We're staying at XV Beacon which is a boutique hotel in downtown Boston and I have to say is definitely the coolest place we've stayed on the trip so far. We have two connecting "studio" rooms - very Ian Schrager decor. Boston itself looks and feels very European - I guess there's a good reason that the whole region is known as "New England" ! Last night we checked out the shops on Newbury (which is next to Exeter, Gloucester, Hereford etc - all English placenames) and it feels just like Knightsbridge in London. We ate at a great sushi restaurant - Uni - recommended by friends Maddie & Peter from Santa Barbara - excellent sashemi. 
This morning we visited MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) which is nearby - very much for students who want to major in math, engineering or science - they wouldn't know "liberal arts" here if it jumped up and bit 'em. Cody is convinced that this will be the college for him in three years time....not because of the demanding applied math program....nor because of the opportunities to study advanced nano technology....Cody was extremely impressed by the fact that MIT has it's own, on-campus branch, of Dunkin' Donuts. Having said that, the MIT students do apparently have a fun side to them - a few years ago they installed a police car on top of the 150 foot high Great Dome - which turned out to be a life-size model.....
.....those crazy mathematicians !!!Later we visited the acknowledged Mecca of US colleges - Harvard....it was very impressive and Harley will almost certainly apply but they apparently receive over 30,000 applications every year and only accept approx 2,000 !!
While the odds are not great, Cody reckons that Harley's chances have been greatly improved by the fact that his name begins in "H", just like Harvard. It doesn't sound very scientific to me, but who knows ??Tonight we had dinner at Stephanie's - another Peter & Maddie recommendation - also very good !! Tomorrow we have an early start as we have three colleges to look at....and tomorrow evening we're staying with our close friends Louis & Fran in Greenwich, Connecticut....I'm not sure they realise what they're letting themselves in for !!!
