iPersonic

The Freedom Trail

As I had promised, here's a photo blog about the Freedom trail. Due to its size, Boston is a very accessible city, but it may be that its reputation as a walking city relies on the creation of one of America's first historic walking tours, The Freedom Trail.

Boston Common :
The starting point of the Freedom Trail, Boston Common is the oldest park in the country. The park is almost 50 acres in size. The "Common" has been used for many different purposes throughout its long history. Until 1830, cattle grazed the Common, and until 1817, public hangings took place here. British troops camped on Boston Common prior to the Revolution and left from here to face colonial resistance

Massachusetts State House:
Built in 1798, the "new" State House is located across from the Boston Common on the top of Beacon Hill. The dome, originally made out of wood shingles, is now sheathed in copper and covered by 23 karat gold which was added to prevent leaks into the State House.

Faneuil Hall:
Faneuil Hall has served as a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. Inspirational speeches by Samuel Adams and other patriots were given at Fanueil Hall. These oratories became the footstool for America's desire to obtain independence from the British. Today, the first floor is still used as a lively marketplace and the second floor is a meeting hall.


On the way to the USS Constitution and Charlestown Navy Yard:

Walk to the Sea (Last leg of the Freedom Trail)



Do read this... (Click on the picture to expand)

An Evening @ The Harvard Business School

A stay in Boston is incomplete without a visit to Harvard University, Freedom Trail, Prudential Towers and the Harvard Museum of Natural History. I jotted this blog fresh after my visit to these places way back in November ’08… when the snow had not yet laid its white blanket over the city of Boston.

The First in the TO-DO list was the visit to Harvard University, which turned out to be very different in a decidedly intellectual way. The first stop was the Harvard Business School. To walk in the corridors of the world’s Best Business School was a totally awe inspiring experience. The excitement was palpable right from the moment I stepped on campus into the lush green lawns and the old Gothic styled main entrance block. “This is IVY” proclaimed an inscription on one of the pillars.

Within the Harvard campus, I stumbled upon two stone edicts (shown below) dating back to 1636. When you read the inscriptions below, do ensure you replace the alphabet ‘V’ with ‘U’!

I explored the campus even more and came back totally inspired. This visit was just the beginning of a series of visits to the fabled institute. In my subsequent visits I got a chance to meet Prof. Gregory Mankiw, the Harvard University Economics Professor whose books on Macroeconomics and Principles of Economics are a must read for any MBA student. More about that later…

Net net… my first HBS visit was an entirely awe inspiring experience.

Next, I hopped across Charles over the Pedestrian Bridge from HBS into Cambridge which led me to Harvard Square

Harvard Square is an ideal weekend getaway for students from both Harvard and MIT. If you have seen the serene Lake Side in IIT, Bombay and the chic student crowd along Fergusson College Road in Pune, then Harvard Square is like a melting pot of the two.

I sure was hungry by now and at sub-zero temperatures, what could be more irresistible than a hot bowl of soup with Indian spices at the Bombay Club that I found cuddled in a corner of JFK Street. And then it was time to head back to the Marriott which offered an equally breath-taking view of the Cambridge Skyline! Take a look...

Coming up next… The Walk along the Freedom Trail.