Boston Freedom Trail

The Freedom Trail guided tour starts at Boston Common, which is a public park founded in 1634. We bought the tickets at the Visitor Information Centre located in the park, then wait for tour to begin.



The guides are dressed in historical attire of the olden English days to suit the journey down the historical path.



The first stop of the trail is at the Massachusetts State House, which is on the opposite side of the road from Boston Common. We only viewed the building from across the road and didn't go any nearer.



Our guide recounting the history in front of the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Massachusetts Regiment Memorial.





In this trail, we stop by two burial sites: the Granary Burying Ground and the King’s Chapel Burying Ground. Famous Boston people are buried here including Paul Revere.



The preserved Old City Hall now stands in the land that was formerly used for the Boston Latin School (America's first public school).



The First Public School Site was commemorated with a plague on the pavement outside the Old City Hall building.



The Old State House was where all the political activities happened back in the colonial days.

(Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons)

The last stop of the 90 minute tour is at Faneuil Hall, which is still a busy marketplace today. The entire tour is conducted outdoor. Although it's already early Spring, the chilling Boston winds froze my fingers numb by the end of the trail.

Albany Riverfront Park

The Albany Riverfront Park is along the Hudson River. To get there, we take the bridge from Maiden Lane. (My crazy friends are jumping around in the picture.)


Parts of the floor on the bridge were fixed with tiles like these.



Significant events in Albany were marked on the pillars of the bridge. Even the company hosting us for the training program was recognized (in the rightmost photo).


The view of Hudson River from the park.




A super big compass on the ground.

Saint Patrick's Day

Today, we headed downtown for the St Patrick's Day parade.



There were a few of such push-carts selling St Patrick's Day items. We stood along State Street near St. Peter's Episcopal Church and waited for the parade to start.







Here comes the Albany fire engine.


One of the bagpipe bands marching down the street.



Men in traditional Scottish skirt in the parade.



A very patriotic car driving pass.


Another bagpipe band in the parade.



The Chocolate Thunder Marching and Dancing Band.

Top of the Rock Observation Deck

The Top of the Rock Observation Deck is located on the 67th, 69th and 70th floor of Rockefeller Centre.



Before taking the elevator up to the observation deck, there's Swarovski crystals on display. The photo on the left is the Swarovski star that's up on the Rockefeller Christmas tree every year-end. The photo on the right is the Joie Chandelier and if you turn the picture upside down, you'll see that the crystals form the shape of the Rockefeller Centre building.



The historical photo gallery and exhibition tell the story of the building. Interestingly, the Rockefeller Centre was built during the great depression. The photo on the right is the iconic picture of construction workers taking their break in mid air.

The observation deck 67th and 69th floors are indoor and it is difficult to get a good shot through the thick glass panels. However, 70th floor is open air. Thankfully the weather is good and we spend most of the time here, even though it is windy and cold in winter.


Looking northwards, the big patch of green space is Central Park.


Looking southward, the Empire State Building stands out from the other skyscrapers in the city landscape. It has an observation deck too and it's taller than Rockefeller Centre.

New York Central Park in Winter

Central Park is located between 59th to 110th Street and between 5th to 8th Avenue in New York City. The park is so huge that it spans across seven subway stations. It is often described by visitors to be a tranquil getaway from the hectic city life.







It snowed recently and the fresh white snow is still covering the ground and the bare tree branches.



During winter, one of the things to do in Central Park is to go ice-skating in the Wollman Ice Skating Rink. This rink is located in the southern part of the park (near The Pond), while there's another one (Lasker Rink) in the north of the park. Of course, entrance fees apply and skates are available for rental.



At the Strawberry Fields, this "imagine" mosaic is often decorated with flower petals into a peace sign. This memorial had been dedicated to John Lennon, one of the Beatles singers and a peace activist.

Skiing at Lapland

Last night, the crazy bunch of us stayed up till wee hours of the morning. With only about 4 hours of sleep, we set off for a skiing trip with our senior colleagues today. They were very kind to let us tag along; even came to pick us up from our rented apartments and drove a long way up the mountain to Lapland Lake. I don't have any camera, so all the photos are from my friends'.

The place we rent our skis.

Skis of different lengths

Fireplace

My first time seeing a real life reindeer!

Cottage in the distance