old tiger's Blog

My wife's friends had a real nice house..in a nice neighbourhood
of North Andover..so..the next day,these peeps,their son...
and me and my wife..went for a nice drive by car direction Lowell
and higher up into New Hampshire up till Concord..Laconia..
and up too a beautiful lake called Winnipesaukee..I loved it there..
bit up north from there it's full of lakes and forests..
New Hampshire was a good experience..uhuh..beautiful nature..
we were told in autum..the colours in the trees are magnificent..
it was august while we were there..so we missed that beauty..
but If I recall well..this dude showed us a place..
with some face in the mountains..but I can't picture it back..
neither I recall the name..but it was called man in the mountain??
I think it was in White mountain national park??
http://www.visitnh.gov/what-to-do/
I noticed that some towns here got English names..
like Manchester,Portsmouth,Dover..very peculiar..
after this hectic but scenic drive..we went back to North Andover..
next day..back to Boston..and Greyhound bus back to New York..
Tiger

So..the Greyhound bus service...great..
comfortable 5 hours ride..nice folks on the bus..
some lady was very surprised to hear...
we were from Belgium..did even never heard about it..uhuh??
we had reclining seats..enough leg space...we were at ease..
and when we left New York..we drove through Harlem...
we reached Boston bus station..looked like a nice town..
it's a place of historical value..and great educational institutions..
unfortunatedly..we never saw anything of Boston city..
since we were picked up by car by friends from my wife..
they were waiting for us at Boston bus station..and drove us..
to their lovely home..in North Andover..great folks..
http://www.townofnorthandover.com/Pages/NAndoverMA_WebDocs/about
we stayed few days in their place..they were from India...
the American dream..realised for them maybe?
but the Indian hospitality..beats everything..
the next few days..they pampered us with food and drinks..
and took us in their car..a little bit into New Hampshire state..
Indians abroad...are nostalgic..they talk..about India..
and I could say my bit about that place..no problem..
Tiger

So..our last day New York..Bloomingdales first..
I never felt at ease in these big department stores..
with all the luxury items..which I was not interested in firstly..
secondly..I couldn't afford them..this Bloomingdales is huge..
I believe 5 or 6 floors..lots of folks inside...it's on Lexington Street..
http://www1.bloomingdales.com/store/index.ognc?action=STORE_DETAIL&lstRegion=North+East&storeId=40002&x=16&y=11
we took a subway..ahah..the subway in New York..so different from
the Paris m?tro which I used to roam about in the early 70's..
some trains..are full of graffiti..it's a very fast mode of transport..
Bloomingdales....was maybe impressive..my wife loved it..I did not..
so..next thing..a boat trip around the Hudson and East river..
my wife's niece gave us a treat...and payed for it..nice lady..
this trip lasted about 3 hours if I recall well..good experience...
stunning views of the harbour,liberty statue..skyline of New York etc..
after all that..we went for food somewhere in Greenwich Village..
next morning..we were gonna take a bus to Boston(Massachussets)
famous Greyhound bus..about 5 hours to Boston..
Tiger

so...Metropolitan museum...on 5th Avenue+82th street..
waw..this museum deserves a star in my musea visits...
I bet..I still would classify the Louvre(Paris)above this one..
in one of my next trips..me and my wife went to Madrid(Spain)
the Prado art museum..is also worth a visit there...
but let's concentrate on Metropolitan now...impressive building..
New Yorkers call this place the Met...the art inside this place..
goes beyond imagination for any art lover...we got a ticket..
not cheap..but it was worthed it's price...every dime...
we picked up a plan of this huge museum..one can easily...
fill a few days in there..if one wants to go into details...
we couldn't believe our eyes..going through these rooms..
full of world famous masterpieces...from all over the world..
a museum visit in the Met...you get tired you know???
my wife's niece..was going to give us a treat next day..
paying a boat trip on Circle lines New york..
she also got our tickets..for the Greyhound bus to Boston..
I'll try to find a link for the Met museum.... www.metmuseum.org
oh..and next day...we payed a short visit to Bloomingdales..
huge department store on Lexington Avenue...let me tell you..
shopping in New York..well..it was not for my purse...booh..
my wife liked parfume..oh damn..I couldn't afford it...
so..last day in New york next day..then Boston..
but Boston..was a transit point for us..we got friends..
in North Andover......near Lowell..hey...did you peeps know??
Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell........uhuh...
Tiger

so..a walk on 5th Avenue..oh..nice thing to do really..
broad pavements..lots to see..lots to absorb..
we went into Barnes and Nobles bookstore...and guess what??
I bought a tourist guide...about Belgium..uhuh..
Rockefeller center..with the atlas statue around International building
St.Patrick's Church..Grand Central station..Times square..Broadway..
damn..we did lots of walking that day..and finally we got to Central
park..hub of green in the middle of town...Americans on roller skates..
jogging around..or playing frisbee...it's part of New York..
Central park is huge...the skyline behind it as well..
we did not go through the whole of this park..
it would take a day..to see the lakes,bridges,statues etc....
and north to this park is Harlem...well...they warned us..beware..
in the park..even at broad daylight..pickpockets,robbery??
we walked back on 5th Avenue and did a museum called Frick
collection...it's art..mostly paintings..even Vermeer,Constable etc..
took a subway back towards Greenwich Village...damn...I was tired..
next day..we planned a visit to the Metropolitan museum..
so..New York..let me tell you...4 days..is NOT enough..to grasp it..
link for Frick Collection... www.frick.org
Tiger