Algiers Coffee House

A few photos from Brattle Square's Algiers Coffee House, one of my favorite cafes in the area.  It's exoticism-if you can call it that-feels natural and unforced; the teas are lovely and rest upon even lovelier tables and the staff are consistently pleasant. Algiers Coffee House always feels like an escape-a step within its walls and I feel far removed from the bustle of Cambridge and nearby Harvard. Be sure to sit on the second floor, where you can feel the full effect of the decor and architecture. 

Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

Today was a near perfect spring day, meant for relishing the sunshine and celebrating the arrival of cheerful, warmer weather. I drove south to Arnold Arboretum to do both. 

Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, a well regarded figure in Bostonian history, the park was established in 1872 and is a National Historic Landmark, in addition to serving as a research institution and a natural haven for the city of Boston. Entrance is free every day of the year and I learned that they also offer classes and various educational programs to the public.I spent the majority of my time lingering beside the flowering plants in the Bradley Rosaceous Collection (the first photograph above), wishing I had a reason to stay longer. I eagerly look forward to the blossoming of the lilacs-there are nearly 400 of them at the park representing 176 different varieties  A Sunday each year is chosen to honor them (this year, Lilac Sunday is May 12th), which seems like a wonderful thing to do. 

Boston needed a beautiful Saturday like today. I don't think anyone took it for granted. 

A Winter Stroll Past Harvard

The first time I visited Harvard was well over a year ago. I remember feeling almost nervous as I climbed the stairs from the underground T that led to Harvard Square. Surely to walk on the campus of Harvard meant that my mind had to be at its sharpest, my mental behavior at its best. Would others think I was a student? I could pretend I was if I so wanted, if only for that afternoon. And of course I wanted! It is a wonderful thing to pretend in such occasions.  My grandfather went to Harvard-a grandfather I never met-and as I stood in the Harvard Yard for the first time, it was as if I was meeting him as well. 

Now, the campus and its surrounding area have become quite familiar to me and the awe of the place is not what it used to be. Still, the buildings hold an air of tantalizing mystery about them and I want to know the secrets of their  architecture and the stories of the students who studied within them.  All in good time, I am sure.

For now, it is pleasant enough to walk Harvard's paths and take photographs of everything that is beautiful to me. It was very romantic this past weekend, what with its snow covered lawns and clear blue skies, home to students wrapped in scarves and carrying satchels and trying desperately to think important thoughts. I may even have tried alongside them. When in Rome...

Butterflies and Glass Flowers

The air was warmer this morning when I left for Cambridge. The snow was slowly melting and the sun brightly shining. I wandered on the campus of Harvard until it led me to the Museum of Natural History, a place I had never been before. Though I would much rather spend a Saturday afternoon looking at art rather than fossils, I knew this museum would possess at least a few gems that would capture my eye, and I found some of them quickly, like the butterflies and beetles that were more colorful than any person in the building.

But it was the glass flowers that piqued my interest. In the late 1800s, a father and son from Germany created a collection of more than 4,000 glass flowers based on 800 different plant species. Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka started by making glass models of invertebrate animals, which captivated the attention of a Mr. George Lincoln Goodale, who happened to be in the process of founding Harvard's Botanical Museum. Dissatisfied with the lifeless wax models used at the time,  he called upon the Blaschkas for help who in turn created the incredible collection I saw today.  And it truly IS incredible. The level of detail and accuracy is uncanny and a joy to see. These men were true artists and skilled craftsman. The glass models look as real as any wildflower picked in a meadow or any daffodil grown in your garden. It was hard to leave them.