A Tale of Two Cities.

On the way to Boston to pick up a couple of friends, we noticed that Worcester was on the way - Worcester Massachusetts that is. It seemed a shame  to go sailing past, so we stopped off for a day.

 

We walked into town, taking pictures of anything with the name Worcester on it.

 

There were old factories and warehouses from the 19th century, and a good deal of new buildings.

 

The civic buildings were grand, a statement of Worcester's wealth here in the US.

Its population is about 180 thousand, around twice that of the UK city, Its crime rate is one of the lowest in the US, and because of past decisions made to encourage investment in the medical and biotechnology business, it hasn't suffered in the recession as much as a lot of the rest of America.

We were told that the City Hall is an exact copy on the one in Florence, Italy.

On investigation, it seems that maybe it was just the style that was copied.

We can only assume that when it was built there was no US civic style, so one was copied from elsewhere.

Outside were a couple of cops chatting, so we asked if we could take a picture of their vehicles - with the name Worcester on of course. A little different from the UK.

The US police have their own style though. Bob's boots were really shiny.

Then Bob, the motorcycle cop, took us inside City Hall. He really wanted to show us something.

On the wall above the stairs were a couple of pieces of military history.

This was last used a couple of miles from where we live.

Note: It was given over a hundred years ago.

Then Bob beckoned us up the stairs, and introduced us to the city Chief of Staff who worked in the Office of the Mayor.

We were invited into the office, and proudly shown other links with Worcester.

The Mayor's seat. The paneling and desk are mahogany apparently.

A more recent gift from Worcester UK. You may make out the bridge and Cathedral.

He spent time chatting to us for around twenty minutes, and we left with some books as gifts.

Gifts from Worcester USA to us.

We wonder if an American from Worcester MA visiting our hometown would get the same kind of treatment?

Later that night we went to a talk given by Robert Ballard, the man who discovered the Titanic.

An eventful day - considering we just walked into town.