@ Newport

I was actually kind of looking forward to this field trip since Newport's located in Rhode Island, (the tiniest state among US, I suppose?) which happened to have left a strong impression on me from Holly Wood movies like "Me Myself & Irene" and "Ms Congeniality"-- two of my fave comedy films.

What I saw in Newport was, however, neither hilarious nor comic. What Newport had to offer (I mean those I've grabbed a chance to savor within the limited time we spent there) was basically Vandeville's House and Gift Shops. (Just imagine we missed the sunset! What a pity!) Still. it's a place people find it especially easy to relax and somehow every step I made felt even more light-hearted than usual.

The Vandeville's House. (Not sure about the spelling, tho.) At first I thought it's a city municipal or something, yet it turned out to be a mansion-- a very British one.

Inside the house, the layout was simply luxurious-- in a very European way. Statues, tapestries, the decorated vault, and I literally exclaimed when I saw the pillars and beams with really delicate carvings of Greek and Roman Gods (I remember seeing Eros)-- Gosh these people were wasps. Most definitely they were. It's a pity, tho, that no photo-taking was allowed.

That was the only spot we were allowed to take pictures-- from a balcony. What a view!

The Vandeville's mansion. The garden was lovely!

After the Vandeville's tour, we took a walk around the Newport. Don't you love this scene!

The gift shops lined up in Newport. Love the red trail a lot. :D

There's one shop especially appealed to me: the layout was simply amazing. Cute but modern, with a certain degree of sarcasm, or I should put "witty." I took quite a few shots because I believed that Flora's gonna love it.

Here's one rather funny gift card. Wry humor.

And here's another romantic one. When I saw this one I was like, "ohhhhh..."

A lovely set of china. It was rather mirk in the second floor, tho.

An overlooking view from the 2nd floor.

A closer look at the china.

What a posture! :P

This rooster reminded me of an animation film-- "Nick Park."

My fave corner in the shop.

On the way back to Tufts.

Whale Watch

That was a brand-new experience for me-- going on a whale watch trip! Had never seen a REAL whale before (except in an Aquarium) in my entire life and I was really looking forward to that activity.

Got off at Aquarium.

And perfect weather for Whale Watch-- great visibility!

It was like d*mn windy on the third deck, by I chose staying there since it was granted the greatest view. The landscape was simply breathtaking-- would you believe that? I have lived on an island for almost twenty years and I actually never really enjoyed a view of a port. I seldom went to the sea as long as I could remember. Boy, where have I been all these years?

That was an extremely long sail (just look at how far away the shore seemed, when I took that picture the sail had barely started) before we really spotted a whale for the very first time. I was shivering, the wind was getting me headache and my legs were dead stiff. Just a second after I gave up and sat down on the deck, the whale popped out!

That was AMAZING! At first it was a mere spout, later a tiny part of the body emerged, and then it was like, the whaleS actually swam past me! It paid to stick to the third deck!

I felt I could touch them!

And what a BEAUTIFUL tail! Like a heart shape or something... absolutely gorgeous.

football @Tufts

Actually another larger-scaled match was held at the 4th but that day I went to Harvard Square with Vicki so we kind of missed out. What a pity. This one's a rather compact one, taking place on a particular Wednesday, during which Salina and I went to Tisch Library instead of the Discover America field trip.

That was a drowsy afternoon. After I went back from the library with Salina we found virtually nothing to do besides idling the rest of the day away, lying at lounge. Good news for us that Akito, Jorge, Ignacio, Giordano, Ofilio and Ramon decided to play football later that afternoon, which turned out to be our only entertainment that day.





Before the football play, there was a hilarious interlude: these guys invented a kind of "relay table tennis," running around the table, taking turns hitting the ping-pong. Very creative indeed.





It was a sunny, breezy afternoon and the sky was azure blue; that's another thing I esp love about Boston: the beautiful weather. The sun rises early and sets late, while the sky is always marine blue.









Salina spotted something funny in the sky and I lifted my head: it was something like a hot air balloon serving for commercial purpose. Dunno, maybe it's common in US, but that was something I had only seen in movies and I got real excited.



OK, switch back to the football play. That was actually my very first experience of watching real people playing football (have seen lots of EPL matches but they were either on online-television or the satellite TV in sports bars like Tavern or Brass Monkey. ) Spitze!




Ramon: about to shoot.



Jorge the Speedy.



Ignacio.



Ofilio in his Argentina shirt.



Akito.




Giordano the goalkeeper.

@Harvard

This entry is about my biggest fancy throughout Boston: Harvard!

That was a dream-like pace, strolling in the Harvard campus. The sunlight was sifted from the leaves, with which cast shadows on the ground. The trail, the buildings, made of similar red, sienna bricks-- such harmonious correspondence was simply divine.

That was our guide, a history major in Harvard. Somehow people like him sounded alike-- clever speech with an appropriate amount of sarcasm delivered by a certain preppie kind of accent; that was a sheer delight simply listening to him.

Just see how attentive everyone got. Bet even more attentive than we were in our placement test.

Just imagine actually becoming a part of such campus-scape. I could die for it.

That meadow was simply luring. If only I could lie on it as a Harvard student-- well in my childhood imagination I would be holding Shakespeare or something, but chances are I'm already holding Shakespeare in NTU, and there's no way that I study English Literature in Harvard-- since I'm going to switch to another field in gra school. Seems that as we grow up, some dreams are simply doomed to evaporate-- sad, but that's life.

Science Center, entitled: the ugliest building campus-wide. True, since it's without the enchanting sienna bricks. Well, the science department of Harvard doesn't really appeal to me, anyway. :p

The Memorial Hall Tower.

Inside it's pretty much like a church. Love the mosaic art!

Here comes the library selection.






Exclusive entrance: what a blessing that one can actually enter it.




Good enough that I could take a picture in front of the entrance. It was way too sunny that I could barely open my eyes, tho.



That was Vicki's turn of taking such a picture, but my point is: Akito, how did you get in?



The Bostonian style that I truly yearn for: sitting on the step of some library, (in this case, that of Harvard) barefoot, holding a grande cup of coffee, listening to iPod while reading newspaper. A perfect balance of academic and recreational temperament.





Here comes another one: just look at the posture: indolent, yet genuinely elegant. Some say he's effeminate, but who cares?





So we drew an end to the Harvard tour.