Please Stand By

Sorry folks - turns out that our internet access wasn't very reliable out in California, so we've got PLENTY of photos to share, but weren't able to upload out there. Then we spent yesterday sad and depressed because we flew back into a cold, rainy Boston.

I'm heading out of the office and will update this evening!

Sunshine on a Rainy Day?

It's been rainy and grey and cold the last few days in Boston, so I thought I'd take a look back at last week, when it was warm and sunny and absolutely glorious!

Welcome Will!

While we're on a string of personal photos, let's say welcome to Will! Will was born on April 22nd around 12:30 AM to Mark and Amy, who Leyre and I have known since high school. He's their second little monster, I mean....angel, and his big sister Loula has been a wonderful big sister since he's been home! I hadn't gotten a change to meet him before we left for California, so I took advantage of having the day off from work to spend some time with him.

By The Sea

We spent Sunday in the sleepy village of Capitola (By The Sea is tacked on to the name according to the welcome sign, but I don't believe it's the official name). Our GPS unit, Guadalupe, had taken us through Capitola Friday morning on our way to Starbucks, and we had fallen in love with the little village without even getting out of the car. Monday we had a lot of time before we had to get to the airport (booo!) so we spent some time wandering through Capitola before heading up to Santa Cruz.


Leyre's father-in-law tells us that these adorable houses along the beach were built by Al Capone, who used to vacation in Capitola. I can find absolutely nothing on the internet that can either confirm or deny this claim, so I'll just put it out there. Regardless of who built them, they're totally adorable and I would like to live in one.

Los Gigantes

Sunday we met up with Leyre's parents in San Francisco and spent the day checking out all it had to offer - Chinatown, Lombard Street, Golden Gate Park, Union Square, In-N-Out Burger. We also went to AT&T Park to watch the Giants lose to Cincinnati and get a little sunburn. ;)

PCH

Saturday morning we drove a few hours down the Pacific Coast Highway to Big Sur, then headed back home and with a detour through the 17 mile drive to check out Pebble Beach and it's surrounding neighborhood.

Also on Saturday, we went to Andrea & Dave's wedding - the reason we were in California!



Andrea and Dave were married on Saturday at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. It was gorgeous weather, and a fun wedding. Congrats Andrea & Dave!

This must be heaven where the ocean meets the sand...

As promised, we're coming to you live from (very) sunny and warm California! We spent most of the day in Carmel today, visiting the Mission there. We then headed down very steep Ocean Avenue to Carmel Beach. The two little girls to the left of the signs were rolling down the hill and giggling the whole time, there were a group of dogs playing fetch in the water and rolling around on the sand, and the sun was out in full force while a nice breeze off the water kept us from overheating. After such a long winter, sunshine like we had today feels like it's healing your body. You can almost forget about all the snow and bitter cold. Boston, you'd better be nice and sunny for us when we get back!

Pack Your Bags!

We're going to California! Since 1/2 of us are headed West for a long weekend, we thought it would be fun to bring you along. Where are we going? Monterrey, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco (for a Giants game!). Hope you're packed...and don't forget the sunblock!

Commuter Rail

I took the commuter rail out to Roslindale to Leyre's house last week, and the outside of the car had been tagged with very pretty colors. I wanted to take a photo but was rushing to get on the train before it left. Turns out, I wasn't out of luck - this is what the graffiti looked like from the inside of the window it covered.

Common Colors

I've been admiring the flowers outside of work lately, and realized that they're the same combination as my sister's garden. She liked the way that the white tulips lead your eye back toward the tree in her photo...in mine, the white of the tulip draws your eye back toward the banker leaving work for the day! ;) Click to enlarge and check out the detail!

Northern Ave

This is the Northern Ave Bridge, which crosses Fort Point Channel from Atlantic Ave to the South Boston Waterfront. The Northern Ave Bridge is a swing bridge that was built in 1908 and was originally used as a roadway and I believe at one point as a rail bridge. Now it's a pedestrian bridge, and looks very pretty when you take long exposure pictures of it in the freezing cold (not today, today was nice...this photo is from sometime in March). I would give you more intellectually stimulating information on the bridge, but I'm not having much luck finding any!

Table for Two

This is actually from about a week and a half ago, when we went from the 40s to the 70s for one day, then back to the 40s and rainy for the following weekend. We're loving up the warm weather lately. Even if it isn't technically true, I think every winter feels longer and colder than the past. I know that this winter was relatively mild, but it didn't stop me from complaining about it incessantly, and I was ready for spring about three weeks before it actually came.

