We left the Cape in torrential rain which slowed us down even further than the conservative speed limits enforced very vigilantly by the law. To break our journey we decided to stop off at Cambridge on the outskirts of Boston, in order to visit Harvard University.
Unfortunately, two of the buildings housing art collections are closed for refurbishment until next year, but it was interesting to wander around the beautiful tree-lined grounds ( housing a large sculpture by Henry Moore and a statue of John Harvard, the university's main benefactor), and admire the different styles of architecture.
I hadn't realised until today that John Harvard was an Englishman and that he and I share the same birthday to boot!
I thought the building by Le Corbusier was exceedingly ugly, but I'm sure there are many who admire it. We lost ourselves in the Harvard University Book Store for a while and Jim supplemented his holiday reading with a book of short stories by Ian McEwan called Between the Sheets. I'm reading Crossing Over, a story set partly in New England, so much more appropriate, I think!
Before leaving Harvard Square,
we took a brief look at Christ's Church where George Washington and his wife worshipped and where Theodore Roosevelt taught Sunday school classes.
Then it was time to make our way through Johnny Appleseed country (where they give away free apples at the rest stops, or service stations as we would call them), and hit the Mohawk Trail. Now we're talking real rural countryside. There is little except mountains, trees and the Connecticut River - spectacular scenery on an enormous scale. More of this tomorrow.
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