Freedom Trail...

Following the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail allowed us to travel back to Revolutionary Boston of the 1700s, although our starting point of the Park Street Church only dates back to 1809.

While there are 16 official historical sites on the route, there were many unofficial stops along the route such as this life-sized Edgar Allen Poe statue created in 2014.

Several times we crisscrossed Boston Common, America’s oldest public park which was established in 1634. I was sad that the infamous swan boats were already put away for the fall, but Make Way for Ducks, created in 1987, provided some entertainment as we watched some families try getting their kids to cooperate for photos.

The Founders Memorial was unveiled in 1930 to commemorate the 300th founding of the city.

I’ve included this building for its beauty rather than for any historical significance.

In 1795, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere laid the cornerstone for the Massachusetts State House, which overlooks Boston Common. It has served as the seat of Massachusetts government since it opened in 1798.

Across from the State House is the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial from 1897 to commemorate the first all-black volunteer regiment in the Civil War.

The Tremont Temple Baptist Church was founded in 1839 as the first integrated church in America, while this building opened in 1896.

John Hancock, Paul Revere and Samuel Adams were all buried at the Granary Burying Ground.

Established by Puritan settlers in 1635, the Latin School was the first public school in America, offering free education to boys—rich or poor—while girls attended private schools at home. It was attended by Samuel Adams, John Hancock...

....and Benjamin Franklin, who stands proudly overlooking the site. 

When I posed with this Democratic Donkey statue, I had no idea about the backstory, but it’s pretty funny. The short version is that a man bought the statue in Florence for under $10,000 as a gift to the city of Boston because he thought it was cute, but the city wasn’t thrilled with the idea. He eventually came up with a story that they could agree with: the donkey represented the Democratic Party, an affiliation long-held by Boston’s mayors.

When asked where the Republican Elephant was, he decided to place two footsteps in front of the donkey so those who disagreed with the Democratic Party could stand in opposition. 

Art, Protests and Vegans...

That first day, we caught a tram to Northeastern University, where my mother went for three years before quitting to get her Mrs. instead.

From there we walked past some very cool street art...

...and this very powerful protest against guns which apparently kill eight children daily in the US...

...on our way to a vegan festival, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch.

Back to My Roots...

When I found out that Sally was going to visit Andrew in Boston, where he was doing a year-long chemistry internship at Harvard Medical School, I boldly invited myself to tag along to keep her company while he was at work and she agreed. Before meeting up with her, I flew to California to spend a relaxing week with my family. Jimmy joined me there for the first few days, before flying to San Diego and New York for a bunch of meetings. Sadly, these are the only two photos from our visit: trying on Leigh’s taco costume...

...and lunch with Leigh and Ann on my last day before catching an overnight flight to Boston. 

Andrew lived in Cambridge with three other British students doing a variety of internships. He was working in a lab researching cures for degenerative neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s; unlike his housemates, his internship didn’t pay, which was unfortunate. Housing prices in Boston are crazy high and his place was definitely in need of a major overhaul, but it was in a nice and convenient neighborhood...

...with lots of cool urban art.

Sustainable Fashion Week...

Ashlynn’s final modeling job in 2019 was a fashion show on October 3 for stylist Tommy Driessen as part of Amsterdam’s Sustainable Fashion Week. 

Apparently all of the outfits were secondhand clothes that had been redesigned. Once again, Ashlynn was dressed in trousers.

The show took place at the NH Krasnapolsky Hotel and was not open to the public.

Many of the other models were also from her Dutch agency: It’s Me Model Management. Ironically, later that month It’s Me contacted Ashlynn to say that she was being considered for jobs with Bijenkorf, the Netherlands’ most upscale department store, and Hema, the Netherlands’ least upscale department store. While it was flattering to be considered, she didn’t get either job.

Leiden Liberation Parade...

It was great that Jimmy was able to join me on October 3 for this year’s annual parade in Leiden to celebrate the liberation from Spain in 1574. 

Although we didn’t buy any, we were impressed with how this salmon was cooked at a booth we passed on the way to the parade route.

As always, the parade started with officials in horse-drawn carriages.

This year’s theme was Learned Young. Several of the floats celebrated the 444th anniversary of Leiden University, the Netherlands’ oldest university.

Of course, there were also random goofy costumes including candelabras...

...and Lego police officers...

...and firefighters.

A New Home for a T-Rex and Many Others...

On Christmas Eve 2016, the whole family visited the old Naturalis to see Trix, the only tyrannosaurus to be permanently on exhibit in Europe. Shortly after our visit, the museum was closed for renovation and Trix went on tour around Europe. Now she is back in her purpose-built exhibition hall. With 80% of her skeleton extracted in Montana, she is one of the three most complete t-rexes ever found.

Her display differs from the two in the US in that her real skull was used and thus is low to the ground so it can be well supported. 

The rest of the Dinosaur Gallery was very impressive.

The Ice Age gallery taught us that woolly mammoths once roamed this region.

In an effort to show the diversity of life on our planet, the Life Gallery had an amazing display of an incredible array of animals and plants across a variety of landscapes. 

The top floor housed the Seduction Gallery, designed as a “playful warehouse of love” featuring real objects, illustrations and games to teach us about the art of love.

It was fascinating and informative for both young and old.

We were greatly entertained by short clips of Green Porno by Isabella Rosselini, the Italian actress and filmaker, teaching about animal seduction.