Boston Strong
A few weeks ago, I booked a short business/pleasure trip to Boston - from April 21-23.
As the date drew closer, I was surprised to find I was becoming, well, paranoid. I all but convinced myself that, within minutes of arriving in Boston, I'd be forced by the TSA to walk naked through Logan airport while police officers tazed and beat me before shipping me off to Guantanamo.
And then the terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon happened, and my worries vanished. They suddenly seemed so childish and unworthy of my attention.
I knew I had to go - if only to repay the tremendous debt my city and my island owe Boston for its generous aid and support following disasters in 1846, 1892, and 1929.
And, wow, am I ever glad that I did.
Boston is now, without question, my favourite North American city. It has pushed Montreal and San Francisco into second and third place, respectively.
I'm thrilled to share this journey with you - it's my first thread that focuses on an American city - and I hope you enjoy it.
To set the mood for the beginning of this journey, I recommend Amelia Curran - one of my favourite St. John's songstresses. In a city renowned for its musical talents, she's one of the most effortless best.
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First, here is a map of the route I took. I started in St. John's in the right, flew southwest to Halifax, southwest to Boston, northwest to Montreal, and then home.
My journey began at home, in St. John's, recognized as the oldest European city in North American and the capital of Newfoundland.
Then it was off to the airport for my flight to Halifax.
After an hour in the air, I was well beyond St. John's and admiring some unusual cloud formations above Nova Scotia.
Halifax's airport is a significant distance from the city, limiting the ability to view the impressive (by Canadian standards) skyline:
And, since I couldn't get close enough to do the city justice, here are a few more photos of Halifax to show you what you can't see in mine:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hali87
These are two of my favourites from the Halifax Skyline thread:
Source
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To change the mood... a famous American songstress whose mother is a Newfoundlander and whose parents met in Newfoundland, where I'm from.
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An hour in the air beyond Halifax, there it was... I instantly realized where all the gorgeous brownstones in the Simcity games came from.
I'd never noticed such tall buildings on such narrow streets in any city before. New York City feels impressive, strong, and typically American - with its wide streets, grid layout, and modern buildings. Boston feels like a hug from the past... it's a tangled mess of beauty, charm, and confidence.
As I was taking this picture, an elderly man approached me and asked me where I was from. I said St. John's, and he actually knew it instantly (as did most of the people I chatted with in Boston, surprisingly).
The old lanes instantly reminded me of home.
I realize the metro area population of Boston runs into the millions, but it's still amazing the number of amenities this city of less than 700,000 has. A city of a comparable size in Canada would struggle to have even a public bus system. Boston has everything, in spades. It's the type of place you can clearly live and want for nothing - experience small town charm and big city convenience and culture/creativity.
It was fascinating to see how Boston balances preserving its heritage with growing.
Can you believe these ****ing lampposts?
This reminded me of St. John's - except that it was a half dozen floors higher than ours would be, ha!
This archway had a giant American flag in it. It felt interesting looking at it. As a gay liberal, I tended not to have a positive view of the United States and blamed its influence for many of Canada's conservative-supported problems. But being there... it's hard not to feel proud of such a successful neighbour, whatever his problems. I can't stress that enough: If you're one of those Canadians who feels your eyes start to roll when the dramatic "American" moment in a Hollywood blockbuster, or you read about Republican Party antics and just wish your land could break off and float over to Europe... visit Boston. You'll leave a proud American, I promise! I feel like I was cured of a mental illness. I'm going to try to keep things in perspective better from now on...
Time for a new song. Another Newfoundland artist, but a song that suits Boston as well.
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Boston has expertly blended its heritage buildings with modern structures. I particularly love this example because the modern buildings and the heritage ones evoke exactly the same emotional response with the styles of two different eras. Both were built with minimal ornamentation, clearly constructed simply to fill a need rather than add to the city's beauty. They both create the same sort of industrial atmosphere. I just love how harmoniously these two eras are blending in this example.
I stopped counting all of the universities I stumbled into.
This was the highlight of the trip for me and I can't explain why. It just was:
Public transit entrances are disguised as gardens in this lovely park.
The people in Boston were so friendly. I couldn't break my Newfoundland habit of saying good morning to everyone I passed during my 4, 5, 6 a.m. hikes throughout the city... and they always responded positively.
The random buildings left over from Boston's past as a much smaller city created a very beautiful and unique atmosphere downtown.
And there was lots of construction going on.
As I was taking this picture, an African American woman put her hand on my shoulder as she walked past and wished me a good day. Definitely the politest "Get the **** out of my way!" I've ever received.
The arts were a little harder to find than in St. John's, which is absolutely saturated... but you can still find the telltale signs of an intellectual class.
There were no flowers. But buddy was smoking hot from the front so I figured I better capture the back for posterity.
From a distance, I assumed it was another university. But it's the Massachusetts State House, the States' version of our Provincial Legislatures.
Trees were in full bloom in many places. It was beautiful!
And the gardens were starting to come back to life.
This courts building next to a university has an almost Pentagon-esque feeling because of its sheer size.
Like St. John's, the city has strong side streets and lanes that are actually staircases.
Time for another song to keep the mood.
Again, a local...
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A construction worker beside me blessed himself after he noticed what I was photographing.
Instantly reminded me of Quebec. No idea why.
Gorgeous bones.
A little market.
Boston's superior version of our Confederation Building.
Back to the airport.
Then it was time to go.
I was genuinely sad to leave Boston and, even today, processing these pictures, I've been feeling homesick for Boston. It's so strange...
Still, flying into Montreal was a beautiful experience, as always.
I shot a video of the sparkling city from the plane:
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Time for a new song to get us home, the best one. A song about Boston and my city, St. John's.
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The next morning it was time to go. Quebec has A LOT of massive holes in the ground.
And ski hills.
And then there was nothing but cloud until Newfoundland.
Just outside St. John's, you can see the town of Wabana on Bell Island. It's connected to the city by two ferries that run simultaneously all day, every day. You can see them on the left. The city of St. John's is mostly off-screen to the left of where this photo ends. The built-up area in the background is comprised primarily of the suburban city of Mount Pearl and the towns of Paradise, Conception Bay South, and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's.
The town of Torbay with St. John's in the background. You can see St. John's International Airport below. Planes flying into the city from Canada generally have to pass by it, continue out over the Atlantic, and then turn around and re-approach at the appropriate angle to land. It always makes me laugh and reminds me of that old song:
We're proud of our own native isle, Newfoundland
No stranger shall hold an inch of her strand
Her face turns to Britain, her back to your Gulf
Come near at your peril, Canadian wolf
Coming into the airport.
And that was it. Home, sweet home.
So, thank you, Boston, for such a wonderful experience. I could spend the rest of my life thinking and not find a bad thing to say about your city. I love it - and I'd love to live there!
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Boston Strong
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