California

From San Francisco I went to Mountain View to stay with friends, those days with them felt like going home, I got a chance to rest, good food (fresh plum pie, yum) and great company. From there I went down to San Luis Obispo, a college town where I stayed in a very homely hostel that even had it's own dog.



Pismo beach





Morro Bay



Shell Beach



From SLO I got the train along the coast to Santa Barbara, a little coastal town that is amazingly laid back and fun. I loved lying on the beach and looking up at the palm trees, which was mostly what I did there apart from cheering for Spain!









España campeones!

Golden Gate Bridge

Yosemite

I spent two days in Yosemite National Park, every time I stepped out of the van my first reaction was WOW (or Oh my goodness) any adjectives I could use to describe this scenery would be mere clichés, so I'll leave you with the pictures.













Eat, sleep and hug trees...



Crawling through a dead giant sequoia tree



If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise...



A quick dip in the freezing cold watering hole near the hostel was the perfect end to the day

Gay pride parade - San Francisco

Some of the outfits or lack of were certainly eyecatching









Judd the dog embracing his Scottish heritage!



I watched a Jewish ritual blessing on a lesbian couple which was something I never expected to see! Apparently San Francisco has a gay version of everything, even a gay synagogue...




My 14 year old self was extatic when the Backstreet Boys came on stage and sang I want it that way, although they were looking a lot fatter and balder than they did a decade ago I was very happy to have seen them, and for free too!!

Washington DC

Although my first impression of DC was a bit disappointing because of the dozens of homeless people I saw on the streets and the general lack of "atmosphere" to the city I ended up enjoying my stay, mainly thanks to the nice people I met!







Despite the extremely hot and humid weather I walked all the way to the Arlington National Cemetery, a military cemetery established during the American Civil War. It was quite poignant to see soldiers walking in amongst the graves of their colleagues and watching two funeral parties made me once again question the wars that are going on at the moment.

Isabella Gardner

The museum was established in 1903 by Isabella Stewart Gardner an eclectic American socialite and art collector who decided she was going to build a museum to house her art collection in the Fenway area in Boston. The building was designed to evoke the
Palazzo Barbaro in Venice.

Most of the art pieces in the museum are unlabeled, and the dimly lit rooms make you feel like you're walking around someone's house rather than a museum.




The artwork was interesting but the bit that I liked the most about the museum was the courtyard, an ideal place to sit and relax and enjoy the seasonal flowers.








The crazy lady - Isabella Gardner