Over My Shoulder

Here's another one from the Red Sox game last night. I've been playing with "cross processing" photos in Photoshop, and this was one one of my victims. I like the vintagey colors with it.

I love how this guys jersey is so well loved that it's starting to fray. And I may have mentioned it before, but don't we all love Varitek and his cute butt?! At the game Pete turned to me and said "what is it about Varitek, why do all the girls like him?" and I explained to him that the catchers always have the best butt on the team, and besides, he's a good looking guy! For some reason, he still seemed confused. If that's why the girls like him, why do the guys like him? What true Red Sox fan doesn't love a guy that gives A-Rod what he deserves! ;)

I'll ease up on the Red Sox photos for a bit, but as the billboard says "We celebrate New Years' in April"!

Happy April!

I got really lucky and got some Red Sox tickets for the game tonight. It's the third April in a row that Pete and I have gotten our hands on Sox tickets for an April game, so I'm hoping that means that the trend will continue and we'll get to see another 4-5 games this summer! These seats were directly under the press boxes - a pretty nice view!

That pitch you're seeing above, by the way, is the pitch that Papi turned into a grand slam in the 3rd inning. The Sox won 11-3, woohoo!

Click to enlarge.

South End Mural

I saw this on the side of a row of Brownstones near the corner of Columbus and Braddock Park in the South End. I'm not having any luck finding any info on it, so I may need to go back and see if I can find any info on/near the building if I look closer.

More Springing!

I was in the South End at a friend's house last night and stopped to take photos of some of the beautiful trees that have started blossoming. It spurred a conversation with a woman walking by about what type of trees they are. I know that these guys above are Magnolias, but there were other trees on the same block that may or may not be Dogwoods. Or are they just white Magnolias? I have no idea! That's why I have all of you, because you guys are so knowledgeable and I know that if I put it out here, someone will help me out!

Spring!

It's actually sprung! Remember when I wasn't sure it was ever coming?

MFA: III

This is one of the statues in the Buddhist Temple Room I showed you back on Saturday. That scary guy is Bishamonten - the God of War and Warriors. He holds a pagoda in his hand, and here is why:

The small pagoda he often carries symbolizes the divine treasure house. He is both a protector of and dispenser of its treasure -- he shares the pagoda's vast treasures with only "the worthy." In Japan, as a member of the Four Heavenly Kings, he is called Tamonten (Listens to Many Teachings), and in this capacity he protects the places where Buddha preaches and listens always to Buddha's teachings.

Learn more here, and don't let this guy's grumpy face scare you - make sure you stop in and say hi to him next time you're at the MFA!

MFA: II

Cute scene from the MFA yesterday!

MFA

This is my favorite place in the Museum of Fine Arts. It's the Buddhist Temple Room, and I could sit there for hours. The MFA is currently under construction, so a number of their collections are not being shown in their entirety...but not in the Asian collection! The Buddhas haven't gone anywhere, so head on up there and check them out.

Danger: Falling Floors

I was walking past the construction on the old Filene's building the other day, and they had some kind of crazy machine that was reaching in and tearing down the floors. I couldn't find an angle I liked, until I gave up and went shoe shopping. I took this photo out the window of DSW across the street, so you'll have to excuse the lights that are reflected.

Skies were grey but they're not grey anymore

Today was absolutely beautiful - high 60's, sunny, and no wind. It's the first really springy day we've had, and you better believe that all us office dwellers snuck out of our caves at lunch time to enjoy it!

I've shown you this building before, but today it's a bit of a different angle. I actually saw these window washers from out of the office window and knew I'd be taking their photo later. I can't help it, I'm fascinated with the job!

Setting

I took this on my way home from work a few weeks ago. I love how the setting sun reflects off the walls of the underpass.

Where I'd Rather Be....

You know how some days you just wish you were somewhere else? It doesn't have to be a particularly bad day or anything, you just would rather not be where you are. Today this is where I would rather be...back in Madrid, on vacation with my parents and some of my closest friends. Eating well, exploring a new city, and taking over 500 photos in a week!


That's the Catedral de la Almudena, which is located next the Palacio Real. This picture was taken from the Templo de Debod - an Egyptian temple located near Plaza España.

*This photo was actually taken by my father - thanks Dad!
**Click to enlarge!
***We'll be back in Boston tomorrow, I'm just daydreaming today. :)

Ill Passenger

There were delays on the Red Line one day last week when I was headed home from work, "due to an ill passenger at South Station". This train sat at the platform for about 5 minutes, and I had fun watching people start running when they caught sight of it at the bottom of the stairs, then run from door to door as they realized that each one was already jam packed with people.

