Summer roads in Boston

I had never spent the summer in Boston before, at least not the full summer.  Europe always beckoned, or the smell of home in El Salvador quietly motioned for me to come back. This summer, I took full advantage of the weather, which only a tiny fleeting moment. I did things I never thought I would do like go on a free cruise around the Charles, stroll through an organic food festival, dance in awkward Meetup parties, enjoy picnics with friends and strangers and go to free films.

I found it liberating not to depend on others to see things instead just enjoying my own company. Taking a stroll down the docks in the back bay, eating with a book club overlooking the water, kayaking along the Charles, salsa dancing in Central Square. I am surprised how different and transformative Boston is during the summer, and how when I let go of my own personal fears I could discover so much more.

The city hibernates in the winter so the spring and summer are when people come out in full force. You feel their frenetic energy and it can be divine.

London Surprises

The thing about London is that it always has the ability to surprise you. It is almost a week since I came to London to visit friends, and you can easily get sucked into the frantic energy of the city. London is a city packed with possibilities, rife with twists and turns and small little pockets of subcultures. Where else but London would you find a girl covered in mud sitting next to a middle aged woman carrying a gerbil cage and a woman covered in muslim headress? Where else would you find a fantastic array of languages , colours and eclectic tastes?
Today I walked with my friend Sahar, who is a hat designer in a park called the ” Graveyard Park” it was, literally a park of graves with weird twisting trees. It was pouring with rain and we crossed a little meadow filled with wild flowers, poppies and weeds. I was wet, as usual but amazed at this small discovery. In the afternoon , I walked past the giant Tower of London, home to where Anne Bolelyn was sentenced and killed and then strolled through the London Bridge to get to a museum on Louboutins….
But London is also a city which can suck you dry. It is constantly swarming with people, and simple things like going from one station to another is almost an impossible feat with the more complicated than it has to be Subway system. In comparison to the green fields and rolling meadows of Scotland, or the beautiful spiritual paradise of Haifa Israel it is a bit of a culture shock. I have always slightly feared London, she is the cooler sister I wish I could be. I always lived in the outskirts of London, never totally inside. Everyone is always rushed in London. Rushing to the Tube, rushing to the bus, rushing to the street. Someone told me that in New York City there is always a false sense of urgency. Perhaps many big cities have the same feeling ( Definitely not Madrid that is for sure!!)

Well London, I hope you keep surprising me tommorrow…