Friendship of Salem

The last day of the Boston trip was spent in Salem, Massachusetts, just a 35-minute train ride away.

It is a neat town but I was surprised at how busy it is in terms of traffic.

The back streets feature houses built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and the plants in the gardens reinforced why this part of the United States is called New England.

I saw flowers and trees that I have not seen since leaving England -- horse chestnut trees, hawthorn, lilac and laburnum trees in full flower; flowers such as forget-me-nots and rhodedendrons. It was almost like home from home.

Our tour of the town eventually brought us to Derby Wharf and the reconstructed Friendship, a 171-foot, three-masted Salem East Indiaman built in 1797.

After the day in Salem, it was back to the North End and another Italian Restaurant and also a visit to Lyndell's Bakery on Hanover Street. The chocolate and raspberry mousse cake, topped with fresh raspberries, was perfection on a plate.

Zeiss Planar T* ZE 1,4/50. Post processing in Photoshop CS3.