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raulf-o · 3 years ago

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JACK - ANTHOLOGY OF A YOUNG WIZARD 6: DREAMS OR NIGHTMARES

Boy, wait a bit, the Sheriff calls to me. What is it? I ask. The Judge wants to talk to you, says the Sheriff. As I make my way towards him all manner of thoughts rush through my head. Listen here, lad, says the Judge squinting at me. Be wary of what you say or do here in London. We got a keen sense of trouble and we quickly burn anything that is foreign or strange to our noses. Your master probably told you what happened last time a wizard was here. I am not telling you this out of compassion towards your kind, I am telling you this as a warning. I do not wish to see you in my court again if you do not want me to live up to my name, says the Judge as he turns to leave. What’s his name? I ask the Sheriff. It’s Stephen Gravesend, says the Sheriff. Stephen Gravesend, I repeat with shivers going down my spine in terror. Listen, is there an Inn around here? I need some lodging, I ask the Sheriff. There is down the street from the pub we came from, says the Sheriff. Thank you, I tell him as I leave. Just as I get out of the court Richard approaches me. Listen, I am truly sorry for what I said and done. Can you find it in your cold devil heart to forgive me? he asks. No. You must jest, otherwise you wouldn’t simply say what you just said, I brush him off and leave. I was right about your cold dead heart, shouts Richard after me.

As I walk down the dark streets of London, I remind myself to make a bit of light to carry in the palm of my hand. I just hope the Inn won’t be a deadly one, because this start of the journey really isn’t what I thought it would be. And if there’s a lesson to learn here, I don’t really want to learn it, I tell myself as I see the light to the inn. Welcome, welcome in the dead of the night, says the Innkeeper. Thank you, do you have a free room for the night? I ask. They always have free rooms since that one woman died by the bridge, says a man with his back turned towards me. Oh, it is you., the wizard. Not even hours here in London, and you’re already of fame in this part of town, says the Innkeeper. You are not considering letting him stay here after that last one? asks the man angrily. Calm down, Arcus. The man was freed by the notorious Gravesend. Sorry for my friend here, he is a bit in a mood. My name is Stephen, don’t worry not like the judge, I am Stephen of Lynn. My name sounds nicer and it is fun since I am also an Innkeeper. And this is Arcus of Rikelinge, I know, strange name. But he is good company. We do have a free room, as long as you promise not to entice women with your magic, says Stephen with a nervous laugh. Do not worry, magic does not work that way, I try to reassure him. Sure it doesn’t, says Arcus. Do not be intimidated by him, Stephen tells me. Do you want to know the story of the woman that killed herself for a wizard? asks Arcus.

No, not really, I respond. It was the 25th of December a year ago, when Johanna of Charing, a beautiful woman, was found dead. She drowned between the Tower of London and the Hospital of St. Kathrine in the parish of St. Botolph. That beautiful woman was found blue to her face, her skin now slimy and her beauty of a body now round and pudgy from puss and water. The story goes that the jury had found Laurence the Poulter, who had spent the previous night here with her. That night I was here too. It was just me and him the whole night. At some point we started hearing strange noises, a strange language we have not heard before until that night. And we should know. Before his father died and left him the inn, we roamed Europe. So we know some French, some Latin, but we never heard the tongue he spoke. That night before long, we saw her leave this place without any expression on her visage. Like, like… he bewitched her or put her under a spell. And since she died, we keep hearing strange noises in the attic of this inn and rumors spread and soon no one came here no more. All because of that wizard and his tongue, says Arcus. But that Laurence was acquitted after they looked at her body and found it had no wounds on her. Here’s your key, says Stephen. What a fascinating story, I have yet to see a ghost with my own eyes. From what Master told me, they are very rare as they usually travel to the other side unless they die of natural causes and have regrets left. Now excuse me while I go have nightmares of the stories you told, I tell Arcus as I take my leave to go get some sleep. Close that door well if you wanna wake up tomorrow, says Arcus. Well, fuck… I tell myself as I go up the stairs…

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chisholmofbostonkeycards · 7 years ago

