Visiting Harvard University in Cambridge [Part 13]

After almost two whole weeks of road tripping through the north-east of the USA we finally made our way to the last destination of our trip: Boston. We departed Plymouth relativley early in the morning, and it was only an hour drive to Cambridge where we visited Harvard University first. The university campus is very busy but very interesting to observe. We then headed for Boston which is right next to Cambridge. Here we would spend the last three days of our USA Trip 2016. Our apartment which was booked through AirBnB was located in Beacon Hill, which is the historical part of the city and right next to the city center. In this post I will show you our visit to Harvard University and the first impressions of Boston, and the next and final post will document our last few days of this trip.

This is only a part of our big travel series to the USA 2016

For the other parts click here

Arrival in Cambridge

The first experience we had in Cambridge was a local coffee shop. As with Yale University, the room was filled with students on laptops, a general business, which was interesting to observe. Cambridge in general is very busy, especially during work days. It's not easy to find parking, but in case you need it street parking is available.

About Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university.  It's the United States' oldest institution of higher learning. The University is organized into eleven separate academic units, ten faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, with campuses throughout the Boston metropolitan area. The nominal cost of attendance is high, but the University's large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages.

Roaming the Campus

Most daily visitors will roam the campus and take a look around. Outside of the campus you can find shops and restaurants, but the inside is much more quiet and calm. Everything is well maintained and you will find students and other visitors outside in groups or rushing off to lectures. We explored the main campus first and then headed north towards Harvard Law School (for obvious reasons) :D

The school color is crimson, which is also the name of the Harvard sports teams and the daily newspaper, The Harvard Crimson. The color was unofficially adopted (in preference to magenta) by an 1875 vote of the student body, although the association with some form of red can be traced back to 1858, when Charles William Eliot, a young graduate student who would later become Harvard's 21st and longest-serving president (1869–1909), bought red bandanas for his crew so they could more easily be distinguished by spectators at a regatta.

Harvard Law School

Since three out of four us are law school graduates back here in Bosnia and Herzegovina it was only natural for us to see what law school looks like in Harvard. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside but the outside of the building and lot as equally interesting. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest continually operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world.

Harvard Book Store

This book store is a locally owned and independently run Cambridge landmark since 1932. They are known for a great selection of new, used, and remaindered books. Inside the Harvard Book Store you will find a treasure trove of books and magazines, that every reaches down into the basement, which is like the underbelly of the beast. You will definitely want to spend an hour here or more!

Arrival in our Apartment in Boston

As I said in the intro, we booked a AirBnb apartment in Boston, located in the old part of town called Beacon Hill. The apartment was really spacious and nice and on those rare occasion when we weren't exploring the city we would enjoy ourselves here.

A Nightly Stroll through Beacon Hill

The streets of Beacon Hill are almost like a maze (though a much more straightforward one). Since it was Halloween weekend when we visited the streets were decorated and everything became an even more heightened experience. This is the old part of Boston and you will find red brick residential houses. A small tip for visitors on the weekends: Since it is very hard to find parking here look out for places not marked by "Residential Parking Only". These places offer free parking on the weekend. Since it was a weekend when we arrived we didn't have to pay parking for the first two days, which was great!

We have almost come to the end of our travel series to New England. Next part will be the big finale, covering the last two days we spent in Boston. It will be all about this beautiful city and the last autumn sights in New England...

End of Part Thirteen

To be continued...

Where I'm Linking To