I took the red line from Davis Station to Park Street and transferred to the Green line for just one hop to the Government Center - where my brother had given me a brief orientation session the day before. I was looking for the Freedom Trail path along with a few destinations I had picked from various Boston Guides - the Custom House, Quincy Market, Union Oyster House, Boston Commons Park, and the Prudential Center. After visiting the Visitor's Center on State Street and grabbing a FREE map, I walked Southeast toward the Harbor to get a better view of the Custom House. Initially built in 1849 (towerless, on landfill, at the waterfront!), by 1905, increased shipping required the building's expansion. Peabody and Stearns added the tower to the base in 1915. Although Boston at that ... read more

Last tourist/historic stop in Beijing before having to catch the plane...I only had 12 pictures left in my camera, so I had to actually decide what pictures I wanted to keep - way too much work, hahah! I did the entire museum a little under an hour, but if even just a small part of you is a history buff or military/weapons-head, then I would suggest 2-3 hours to fully explore and a translator for the third floor where China decided it could rewrite history for its citizens and try to make them believe certain falsehoods, like something about the Korean War...I don't really remember but Ted could tell you ALL about it - he said it cracked him up reading some of the displays. The huge tanks, missiles, downed US Spy Plane, and murderous weapons ... read more

Straight from Wikipedia (I apologize, but I've started getting lazy). Sam actually told me most of the Mansion's history while we walked through it (together initially) and translated a few displays for me! Prince Gong's Mansion (Chinese: 恭王府; pinyin: Gōng Wáng Fǔ) or Gong Wang Fu Museum is located in the western part of central Beijing, China, north of the Shichahai Lake. Consisting of large mansions in the typical siheyuan laylout and gardens, Prince Gong's Mansion is known as one of the most ornate and extravagant residence compounds in all of Beijing. It was constructed in 1777 for minister He Shen (和珅) during the Qianlong-reign in the late Qing Dynasty. From a young age, He Shen got the trust of Emperor Qianlong, and was able to make large promotion in the imperial administration. In this way ... read more

After the meal at One Thousand and One Nights, Ryan easily convinced me that I needed to visit Olympic Park at night for the cool light displays on the structures. It took about 30-40 minutes to reach it by subway, but the Park was still open, though none of the stadiums were. I'd have to come back later to see them during the day. It had just finished raining and the wet ground created beautiful reflections of the lit structures, especially the Water Cube. A few minutes after we passed the Olympic Tower, it started raining...and then pouring. Neither of us had an umbrella, though I at least had a bag to put my camera in if needed to protect it. It was cold, but I enjoyed listening to the sounds of the showers and seeing ... read more

Summer Palace is quoted as "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." As the largest and seemingly best-preserved imperial garden in China, I would have to agree. Construction of the Summer Palace was initiated in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong as a gift for his mother's birthday. It has been rebuilt (and slightly restructured) twice due to invasions and renovated in 1888 by Empress Dowager Cixi. Six of us visited the palace together and we split up into two groups, cause it's harder to handle the interests of larger groups and you get more glances by Chinese tourists or locals. As you enter the South Gate and ... read more