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Keycard v no keycard

Handy list - please contact me to update

Uses Keycards for elevator access:

Boston Club Quarters Sheraton Lenox Liberty Park Plaza AC Marriott (Cambridge)

NYC CitizenM Hampton Inn (Brooklyn)

Chicago W Hotels

Amsterdam Andaz Ambassade

Las Vegas practically every one - especially on the strip - requires showing room key to security personnel

Delhi, India Le Meridien (Gurugram)

No keycard use:

Boston Midway Omni Parker House Copley Square Hotel Charlesmark Marriott Copley Boston Common Hotel Double Tree Downtown The Inn at St. Botolph Buckminster Revere Hotel The Boxer Westin Copley Westin Waterfront Holiday Inn (Dedham)

NYC Grace Hotel Blakely Hotel

Chicago Embassy Suites Downtown Marriott Suites O'Hare

Orlando Orlando World Center Marriott Drury Inn & Suites

Delhi, India Trident (Gurugram)

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steliosagapitos · 7 years ago

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John Keats

Born: 31 October 1795, Moorgate, London, England; Died: 23 February 1821(aged 25), Rome, Papal States; Occupation: Poet - Alma mater King's College London; Literary movement - Romanticism; Relatives: George Keats (brother).

John Keats (/ˈkiːts/; 31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English Romantic poet. He was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, despite his works having been in publication for only four years before his death at age 25 in the year 1821.

Although his poems were not generally well received by critics during his lifetime, his reputation grew after his death, and by the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most beloved of all English poets. He had a significant influence on a diverse range of poets and writers. Jorge Luis Borges stated that his first encounter with Keats's work was the most significant literary experience of his life.

The poetry of Keats is characterised by sensual imagery, most notably in the series of odes. This is typical of romantic poets, as they aimed to accentuate extreme emotion through the emphasis of natural imagery. Today his poems and letters are some of the most popular and most analysed in English literature. Some of the most acclaimed works of Keats are "I Stood Tip-toe Upon a Little Hill", "Sleep and Poetry", and the famous sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer".

John Keats was born in Moorgate, London, on 31 October 1795 to Thomas Keats and his wife, born Frances Jennings. There is little evidence of his exact birth date, as although Keats and his family seem to have marked his birthday on 29 October, baptism records give the date as the 31st. He was the eldest of four surviving children; his younger siblings were George (1797–1841), Thomas (1799–1818), and Frances Mary "Fanny" (1803–1889) who eventually married Spanish author Valentín Llanos Gutiérrez. Another son was lost in infancy. His father first worked as a hostler at the stables attached to the Swan and Hoop Inn, an establishment he later managed, and where the growing family lived for some years. Keats believed that he was born at the inn, a birthplace of humble origins, but there is no evidence to support his belief. The Globe pub now occupies the site (2012), a few yards from the modern-day Moorgate station. He was baptised at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, and sent to a local dame school as a child.

His parents were unable to afford Eton or Harrow, so in the summer of 1803, he was sent to board at John Clarke's school in Enfield, close to his grandparents' house. The small school had a liberal outlook and a progressive curriculum more modern than the larger, more prestigious schools. In the family atmosphere at Clarke's, Keats developed an interest in classics and history, which would stay with him throughout his short life. The headmaster's son, Charles Cowden Clarke, also became an important mentor and friend, introducing Keats to Renaissance literature, including Tasso, Spenser, and Chapman's translations. The young Keats was described by his friend Edward Holmes as a volatile character, "always in extremes", given to indolence and fighting. However, at 13 he began focusing his energy on reading and study, winning his first academic prize in midsummer 1809.

In April 1804, when Keats was eight, his father died from a skull fracture, suffered when he fell from his horse while returning from a visit to Keats and his brother George at school. Thomas Keats died intestate. Frances remarried two months later, but left her new husband soon afterwards, and the four children went to live with their grandmother, Alice Jennings, in the village of Edmonton.

