I have been pretty busy with my art lately. I've been drawing again, and this latest one titled "Angle in the dark" is a mixed-media piece completed with Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, pencils, acrylics paint and watercolour. Click here to view the entire image.
These photos were taken at Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage. It was quite an experience being there. We found 2 seats at the counter, and up high we were able to look into their kitchen, which was surprisingly small but they sure had a process going. The restaurant was packed. Service was pretty quick so people came and went. Each order was followed by a repeat of the order by the wait staff to the cooks in the loudest possible manner. Sitting at the counter next to the kitchen, I winced everytime they shouted the orders... and the little bell next to me went ding ding everytime the cooks tell the wait staff that an order is ready to be served. I thought I would go mad before I left the restaurant.
There was so much to look at - the walls were plastered with old posters and they were all sorts of people - students, families, professionals and us, travelers. And of course the wait staff too (I thought they would be good to have in bars coz they have loud voices so I'd only have to listen and not talk).
Thankfully the food came quickly. The patties were hugh, all 7 ounces and cooked the way you like it - rare, medium, etc. They were good burgers.
These photos were taken in Neptune Oysters in North End. There was a selection of over 30 oysters to choose from (no kidding!) and we must have had 15 different kinds. My favourite there was the lobster roll - thick slaps of lobster meat in a soft bread roll - yumm. We had 2 of those :)
This work is installed in one of the T (subway) stations. It's between 2 tracks; the top right pic shows one of the track being occupied by a train. It is an interactive installation of bells that requires the public to make it work, using the handle on the wall (bottom pic). Moving the handle for side to side will cause the pendulums to swing, and eventually hit the bells. I think this installation if fantastic. Unfortunately not many people use it. Jeremy and I have tried it and it was fun when the bells ring.
I call these my magazine shots (hehe - you are allowed to disagree). These photos were taken at Flour Bakery & Cafe in Boston. I give it top marks for ambience - it has a nice casual atmosphere - and my sandwich of fresh mozzarella, basil pesto & tomato was very delicious.
Jeremy took me to Modern Pastry, a bakery at North End famous for Italian confections. We were there at about 11 am, and it was extremely pleasant. There were a few other customers but they came and went. We were the only ones having our food in the cafe over nice cups of coffees.
We went passed the shop again at 4 pm on Saturday, and I was surprised that the queue was long, from the counter inside the shop and spilling out to the pavement.
We then went to Galleria Umberto, also at North End for pizza and the queue at lunchtime was just as long (pictured left)! There was only one type of pizza and a few varieties of bread. The deco was simple, but the queue says it all.
View of the city from the rooftop of an apartment;
Jeremy, Rose and Don braving the cold
Interior of the Museum of Fine Arts
Tulips by the roadside
Amazing tree of pink flowers
Graffiti
I found the Boston Public Garden by accident. I was on my way to Newbury Street to do some window shopping, and saw this colourful park. It looked so beautiful that I just had to go there for a walk. There were a number of trees in white and pink, and many rows of tulips in a variety of colours. It's a big park with a lake in the centre. And I saw 2 squirrels!
I enjoyed my very brief walk in the freezing cold and now back in the nice warm hotel room, I wonder how I could stand the cold out there! My brain feels like it's still frozen.
We have a nice view of a garden from our hotel room window. We are staying in Cambridge, situated north of Charles River that goes across Boston. There is not much to see here but it is very convenient with the T (subway) station just next to the hotel.
We took a walk to the river yesterday. It was a sunny day and there were a number of boats on the river, and many people out and about walking and jogging. It was really pleasant, except for the strong wind.
I love the gorgeous blossoms of white, red an pink tress we see during spring. They make the streets and the city look beautiful.
We visited the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA). There weren't many exhibitions on that day but we saw some interesting work. The building is really nice. Here is a picture (above left) from the building that looks into Charles River.
This photo on the right was taken at the bar of the Tennis and Racquet Club. I had a lesson in real tennis with Jimmy Burke who is the pro at the club, then a friendly game with Jeremy and Don the next day. It was really fun.
Day 1 in Boston was spent mostly outdoors hoping to rid ourselves of jetlag as quickly as possible. But by 9:30 pm, it was proving to be difficult staying awake. By 10 pm, I no longer had the willpower so I gave in, and sleep soundly until 4:30 am the next morning.
It felt a bit like being in Melbourne, with the change in weather. It was cold and rained in the morning. Equipped with my thick jumper and a borrowed umbrella from the hotel, we headed out for the day. It was cold and I was a little worried if my thick jumper was enough. By late morning, the weather changed and it was rather warm and I was wishing that I had my lighter jumper. It was sunny and the long big umbrella which was so useful earlier was proving to be a little unfashionable... By 6 pm, it was cold again and I was glad to have my thick jumper with me...
Dart competition at the White Horse pub in Kirbymoorside
then followed by the pool tournament also held at the White Horse.
This is what a cobbler's workshop would have looked like in the old days, as depicted in the Ryedale Museum in Hutton-le-Hole
Pictures take on the walk
I have missed many days of travel record because the internet connection was not good, and I stopped writing. A week has passed and I'm now in Boston, trying to remember what we did. I looked at the photos that I've taken and my god, we have eaten lots! Is that an understatement?
Anyway, more food photos to follow...
1. Beautiful toastie that I had in a pub of wild mushroon, egg, parmesan cheese and truffle oil
2. Yummy lamb casserole with yorkshire pudding at The Moor's Inn, which is also famous for it's 50 types of whisky.
3. Yorkshire hot pot at The Blacksmiths Arms in Lastingham. We also had venison pate.... One of the rooms has beer mugs covering the ceiling.
4. Dinner with Done and Marion at Plough Inn, Fadmoor
The main that I had was scallops with black pudding. I had been looking forward to this well-known culinary delight (sausage made of blood) but it was mild and not distinctive. The entire dish of scallops and black pudding was however, extremely delicious.
We went to Whitby, a town about an hour plus away from Kirbymoorside, where we were staying. It was a lovely drive pass little villages, lovely countryside and the moors. Whitby was a busy place.
We went to Magpie Cafe for seafood. It was such a treat. The pic below is my lunch of Seafood Hot Pot - it was delicious but the helping was too big and I could not finish it.