Click to enlarge and check out the detail.

Sunday Supper

Okay, this is not what had for supper tonight, nor is it in Boston. I had to share anyway! Friday night a few friends of mine went out to The Melting Pot in Framingham (just next to Jordan's Furniture, in the same building as the jewelry store, in case you're looking for it...we made a few U-turns because we didn't see the sign the first two times...), about 25 minutes West of Boston. Talk about a fun time! The food was delicious and it's fun to go out to dinner and have it be such an interactive experience instead of just someone putting a plate in front of you. Our waiter, Tiago, was awesome, and the food was tasty. We decided that next time we'll do two different cheese fondues, salad, and skip straight to the chocolate fondue. The entree (shown in the photo) was yummy, too, but really...we LOVED the cheese and the chocolate!

We had the Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue to start, salads, the monthly special Fondue Feast for the entree, and the Cookies 'n Cream Marshmallow Dream to finish it up. We've all been thinking and talking about this meal all weekend and telling our respective SOs that we have to go back!

Milton

This is where I catch the trolley every day. Only I'm usually not this low to the ground - I was just trying to make it more interesting for you guys since I haven't been straying from my usual route lately. Next weekend I promise to go on a photo adventure so I'll have lots of new things to show you!

Starbucks

I walked into One Financial Center to get my daily addiction (grande soy chai, please! Only today it was a venti - early morning to start a l-o-n-g day), and the shadow from the Starbucks door caught my eye.

Shadows

Shadows under the Trolley overpass along the Neponset River Greenway.

Eerie

The sky was kind of eerie when I was on my way home last night - it was around twilight, but with lots of grey rain clouds blowing through, and a pink cast from the street lights. It has been very windy lately, so even with the warmer (near 60!) temperatures yesterday, it still felt chilly. Today was cooler (40s) and windy. Maybe someday spring will come. ;)

CDP Theme Day: Water (or "ooooooh! Boston, your my home!")

Today's theme day is water, and I won't lie, it was a tough one for me! That probably sounds silly...we're on a harbor, we've got the Charles River, and it's been rainy for a number of days in the last few weeks. In the end, I'm showing you neither the Harbor or the Charles! This is the Neponset River, which you've seen before (because I live right next to it...sorry to flood you with photos of it. Ba-dum-dum!). The Neponset acts as the city line, running between Boston and Quincy and then Boston and Milton - much like the Charles acts as the city line between Boston and Cambridge. This shot is looking from Boston across the river into Milton Village. The buildings on the left were part of the Walter Baker Chocolate Factory - the nearest is still vacant and the furthest is a storage facility. The building across the street on the right is another Chocolate Factory building, and houses a handful of professional offices, as well as a gym/spa. The trolley stops just past the parking lot for the storage facility, and up the hill are a few banks, a post office, a hardware store, and a few more professional services (tax accountants, dentists, psychologist, etc...).

The picture is best large, so click it to check out the detail!

And of course, no true Bostonian (or Red Sox fan) can think of Boston without "Love that Dirty Water" by the Standells running through their head, here's a video for you to watch:




There are currently 178 blogs participating in today's theme day, so pick a link (or 5, or 20) below and take a trip to somewhere new!