In March 1810, when Keats was 14, his mother died of tuberculosis, leaving the children in the custody of their grandmother. She appointed two guardians, Richard Abbey and John Sandell, to take care of them. That autumn, Keats left Clarke's school to apprentice with Thomas Hammond, a surgeon and apothecary who was a neighbour and the doctor of the Jennings family. Keats lodged in the attic above the surgery at 7 Church Street until 1813. Cowden Clarke, who remained a close friend of Keats, described this period as "the most placid time in Keats's life."

From 1814, Keats had two bequests, held in trust for him until his 21st birthday: £800 willed by his grandfather John Jennings (about £50,000 in today's money) and a portion of his mother's legacy, £8000 (about £500,000 today), to be equally divided between her living children. It seems he was not told of either, since he never applied for any of the money. Historically, blame has often been laid on Abbey as legal guardian, but he may also have been unaware. William Walton, solicitor for Keats's mother and grandmother, definitely did know and had a duty of care to relay the information to Keats. It seems he did not. The money would have made a critical difference to the poet's expectations. Money was always a great concern and difficulty for him, as he struggled to stay out of debt and make his way in the world independently.

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer Much have I travell'd in the realms of gold, And many goodly states and kingdoms seen; Round many western islands have I been Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold. Oft of one wide expanse had I been told That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne; Yet did I never breathe its pure serene Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold: Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken; Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes He star'd at the Pacific — and all his men Look'd at each other with a wild surmise — Silent, upon a peak in Darien.

“”The sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer"

October 1816

Having finished his apprenticeship with Hammond, Keats registered as a medical student at Guy's Hospital (now part of King's College London) and began studying there in October 1815. Within a month of starting, he was accepted as a dresser at the hospital, assisting surgeons during operations, the equivalent of a junior house surgeon today. It was a significant promotion, that marked a distinct aptitude for medicine; it brought greater responsibility and a heavier workload. Keats's long and expensive medical training with Hammond and at Guy's Hospital led his family to assume he would pursue a lifelong career in medicine, assuring financial security, and it seems that at this point Keats had a genuine desire to become a doctor. He lodged near the hospital, at 28 St Thomas's Street in Southwark, with other medical students, including Henry Stephens who became a famous inventor and ink magnate.

However, Keats's training took up increasing amounts of his writing time, and he was increasingly ambivalent about his medical career. He felt that he faced a stark choice. He had written his first extant poem, "An Imitation of Spenser," in 1814, when he was 19. Now, strongly drawn by ambition, inspired by fellow poets such as Leigh Hunt and Lord Byron, and beleaguered by family financial crises, he suffered periods of depression. His brother George wrote that John "feared that he should never be a poet, & if he was not he would destroy himself". In 1816, Keats received his apothecary's licence, which made him eligible to practise as an apothecary, physician, and surgeon, but before the end of the year he announced to his guardian that he was resolved to be a poet, not a surgeon.

Although he continued his work and training at Guy's, Keats devoted more and more time to the study of literature, experimenting with verse forms, particularly the sonnet. In May 1816, Leigh Hunt agreed to publish the sonnet "O Solitude" in his magazine, The Examiner, a leading liberal magazine of the day. It was the first appearance in print of Keats's poetry, and Charles Cowden Clarkedescribed it as his friend's red letter day, the first proof that Keats's ambitions were valid. Among his poems of 1816 was To My Brothers. In the summer of that year, Keats went with Clarke to the seaside town of Margate to write. There he began "Calidore" and initiated the era of his great letter writing. On his return to London, he took lodgings at 8 Dean Street, Southwark, and braced himself for further study in order to become a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

In October 1816, Clarke introduced Keats to the influential Leigh Hunt, a close friend of Byron and Shelley. Five months later came the publication of Poems, the first volume of Keats's verse, which included "I stood tiptoe" and "Sleep and Poetry," both strongly influenced by Hunt. The book was a critical failure, arousing little interest, although Reynolds reviewed it favourably in The Champion. Clarke commented that the book "might have emerged in Timbuctoo." Keats's publishers, Charles and James Ollier, felt ashamed of the book. Keats immediately changed publishers to Taylor and Hessey on Fleet Street. Unlike the Olliers, Keats's new publishers were enthusiastic about his work. Within a month of the publication of Poems they were planning a new Keats volume and had paid him an advance. Hessey became a steady friend to Keats and made the company's rooms available for young writers to meet. Their publishing lists eventually included Coleridge, Hazlitt, Clare, Hogg, Carlyle and Lamb.

