Boston Blitz

After flubbing the schedule of my last post (written in Boston, about San Francisco) and taking a break for travel and holidays, I'm finally sitting down to look at pictures from this last month of adventures. Rather than the usual Quebec City post, I'll skip straight to my weekend in Boston. A friend from college picked me up at the airport, and we headed directly for the Freedom Trail... 

Faneuil Hall, market hub and venue for discussions from the beginning of US history. 

Our first stop was the Old North Church, which Paul Revere looked to for the signal of which direction the British were coming. The tall box pews were partially occupied by a tour group, and the guide's voice echoing from the front of the church into the high barrel vaults of the celieing reminded me why sermons were usually delivered from the he elevated pulpit, with its sounding board sending the speaker's words down into the box pews! 

 From the church, we made our way through the markets and Faneuil Hall. On a Saturday before Christmas, everything was packed. Last-minute shoppers, pub-crawling Santas, and tourists like ourselves wandered the brick halls and stairs. The buildings had a strange combination of the colonial architecture I was used to from my time in Charleston, mixed with the stately Georgian elegance of the English midlands and the Jane Austen films we were raised on. Some historical sites, like the Old State House (where we were treated to a great talk on the Boston Massacre, which happened just outside its balcony), seemed to be stubbornly planted in the middle of the modern concrete-and-glass bank buildings that make up the downtown skyline.

 The next day was equally clear, so I struck out for the far side of downtown where the USS Constitution is anchored. The familiar smells of brackish water and city subway finally gave way to wet deck, creosote, and spar varnish as I stepped on the ship. Evidently, she is only ~7% original, but since her keel has not been replaced, I suppose she is still the same ship!

It was a brisk walk from the Consitution to Cambridge, but I was rewarded with an amazing latte at a favorite coffee shop that a friend recommended. Another friend told me once that each time I'm in a new city, I should sit down for coffee somewhere central and just watch life happen. Between the two of them, I found myself comfortably situated in a sun-soaked window at 1369 Coffee House. Students hovered ready highlighters above textbooks and tapped diligently on laptop keyboards over the puffs of espresso machines. Outside, the 6-way intersection had an easy Sunday afternoon flow.

My path back to my cousin's house led me through the Harvard campus, which was one of the most beautiful universities I have ever visited. The old brick buildings and pathways were cozy and inviting. The university is only 50 years younger than Karl-Franzens University in Graz and significantly older than TU Graz, but felt different than where I studied in Austria. Wandering the grounds made me seriously consider whether I might want to do a masters program sometime soon... Maybe it's time to decide what I want to be when I grow up!

Monday morning, before going to the airport, I made one more loop into town from my cousn's place at Fenway. This time, I trekked to Boston Commons and took in the park, capitol building, and posh Back Bay and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. Of course, Buckley and I made a stop by the Make Way for Ducklings statue! Finally, I headed to Logan International and headed out for the next stop in my journey...