theme day id=13

Adelaide, Australia by Gordon, Albuquerque (NM), USA by Helen, American Fork (UT), USA by Annie, Anderson (SC), USA by Lessie, Ararat, Australia by Digger, Arradon, France by Alice, Ashton under Lyne, UK by Pennine, Athens, Greece by Debbie, Auckland, New Zealand by Lachezar, Austin (TX), USA by LB, Bandung, Indonesia by Guntur Purwanto, Barton (VT), USA by Andree, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro by Paja, Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro by Bibi, Bellefonte (PA), USA by Barb-n-PA, Bicheno, Australia by Greg, Bogor, Indonesia by Gagah, Boston (MA), USA by Fenix - Bostonscapes, Boston (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Boston (MA), USA by Sarah, Whit, & Leyre, Brighton, UK by Harvey, Brookville (OH), USA by Abraham, Budapest, Hungary by Zannnie and Zsolt, Budapest, Hungary by Isadora, Canterbury, UK by Rose, Cape Town, South Africa by Kerry-Anne, Chandler (AZ), USA by Melindaduff, Chateaubriant, France by Bergson, Cheltenham, UK by Marley, Chicago (IL), USA by b.c., Christchurch, New Zealand by Michelle, Clearwater (FL), USA by Smaridge01, Clearwater Beach (FL), USA by Smaridge01, Cleveland (OH), USA by iBlowfish, Coral Gables (FL), USA by Jnstropic, Cypress (TX), USA by Riniroo, Dallas/Fort Worth (TX), USA by A Wandering Soul, Dunedin (FL), USA by Smaridge01, Durban, South Africa by CrazyCow, East Gwillimbury, Canada by Your EG Tour Guide, Evry, France by Olivier, Glasgow, Scotland by Jackie, Greenville (SC), USA by Denton, Grenoble, France by Bleeding Orange, Guelph, Canada by Pat, Gun Barrel City (TX), USA by Lake Lady, Hamilton, New Zealand by Sakiwi, Hampton (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Haninge, Sweden by Steffe, Helsinki, Finland by Kaa, Hobart, Australia by Greg, Hyde, UK by Old Hyde, Inverness (IL), USA by Neva, Jackson (MS), USA by Halcyon, Jakarta, Indonesia by Santy, Jefferson City (MO), USA by Chinamom2005, Jogjakarta, Indonesia by Jogja Portrait, Joplin (MO), USA by Victoria, Juneau (AK), USA by Gwyn, Katonah (NY), USA by Inkster1, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by Edwin, Kyoto, Japan by Tadamine, Lake Forest Park (WA), USA by Azure, Larchmont (NY), USA by Marie-Noyale, Las Vegas (NV), USA by Mo, Lisbon, Portugal by Sailor Girl, Lisbon, Portugal by Maria João, Lodz, Poland by ritalounge, London, UK by Mo, London, UK by Ham, Mainz, Germany by JB, Maple Ridge, Canada by Susan, Marseille, France by Alex, Mazatlan, Mexico by Kate, Melbourne, Australia by John, Melbourne, Australia by Mblamo, Memphis (TN), USA by SouthernHeart, Menton, France by Jilly, Mexico City, Mexico by Carraol, Mexico City, Mexico by Poly, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Greg, Minneapolis (MN), USA by Mitch, Minsk, Belarus by Olga, Monrovia (CA), USA by Keith, Monte Carlo, Monaco by Jilly, Montego Bay, Jamaica by Ann, Monterrey, Mexico by rafa, Moscow, Russia by Irina, Mumbai, India by Magiceye, Mumbai, India by MumbaiiteAnu, Mumbai, India by Kunalbhatia, Nancy, France by yoshi, Naples (FL), USA by Isabella, Nashville (TN), USA by Chris, Nelson, New Zealand by Meg and Ben, New Orleans (LA), USA by steve buser, New York City (NY), USA by Ming the Merciless, Niamey, Niger by Dinabee, Norfolk (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Norman (OK), USA by Chad & LaCresha, Norwich, UK by Goddess888, Nottingham, UK by Gail's Man, Odense, Denmark by ania odense, Omsk, Russia by Nataly, Orlando (FL), USA by OrlFla, Oslo, Norway by Lothiane, Paderborn, Germany by Soemchen, Paris, France by Eric, Paris, France by Gordio, Pasadena (CA), USA by Can8ianben, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia by Murphy_jay, Pilisvörösvár, Hungary by Elise, Pont-à-Mousson, France by Tintin-j, Port Angeles (WA), USA by Jelvistar, Port Elizabeth, South Africa by Sam, Port Townsend (WA), USA by raf, Port Vila, Vanuatu by Mblamo, Portland (ME), USA by Corey, Portland (OR), USA by NWgal, Portsmouth (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Prague, Czech Republic by Honza03, Quincy (MA), USA by Cluelessinboston, Riga, Latvia by Prokur, Rotterdam, Netherlands by Ineke, Saarbrücken, Germany by LadyDemeter, Saigon, Vietnam by Simon, Saint Louis (MO), USA by 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Lezard, Tokyo, Japan by Tadamine, Toruń, Poland by Torun Observer, Toulouse, France by Julia, Turin, Italy by Livio, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina by Jazzy, Twin Cities (MN), USA by Slinger, Victoria, Canada by Benjamin Madison, Vienna, Austria by G_mirage2, Virginia Beach (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Wailea (HI), USA by Kuanyin, Washington (DC), USA by Rachel, Wassenaar, Netherlands by Rich, Wellington, New Zealand by Jeremyb, West Paris (ME), USA by crittoria, West Sacramento (CA), USA by Barbara, Weston (FL), USA by WestonDailyPhoto, Williamsburg (VA), USA by ptowngirl, Willits (CA), USA by Elaine, Yardley (PA), USA by Mrlynn,