Through Taylor and Hessey, Keats met their Eton-educated lawyer, Richard Woodhouse, who advised them on literary as well as legal matters and was deeply impressed by Poems. Although he noted that Keats could be "wayward, trembling, easily daunted," Woodhouse was convinced of Keats's genius, a poet to support as he became one of England's greatest writers. Soon after they met, the two became close friends, and Woodhouse started to collect Keatsiana, documenting as much as he could about Keats's poetry. This archive survives as one of the main sources of information on Keats's work. Andrew Motion represents him as Boswell to Keats' Johnson, ceaselessly promoting the writer's work, fighting his corner, and spurring his poetry to greater heights. In later years, Woodhouse was one of the few people to accompany Keats to Gravesend to embark on his final trip to Rome.

In spite of the bad reviews of Poems, Hunt published the essay "Three Young Poets" (Shelley, Keats, and Reynolds) and the sonnet "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer," foreseeing great things to come. He introduced Keats to many prominent men in his circle, including the editor of The Times, Thomas Barnes; the writer Charles Lamb; the conductor Vincent Novello; and the poet John Hamilton Reynolds, who would become a close friend. He was also regularly meeting William Hazlitt, a powerful literary figure of the day. It was a decisive turning point for Keats, establishing him in the public eye as a figure in what Hunt termed "a new school of poetry." At this time Keats wrote to his friend Bailey: "I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of the imagination. What imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth." This passage would eventually be transmuted into the concluding lines of "Ode on a Grecian Urn": "'Beauty is truth, truth beauty' – that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know". In early December 1816, under the heady influence of his artistic friends, Keats told Abbey that he had decided to give up medicine in favour of poetry, to Abbey's fury. Keats had spent a great deal on his medical training and, despite his state of financial hardship and indebtedness, had made large loans to friends such as painter Benjamin Haydon. Keats would go on to lend £700 to his brother George. By lending so much, Keats could no longer cover the interest of his own debts.

Having left his training at the hospital, suffering from a succession of colds, and unhappy with living in damp rooms in London, Keats moved with his brothers into rooms at 1 Well Walk in the village of Hampstead in April 1817. Both John and George nursed their brother Tom, who was suffering from tuberculosis. The house was close to Hunt and others from his circle in Hampstead, as well as to Coleridge, respected elder of the first wave of Romantic poets, at that time living in Highgate. On 11 April 1818, Keats and Coleridge had a long walk together on Hampstead Heath. In a letter to his brother George, Keats wrote that they talked about "a thousand things,... nightingales, poetry, poetical sensation, metaphysics." Around this time he was introduced to Charles Wentworth Dilke and James Rice.

In June 1818, Keats began a walking tour of Scotland, Ireland, and the Lake District with his friend Charles Armitage Brown. Keats' brother George and his wife Georgina accompanied them as far as Lancaster and then continued to Liverpool, from where the couple emigrated to America. They lived in Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky, until 1841, when George's investments failed. Like Keats' other brother, they both died penniless and racked by tuberculosis, for which there was no effective treatment until the next century. In July, while on the Isle of Mull, Keats caught a bad cold and "was too thin and fevered to proceed on the journey." After his return south in August, Keats continued to nurse Tom, exposing himself to infection. Some biographers suggest that this is when tuberculosis, his "family disease," first took hold. "Consumption" was not identified as a disease with a single infectious origin until 1820, and there was considerable stigma attached to the condition, as it was often associated with weakness, repressed sexual passion, or masturbation. Keats "refuses to give it a name" in his letters. Tom Keats died on 1 December 1818.

