day-care), I walked from Harvard Square, where they live, to Porter Square to go to the Japanese grocery store and Paper Source. These are some of the photos I shot along the way.

I love the mix of old and new in Boston! Like the store windows, where one can see Elvis, a Madonna, and all manner of modish mannequins, all sharing the window with reflections of ancient buildings and busy streets. I also love peeking down the streets of lovely old homes, and wondering what would be behind doors that seem to go nowhere.

In the lower center middle is a picture of Lowell House, where my son is the chief resident dean, and he and his precious family live. The bell tower was surrounded by scaffolding this time, and we could watch the construction workers go up and down it from the dining table ("like monkeys", my 2-yr. old grand-daughter noted, which I though was a brilliant thing for her to associate). The ancient bells of the bell tower will be removed this Thursday, to be exchanged for new replicas, and the old ones will be returned to the St. Danilov Monastery in Moscow, Russia, from whence they came long, long ago. I am totally fascinated with the story of the bells, as my son and his wife have lived right below them for several years now. If you are curious, you can go here to find out more about them.

I leaned out the window of my bedroom while there, and took this photo of the back of the tower, where they were still building the scaffold. The largest bell weighs over 12 tons! I cannot imagine how it will be removed from the tower with the crane they intend to use, but I will be watching to see news coverage of it. My grandson and daughter just like all the construction work in their courtyard- very good entertainment for two-year-olds, but this grandma is thinking of investing in a couple of small hard hats!