Harvard University...

Boston Massachusetts... home to none other than Harvard University! 

If you combine our Mini Bus and Subway journey duration just to get there, it may have been the longest and most tedious journey of our entire trip... but it was so worth it! 

Built in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution for higher education in the United States. The campus it's self is split into 11 separate academic units, located within different areas of Boston, with Harvard Stadium situated on the Allston side of the River Charles.

The main campus of the University is situated in the Cambridge area, and leads right into Harvard Yard. The yard it's self felt so peaceful and truly was beautiful, complete with a square of fresh green grass in the middle hugging the trees and Quaint colourful tables with chairs resting upon it. On your left hand side as you enter, stands Harvard's Memorial Church. This building is so elegant; complete with it's own church tower and four large pillars guarding the entrance. As a group we sat upon the benches at the entrance to the church and ate a little picnic; relaxing within the calm atmosphere of the Harvard campus, taking in the magnificent building work surrounding us and realizing just how lucky we actually are to be right there in that moment! 

Opposite to where we were sat stood Harvard's Widener Library, which is the largest academic and private library system in the world! The system it's self consists of up to 79 separate libraries, holding approximately over 18 million different volumes. 

The campus it's self is made up of many tall bricked buildings, presenting an old fashioned and antique appearance. Believe it or not some of these buildings are actually freshman dormitories, which is miles more extravagant than any University accommodation I've lived in myself!  Harvard is a largely residential research University, with many first years choosing to live on campus. 
As the actual campus is spread out across the Boston area, next on our agenda was to make our way over the Charles river to the Allston section of the campus; our goal was to visit Harvard Business school. All of the buildings again were truly magnificent, complete with pillars and beautifully patterned designs on each. The Baker library is an example of one of these buildings! In front of the library lay a large patch of fresh green grass with a beautiful view of the river, so of course we took it as a perfect photo shoot opportunity. 

Not far from the Baker library stands none other than Harvard Stadium, the grounds were empty giving us free reign of it all! Harvard stadium was built from concrete in 1903, and is enormous holding enough seating for over 30,300 people. The stalls within the stadium sit in a U shaped bend surrounding the field below them. After taking a few photographs from the ground we ventured round the back of the stadium in search of an entrance, before climbing our way up the stalls and taking in the extreme height at which they were situated. Inscribed within the grass field below in a deep red colour was the word "Crimson", which is actually Harvard's designated colour. Crimson was chosen to enable the Harvard team to be identified during the regatta, which has stuck after all these years.  

Finally we finished our trip to the University by heading over to Harvard Square, and spending hours pondering in all of the merchandise shops to our hearts content! However our day did not end there, we decided to explore some more... after all we were in Boston! 

Baker Library

Harvard Stadium

Harvard Square

Yale University ...

New Haven, Connecticut... Home to one of America's best Universities! That being none other than Yale it's self! Being from England I can safely say that Yale was unlike any University I have seen before, the building was truly magnificent and puts all of our building work to shame! American's really do have a talent for creating a masterpiece; something so grand and so elegant that it is down right beautiful! During our short week we spent in New Haven, we made sure we popped down to pay it a lil visit... by hell were we in for a treat!

When we arrived we were greeted by a young bubbly red head, who took us for the grand tour. The young girl was roughly the same age as ourselves, which truly emphasized the degree of opportunities America has to offer. 

The exterior of the University reminded me of Hogwarts Castle from Harry Potter, displaying a very Gothic design. However the buildings are a lot more modern than they appear, the Gothic appearance was actually the goal of the founder. Each building was made from stone complete with thick wooden doors, old fashioned windows and even the occasional castle turret... it truly was magnificent!

Within the grounds of the University stands a statue of Theodore Dwight Woolsey, who was not only an American academic and author but also the president of Yale from 1846 - 1871. The statue was erected due to a tale told, being that Woolsey would kick the boat with his left foot at the regatta to start the race; they said that Yale would always win! Students and tourists who visit the grounds, have been known to rub the statues left foot in the hope of it bringing them good luck. 

In my opinion Yale is incredibly lucky, as it has not one but two stunning libraries. The first being that of the Sterling Memorial Library, which is actually the largest. You'll notice from the photographs that the building it's self is rather unorthodox, resembling that of a Cathedral. This design was actually the goal of James Gamble Rodgers, who'd attended Yale in 1889. The library it's self is made up of a total of 16 floors housing up to 4 million different volumes, the ceilings reach up to approximately 60ft tall. There are a total of 3,300 stained glass windows throughout the library, all designed by artist G. Owen Bonawit.

The second of the two libraries is that of the Beinecke rare books and manuscripts library, containing approximately 600,000 rare volumes. Some of the works range back hundreds of years ago; 1487 being one of them, Beinecke is also lucky enough to house none other than one of the only surviving 21 complete Gutenberg bibles. Within the middle of the staircases stands a six story high bookcase which is encased within a glass cabinet, the volumes are kept within a controlled climate to preserve the quality of each collection. The exterior of the library is made from Marble which is translucent and only 1.25 inches thick, on a sunny day; daylight can still be transmitted through the marble due to it's thinness. Beinecke is one of the largest buildings in America, which is dedicated solely to rare books and manuscripts.

As someone with an absolute deep love and passion for books, being able to see the rarity and antique appearance of some of those volumes was truly breathtaking! Vising Yale was an experience like no other, and something I am beyond lucky enough to have embraced!

The Gothic Campus

The Sterling Memorial Library

The Beinecke Library of Rare Books & Artifacts

The Lucky Foot

 

American Museum Of Natural History ...

If you know me well, then you will know I am an avid lover of movies! My collection literally takes up the majority of my under bed storage! Wasting away the day snuggled up in bed with a blanket and a cuppa watching my favourites, is when Im at my happiest! When I was roughly 10 years old a film called "Night At The Museum" was released, which Im sure the majority of you have either heard of or seen. Since then the Natural History Museum has found it's self on my bucket list, I just longed to see where all the magic happened! Fast forward 12 years and there I was stood right in front of none other than the American Museum Of Natural History!

Standing tall and proud beyond the trees of Central Park, was the most magnificent building complete with pillars making it look all grand and elegant. Sat high upon his horse on the museum stairs stood the main man himself, and one of the biggest assets of the Museum which I really couldn't leave without seeing; President Theodore Roosevelt.

As I entered the revolving doors which lead into the foyer, the nostalgia of being 10 years old and watching Ben Stiller do the same hit me hard! It was as though those doors were some sort of time machine, I entered them as a 22 year old and transformed into a 12 year old right there inside the Museum entrance. 

Of course throughout my time there I did unconsciously compare what I saw in the movie, to what was actually within the museum. Unlike the movie Rexy was not actually stood near the main doors, instead he was actually on the fourth floor but that didn't matter to much to me; I was just happy to actually see him! The hustle and bustle radiating from the crowds inside the Museum made me feel like a child on Christmas Eve, bursting with excitement! 

There were about four floors full of many different exhibits, everything ranging from African Mammals, Dinosaurs, Birds, Primates and many many more! Sadly many exhibits from the movie were not actually within the Museum, such as Ahkmenrah, Attila the Hun, Sacagawea and a few more ... but I guess it has been about 10 years! However as I climbed each floor I couldn't help but mentally tick off each character that we did find! Teddy Roosevelt... check! Rexy... check! Dexter... double check!!

Gift shops are my weakness, and the Museum had a fair few of them at that! Naturally my inner child came out and I left with none other than a stuffed Dinosaur toy, yes i am 22 and still like cuddly toys! ... I have no regrets!


They say that the American Museum Of Natural History comes alive at night... but for me it was just as alive during the day!