John Keats befriended Isabella Jones in May 1817, while on holiday in the village of Bo Peep, near Hastings. She is described as beautiful, talented and widely read, not of the top flight of society yet financially secure, an enigmatic figure who would become a part of Keats's circle. Throughout their friendship Keats never hesitates to own his sexual attraction to her, although they seem to enjoy circling each other rather than offering commitment. He writes that he "frequented her rooms" in the winter of 1818–19, and in his letters to George says that he "warmed with her" and "kissed her". The trysts may have been a sexual initiation for Keats according to Bate and Gittings. Jones inspired and was a steward of Keats's writing. The themes of "The Eve of St. Agnes" and "The Eve of St Mark" may well have been suggested by her, the lyric Hush, Hush! ["o sweet Isabel"] was about her, and that the first version of "Bright Star" may have originally been for her. In 1821, Jones was one of the first in England to be notified of Keats's death.

Letters and drafts of poems suggest that Keats first met Frances (Fanny) Brawne between September and November 1818. It is likely that the 18-year-old Brawne visited the Dilke family at Wentworth Place before she lived there. She was born in the hamlet of West End (now in the district of West Hampstead), on 9 August 1800. Like Keats's grandfather, her grandfather kept a London inn, and both lost several family members to tuberculosis. She shared her first name with both Keats's sister and mother, and had a talent for dress-making and languages as well as a natural theatrical bent.[54] During November 1818 she developed an intimacy with Keats, but it was shadowed by the illness of Tom Keats, whom John was nursing through this period.

On 3 April 1819, Brawne and her widowed mother moved into the other half of Dilke's Wentworth Place, and Keats and Brawne were able to see each other every day. Keats began to lend Brawne books, such as Dante's Inferno, and they would read together. He gave her the love sonnet "Bright Star" (perhaps revised for her) as a declaration. It was a work in progress which he continued at until the last months of his life, and the poem came to be associated with their relationship. "All his desires were concentrated on Fanny". From this point there is no further documented mention of Isabella Jones. Sometime before the end of June, he arrived at some sort of understanding with Brawne, far from a formal engagement as he still had too little to offer, with no prospects and financial stricture. Keats endured great conflict knowing his expectations as a struggling poet in increasingly hard straits would preclude marriage to Brawne. Their love remained unconsummated; jealousy for his 'star' began to gnaw at him. Darkness, disease and depression surrounded him, reflected in poems such as "The Eve of St. Agnes" and "La Belle Dame sans Merci" where love and death both stalk. "I have two luxuries to brood over in my walks;" he wrote to her, "...your loveliness, and the hour of my death".

In one of his many hundreds of notes and letters, Keats wrote to Brawne on 13 October 1819: "My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you – I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again – my Life seems to stop there – I see no further. You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving – I should be exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you ... I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion – I have shudder'd at it – I shudder no more – I could be martyr'd for my Religion – Love is my religion – I could die for that – I could die for you."

Tuberculosis took hold and he was advised by his doctors to move to a warmer climate. In September 1820 Keats left for Rome knowing he would probably never see Brawne again. After leaving he felt unable to write to her or read her letters, although he did correspond with her mother. He died there five months later. None of Brawne's letters to Keats survive.

It took a month for the news of his death to reach London, after which Brawne stayed in mourning for six years. In 1833, more than 12 years after his death, she married and went on to have three children; she outlived Keats by more than 40 years.

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spencerthorpe · 7 years ago

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Idealist City Guide: BOSTON food, design and style

The beautiful city of Boston is well known for its New England style food, history and accent. Just a short hop from New York on the eastern coast of the United States and famed for its place in New England history, for Harvard, MIT and the Kennedys, Kerouac and countless other famous names, it’s a great place to get a taste of America.

There are many great areas of Boston to enjoy, from the upscale stores downtown, Newbury Street and Back Bay, to the Italian neighbourhood in the North End, Charles Street on Beacon Hill and across the river into Cambridge and Harvard Square. Unlike many American cities, Boston is eminently walkable, although the T transit system is cheap and convenient too.

On our trip, we stayed across the river near Kendall Square, where thanks to MIT there’s a bunch of hotels and AirBnB choices. While in town we recommend visiting the Museum of Fine Arts, Harvard Square, the JFK Museum and if you have time taking a whale-watching trip off the coast.

