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nowadays, the north end seems to be my favorite destination whenever i venture into boston. mostly it's because of hay market and the lure of cheap produce (and the occasional hallel mutton/goat meat purchase), but i also like wandering the streets of the north end in search of photo opportunities. i was just there this past friday, and now i'm back again, this time to catch the madonna delle grazie procession.

i arrived an hour early, parking in my favorite visitor parking area at the intersection of richmond and north street. i made my way to copp's hill burying ground again, not because i'm a graveyard junkie, but because i wanted to see the skinny house on 44 hull street. i must've seen it before, but never realized i was looking at the skinniest house in boston. afterwards i moseyed down hanover street in the direction of the harbor before making my way back to north square.

since i have very little knowledge of catholic religious iconography, i'm left to make up my own interpretations. the "madonna delle grazie" sounds like the "madonna of thanks." how many madonnas are there? does she take different forms, like some of the hindu gods? the thing i noticed right away about this madonna was she holding a smaller madonna miniature version of herself, kind of like doctor evil and mini-me. unless that mini-madonna is supposed to be baby jesus, but why would jesus and the madonna have the same hairstyle, huh? the madonna is also holding something in her other hand that looks remarkably like a star wars thermal detonator. is our madonna of thanks bargaining for the safe release of someone in exchange for a miniature version of herself? this bounty hunter is my kind of scum! (that was a return of the jedi reference, i am not disparaging the madonna!).

the procession led me back to north street, where my motorcycle was parked. from there it was a straight shot down hanover street to city hall and back to cambridge, made possible by the fact that the hay market area is closed on sundays, freeing up the street.

i went home and grab my laptop before going to belmont, where the only one home was hailey sleeping on her chair. my sister and mother were out at a bead expo and my father was still at work. i watered the garden and then made my rounds taking photos and documenting their progress. when my father came home we planted the lone surviving cypress vine in a hanging pot. my mother and sister had already ate when they finally got home, but got my father and i some wendy's takeout.