Sunday, April 6, 2014

Celebrating Arrival of Spring in Harvard Square: Photos

Harvard Square, Cambridge, facing Harvard University. 
A great place to celebrate a (FINALLY!) REAL spring day! 
Entering Harvard Yard from Mass. Ave.
Surprise! An artist who was also part performer
as he interacted with his passing audience.
He's a graduate student and 
he's going to paint various other Harvard views.
Signs of Spring on a New England college campus!
Who belongs to the little bike, I wonder? 
(Sharon, you probably have the story!)
Great public transportation in the whole Boston area.
Tiny transportation waiting for bigger subway transportation.
Transportation that is occupied displaying flowers.
All the flower shop doors are open! After months of gray:
Here is COLOR!!
 People are buying pussy willows like crazy!
 
More transportation that is taking a break with its rider. 
Benches are filled with folks reading...
 Everywhere people reading...
Aaaah, reading by sunlight with a cool breeze...
Maybe the readers bought books from one of the 7 or so book shops in the area.
 (There used to be many more. Then came the Internet...) 
One of the remaining bookstores is Schoenhofs Foreign Books. 
Founded in 1856, it's the largest foreign language bookstore in America.
Learning materials in over 700 languages & dialects & 
fiction & non-fiction & children's books in 50 languages. 
All over Cambridge you hear so many languages!
While I was browsing the French children's books 
the nice bookseller put French music on for me. 
Did you know that April 2 was International Children's Book Day?
Out of Town News is right in the heart of Harvard Square.  
It almost went out of business due to the advent of online periodicals, but
in 2009 a new owner saved it. And I am thrilled he did. 
 Folks on this fine day are reading in outdoor cafés...
And chatting.
 These guys are eating & chatting too. But not reading...
If you stop to carefully look, they are really pretty.
This sunny day reminds me that soon it will be summer hat season.
For an authentic Panama Hat go to the gorgeous Goorin Brothers Hat Shop,
a family business established in 1895. And they have a nice selection of 
pretty feathers for your cap (for a pretty price, though).
 Don't forget your sun hat when you are hanging out in the park at Harvard Square,
listening to music (& reading or chatting).
If you & your spirit have never done that, I highly recommend it!

11 comments:

  1. What a highly inspiring place ! Bookshops, painters , readers , cafes , benches .... And those names : Cambridge, Harvard...I'd love sooooooo much to be there! It seems that spring reached you suddenly, great surprise !!
    Merci pour ce très joli post et cette belle promenade , ma chère amie!
    Gros bisous!

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  2. what an awesome place - looks foot-traffic comfortable and certainly reader-friendly. :)

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  3. This is my first tour..! We whiz by Boston going to the Cape..
    Would love to stop one day if ever we go back.Fun and interesting..Gosh you are good like Carol G to get candid shots..
    I would have loved every stop..Especially on such an uplifting Spring day..Soon..

    I saw Pussy Willows at Costco..that's the only place..we still ahve too muchs now for outdoor markets yet..
    Thanks for the tour Rita.

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  4. I enjoyed reading this post on Cambridge. For once, people were reading with REAL books... not on IPads ! We have so much snow here in the Province of Québec... J'ai hâte que la neige fonde !

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  5. You did a beautiful job capturing this most beautiful day Rita. Add photographer to your list of talents! I would say the bikes in front of the flower shop are begging to be watercolored by you. Hint, hint!

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    1. Rita -- I can feel the sun through your photos. I love to sit on park benches and do so often at the park near me. Sunny days are best for bench sitting but I do it even on gloomy days around here -- not enough sunny days in the winter but mostly warm enough to sit on a bench. I don't always read as there are unusually bench sitters that strike up conversations. Harvard Square looks like my kinda place -- books and more books. So many places like this have disappeared in small and large towns. Enjoyed your post -- barbara

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  6. Enjoyed seeing all your photos! Drawing of the artist looks very natural. Making the transport for keeping flowers is a different idea. Spending time in bench is wonderful. I love to do it!

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  7. What a cheery outing -- I can feel your lifted spirit. Spring! Color!

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  8. Wonderful early spring day in New England. I can feel the warmth in your photos!

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  9. You can almost feel how happy everyone is to finally be feeling some sunshine and seeing some color. What an interesting place to visit, too. Lots to look at and be inspired by.

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  10. A beautiful day! Any Polish books in the international book store?
    I have just found out that a daughter of my dear friend from Canada has been accepted to Harvard to do her Master's. Feeling proud as I've known this lovely girl since she was a few years old.

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