Today’s tour is focused on great places to visit, shops for unique finds and fun spots to eat and stay.

Boston’s best Galleries & Museums

Boston MFA facade with the Appeal to the Great Spirit monument

Museum of Fine Arts: The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has a massive comprehensive art collection — over 450,000 pieces, in fact. Exhibits here range from traditional paintings to more abstract images and even films. It’s also a great place for newer fans of art to get a glimpse at some of the various styles and media.

465 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115 (617) 267-9300

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

Down the road from the MFA and the legacy of Isabella Stewart Gardner, art collector, philanthropist, and art patron, the museum emulates a 15th-century Venetian palace, drawing particular inspiration and houses an art collection of world importance including Titian, Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, Manet, Degas, Whistler and Matisse. It’s also home to exhibitions of contemporary art and many concerts and lectures. Visitors dressed in Boston Red Sox gear get discounted entrance and visitors called Isabella get in for nothing. Go Red Sox! The new wing by Renzo Piano cost a whopping $120 million.

25 Evans Way, Boston, MA 02115

Institute of Contemporary Art: The Institute of Contemporary Art was founded in 1936 to honour and preserve contemporary art. It features unique exhibitions which change regularly, so be sure to check out what they have while you’re in town. This is more of your edgy contemporary art, but the view of the harbour and the building itself are worth the trip alone.

25 Harbor Shore Drive, Boston, MA 02210 (617) 478-3100

Old State House: The Old State House is often considered to be where the American revolution started. It’s the oldest surviving building in Boston, and one of the oldest public buildings in the United States. Visitors can learn about the history of Boston and explore the actual site of the Boston Massacre of 1770.

206 Washington St, Boston, MA 02109 (617) 720-1713

Style Shopping Boston

South End is well known for its well-heeled neighbourhoods, so if you’re looking for home accessories, antiques or unique finds, start your search there. Across the river in Cambridge is the Cambridge Antiques Market (East Cambridge, near Lechmere in what is otherwise not the prettiest of areas) which is a fab spot for vintage interior pieces.

Art and Unique Objects

There are some great places to shop for interesting things to take home, from markets, to art and gift stores, comic book stores and bookshops. We love:

South End Open Market @ SoWa – Every Sunday from May through October, locals and tourists alike flock to the South End for this open market. Tents range from crafts, design, and vintage, to food trucks and farmers’ market.

Shake The Tree – carries handmade jewellery, home goods, stationery, small brand apothecary, craft cocktail supplies + barware, global cookbooks, and baby gifts. Inspired by travels to Paris, the souks in Morocco and the vibrant colours of flower markets in India, owner Marian Klausner has filled the brightly lit space with everything she loves. The store is located in Boston’s historic “North End” Italian waterfront neighborhood, close to the Freedom Trail. 67 Salem Street, North End, Boston 617.742.0484 [email protected]

The stores at the Museum of Fine Art, Institute of Contemporary Art and the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum (listed above). These are all great spots for tasteful stuff you can fit in your suitcase.

Furniture and accessories

Five floors of contemporary style

Located in the historic Sherman Building, Room & Board offers a wide selection of contemporary furniture, from living room and dining room furniture to outdoor sets. And with five floors to shop, there’s a good chance you’ll find something unique that you absolutely love here. We tend not to feature chain stores in our listings, but especially for visitors to Boston, this place is worth a stop.

375 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02115, (617) 351-0020

European Styling

Lekker Home: Even when you’re in Boston, you still see plenty of European influence. Lekker Home uses that inspiration for its selection of European furniture, their mainstay being Dutch furniture. But a great selection of furniture isn’t all you’ll find here — there’s also plenty of great lighting and other accessories.

1313 Washington St, Boston, MA 02118 (617) 542-6464

South American Styling

Diseño Bos: If you’re looking for something a little out of the ordinary, check out Diseño Bos’s selection of South American furniture, accessories and lighting. Frank Campanale, the owner, found inspiration for his store after a month-long holiday in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Chile, which still inspires the fur and hide rugs and colourful patterned textiles found in Diseño Bos today.

460 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118 (617) 423-2008

High end Italian styling

IL Décor: A range of stunningly beautiful modern furniture greets visitors of IL Décor, all of it carefully selected from contemporary designers with a unique, stylish take on interiors. And the best part is, IL Décor has almost everything, so you can find the perfect nightstand for your bedroom or give your living room an overhaul.

10 St James Ave, Boston, MA 02116 (617) 580-3443

Vintage modern

Abodeon: Adobeon’s slogan is “A celebration of modern design through the decades,” and it’s a fitting one. Here you’ll find a range of mid-20th century vintage modern furniture and current modern furniture, including unique lighting solutions and chic accessories.

1731 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 497-0137

Award-winning designers

Twelve Chairs: Miggy Mason and Roisin Giese founded Twelve Chairs in 2010 as a result of their combined passion for interiors. After gaining attention on both a local and national level, they moved their store to the historic south end of Boston where they design and sell their unique creations today.

581 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02118 (617) 982-6136

Staying Over

The Inn at St Botolph: The Inn at St Botolph is situated in a historic brownstone building in Boston. It’s a contemporary hotel with a twist — their aim is to make you feel like you’re living in your own fully furnished luxury apartment in the city.

99 St Botolph St, Boston, MA 02116 (617) 236-8099

The Godfrey Hotel Boston: The Godfrey is a chic hotel with luxury features located near downtown Boston, which makes it a great choice for visitors who wish to walk from destination to destination. And if you need something to perk you up in the morning (or at night), there’s a lobby bar and coffee shop in the hotel.

505 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111 (617) 804-2000

Hotel Commonwealth: If you want a great mix of luxury boutique, Hotel Commonwealth is the perfect choice for you. It’s located in Boston’s Back Bay near Fenway Park and has easy access to the subway. It houses a New England-style restaurant and an oyster and cocktail bar, so you can get great food without going out.

500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (617) 933-5000

Food

Oishii: If you love sushi and other authentic Japanese food, Oishii is as good as it gets in Boston. From classics like spicy tempura tuna to more ambitious dishes featuring caviar or wagyu beef, Oishii has something to satisfy everybody. And if you’re not a sushi fan, don’t fret — there are plenty of other entree options.

1166 Washington St #110, Boston, MA 02118 (617) 482-8868

Harvest: Located in Harvard Square, Harvest is a staple of fine dining in Boston and a proponent of farm-to-table ingredients. They cook up all of the Boston staples, from pork loin and lamb to lobster and oysters. If you’re visiting in the summer, try getting a seat in the beautiful garden terrace.

44 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 868-2255

Rosebud American Kitchen: It’s always nice to try new foods, and fine dining is great, but sometimes you just can’t beat a classic diner. There’s no overly complicated, ultra-fancy menu here — just comfort food favourites like Korean BBQ sliders, mac ‘n cheese, fried chicken and fish and chips. If you want delicious, no-nonsense food, check out Rosebud.

381 Summer St, Somerville, MA 02144 (617) 629-9500

Must-See Attractions

Harvard Yard

Harvard: It doesn’t get much more revered than this. Harvard was built in 1636 and is one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The Harvard Information Center is dedicated to greeting visitors who come to see the school, and they can provide you with both historical information and tours.

(617) 495-1573 Smith Campus Center 30 Dunster Street Cambridge, MA 02138

Freedom Trail: If you love history, you’ll love the Freedom Trail. It’s a 2.5-mile path throughout Boston that takes visitors by 16 significant historical locations, giving them a taste of the United States’ past. If you’re particularly interested in a few historical sites, you can always skip some of the others to make more time.

The Freedom Trail Foundation 44 School Street, Suite 250 Boston, MA 02108 (617) 357-8300

Boston Common: The Boston Common is the oldest public park in the United States, dating all the way back to 1634. With sprawling green fields and plenty of activity, t’s a great place to relax, have a picnic, and people watch.

139 Tremont St, Boston, MA 02111

Travel

A flight from London to Boston will cost between £350 and £750 depending on the airline you choose and type of flight you take. You can also fly into Providence, RI or New York and get a train up the coast.